Members of the local community were recognised for their voluntary contribution in this years Good Neighbour award organised by Kirklees Faiths Forum.
Winners included IMWS volunteer Faridabai Patel from Dewsbury who has been a lead volunteer in running an over 50’s ladies group based at the Al-Hikmah Centre.
A busy great grand mother, Faridabai has been devoting her time and energies over the past year to ensure the smoothing running of the group’s important activities provided by the IMWS.
The group meets regularly on Monday afternoons 12-3pm where they socialise, share meals together and take part in activities including trips. Her enthusiasm and energy has helped to sustain and maintain the group and has inevitably helped to improve the quality of life of others in this community. Without dedicated volunteers like Faridabai, such groups would cease to exist.
Unfortunately Faridabai was unable to attend the awards ceremony held at the University of Huddersfield last month, but staff from IMWS attended and collected the award on her behalf.
Another recipient was local GP and MPIT Chair Dr Rajpura. Alongside years of dedication to help people through his profession he has been encouraging the Muslim community to become more involved and contribute to the wider community including through his former roles in the IMWS.
Dr Rajpura was particularly recognised for his efforts in supporting the Batley Food bank. Within two weeks he managed to motivate the community to contribute over 15000 items. The award recognises his long-term dedication and commitment to building a stronger and more cohesive community.
Other local winners included fSaima Bi and Abda Mahmood both from Dewsbury for their individual contributions to the community.
The Good Neighbour Award recognises an individual who reside in Kirklees and is a shining example of a good neighbour by devoting their time, skills and energies to helping their fellow residents.
