Expecting a large turnout at their local community event, the Bangladeshi Youth Organisation prepares to celebrate its upcoming 40-year anniversary on Wednesday 31 August.
Celebrating the huge feat, the organisation will be hosting a full day of events beginning with the first formal segment from 12 to 2 pm with a video premier showcasing the history of BYO and case studies of people who have benefited over the years.
Following that there will be a range of activities, parties, and celebrations taking place outdoors, in the carpark on Cornwall Road opposite the BYO building.
Presenting a plethora of activities including a circus show hired out by a group called Cecil Green Arts, a bouncy castle, a mehndi stall, face painting, and arts and crafts for the community to join in and celebrate.
The BYO was established by new arrivals of young people from Bangladesh and Pakistan, who felt there was little for them to do here and wanted to create a recreational place that met the needs of the newly arrived families and children who made Bradford their home back in 1982.
As a registered charity, BYO has made significant improvements to the Bangladeshi community in Bradford, from establishing a housing association that caters to the Asian community to supporting 215 unemployed, disengaged, not in education or learning young people enroute to a positive destination.
Proud of its pioneering achievements, from the formation of the first black and Asian minority Housing Association to the services they provide for children, young people, women and girls and local residents, BYO hopes to keep up the game-changing community work.
However, the organisation is struggling with its capacity building, as the current facility they operate from is a single-story building, which doesn’t meet the group’s requirements for their growth plans, as they aim to upscale their community affairs.
Mohammed Joynal Project Manager at BYO says, “We need more space to run community functions, so having another floor and making it sustainable is one major goal for the future of the organisation.
“We need support from the council to enable us to develop more in the voluntary sector, rather than provide us with year-to-year funds we need something more sustainable that is going to help us grow as there is so much, we have to give”.
Revealing the future plans for the organisation, Joynal says “We want to enable community cohesion and get young people from different parts of Bradford to mix and work together to erase their perceived differences”.
As well as this, BYO is aiming to reduce the number of young people that are locked up in prison and involved in antisocial behaviour, by supporting the larger population of youth in Bradford and positively impacting their lives, to make them more rounded and better citizens in Bradford.
Proud of its pioneering achievements, one of its major feats is the ground-breaking project, which is the formation of the first black and Asian minority Housing Association.
Lee Broomfield, the CEO of the Manningham Housing Association said:
“MHA and BYO have a proud history together and we are delighted to support BYO celebrate its 40-year anniversary. MHA came into existence in 1986 following a piece of research undertaken by BYO which showed that the housing needs of the South Asian community in Bradford were not being addressed.
“This directly resulted in the Government and Bradford Council supporting MHA to grow from an association with two properties to one that now has more than 1430 homes for over 6000 residents. Our organisations continue to work proudly in partnership on joint projects and initiatives which benefit the community.”
Attending the BYO for the past eight years, a young person shared how the organisation has helped shape her life “It has built up my confidence and boosted my communication skills,” says Zahra Begum.
The seventeen-year-old told Asian Standard, “GCSEs during Covid was difficult, but with BYO study support help and activities I am delighted with the results I achieved and very grateful to BYO for everything they continue to do for us. It is a great place for young people to grow and develop”.
Salma Khatun, a volunteer working with the Women and Girls Group for the organisation said, “BYO has been so much of a lifeline, opening their door during the pandemic, helping us ladies in the community to organise and with getting out and about to fight the loneliness and isolation we faced”.
The organisation is set to celebrate its 40th Year of establishment on Wednesday 31 August, with a full afternoon of events planned, to take place from 12 till 5 PM.
Joining the event for the cake cutting ceremony will be the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr Martin Love, as well as the leader of the Bradford council, Susan Hinchcliffe who is expected to be in attendance from the afternoon onwards.
Cllr Love said:
“I am delighted to be invited to the event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the BYO and delighted to support them in this celebration”.
Referring to the BYO as “A marvellous voice for the Bangladeshi community in Bradford, I was very pleased a few weeks ago, to be at the opening of the sports facilities at BEAP, which was another example of what the BYO has been doing and how successful they can be when they work alongside other partners in the community”.
