Volunteers and community workers honoured at fifth One Voice dinner and awards

The dinner at the Windsor Suite, King Georges Hall saw six 1V Community Awards presented on the evening.

It also included a speech from Sayyed Osman, Director of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council who spoke about the importance of female empowerment and women’s involvement in leadership roles and cited historical Muslim leaders as great examples.

The event, which was hosted by 14-year-old Safah Laylah commenced with a presentation by the 1V Scouts.

The West End Girls (WEGs) thrilled the audience with a series of performances and plays about the trajectory of the Lancashire woman.

Humma Ahmed (below), headteacher at Walverden Primary School in Nelson shared her thoughts about the value of education and the supporting roles that families play for their children.

The event also saw the launch of an initiative by youth group 2020 Vision to tackle the stigma of being stereotyped on account of ones name. 

The short video, ‘Don’t Judge Me By Name’ aims to break down social barriers.
Firoza Mohmed, service manager at Humraaz Women’s Refuge said, “This year’s 1V Annual Dinner was hugely enjoyable and a successful event. From the young host, the 1V Scouts, the speakers, the WEGS to the winners, they all were brilliant as were all the nominees.  

"Humraaz are honoured to work in partnership with 1V and we sponsored the Lifetime Achievement Award.  1V have pursued female empowerment which was very apparent and evident this year.

"Breaking stereotypes of women and in particular Muslim women is very promising and I look forward to further development.”

The ‘Mohammed Khan Leadership Award’ was awarded to volunteer Chris Seddon. 

Chris (above) said, “I love what I do, supporting young people and families when needed. To me our town, Blackburn, is proud and vibrant with a diverse population. Respecting and valuing our neighbours can only support our communities especially our young people to live in harmony in our town and country.”

Members of the One Voice Scouts

The Youth of the Year Award went to Hamza Khan who said, “To be recognised for my role in representing the young people of BwD by winning this award is an absolute honour.”

The Institute of the Year was won by Brookhouse Development Group. 
They said, “We weren’t expecting this. We want to thank One Voice and also want to give a shout out to all the other nominees.”

Shakeel Choudhry was awarded Man of the Year. Shakeel said,  “I want to thank all the people that nominated me for the shortlist. 

"One Voice is a huge integral part of the community and to win this accolade is a huge testament to how we have come together as a community over the last few years since the ‘birth’ of One Voice. 

“I feel truly blessed and honoured to be awarded this and it gives me great pride to ensure we will work much harder to build on the foundations we are setting for our community to become one.”

The Woman of the Year award went to Ahlam Hasan (above) who said, “Heartfelt thanks and warmest gratitude to the amazing and friendly people who have been supporting me. 

"They gave me this honour and put trust in my efforts. This increased the responsibility, so I will do my best to protect this trust.”

The awards culminated in the Outstanding Achievement Award which was given to Iqbal Bhai (above) for his dedication to nurturing and developing sporting talent.

One Voice Chairman, Abrar Hussain said, “The Annual Dinner was a wonderful evening with so many inspiring people gathered together in one room in a spirit of tangible cohesion.

"We would like to congratulate the winners and all of the nominees in the 1V Community Champion Awards.”

The awards were sponsored and supported by Blackburn College, HPA Solicitors, Humraaz Women’s Refuge, NHS England and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.