England : Kingston community development graduation ceremony ( + Photos)

April 11, 2013

England : Kingston community development graduation ceremony ( + Photos)

(SM) – Thursday 11 April , 2013 – Following the completion of a three months training on Community Development and Health course in Kingston , we were today awarded the graduation certificates by the Mayor of Kingston upon Thames .

Mohamed Ali (Medeshi) with the Mayor of Kingston

The course was conducted in the council hall from Sept to Dec 2012 and was sponsored by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the National Health Services (NHS). The course participants included people of ethnic origin from Iran , Korea, Sri Lanka , Iraq , India , Scotland , England and Somaliland. The course was accredited by OCN London region.
Following are photos from the event and a brief speech that I made during the ceremony on behalf of the Somali community in Kingston:

“ Hello every one …

I thank Kingston council, the NHS and the trainers that have organised this course. I would, in particular, like to thank to both Denise and Jo for their continuous efforts in making the course a huge success and for sourcing and providing the training material used by the participants . Also, I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to the other guests who on several occasions came to the course to volunteer their valuable time to help us learn how to support our community.

I found the course useful and very informative. As a leader of the Somali community in Kingston upon Thames, I have learned a lot about how to support my community, how to advocate for them and how to empower them during times of need. The course has emboldened me and enabled me to face up to many challenges that I would otherwise not have overcome. It has increased my confidence in dealing with both the public and government departments for the sake of my communities. It has improved my skills for communicating through the social media and the internet. It allowed me to fight for an end to discrimination and prejudice. It has taught me how to promote equality among all. I cannot put all that I have learned in this presentation , but would like to conclude that I will pass on the knowledge that I have gained during the three months training to my community and to those that may come to seek assistance from our charity in Kingston upon Thames.

Thank you very much
Mohammed Ahmed Ali ”