I was invited to coffee morning by Rehena Sultana at the Sunderland Bangladesh International Centre. I am glad that I went to the coffee mornings as this is when I realised that there are is a variety of job opportunities and courses available.
I have been out of work for a number of years due to family reasons, now I am at a stage in my life when I want to do something but wasn’t sure how or where I can go to make a start.

When I first attended coffee morning I met new people and I was quite withdrawn because I felt I didn’t know what conversation I should have then gradually we started speaking and we have become good friends. This is a big achievement for me because I felt my communication level isn’t as strong as the other members of the coffee group and this has really built up my confidence.  While we attended these groups we were introduced to learning curve who provided courses we could enrol in. I felt that this was the right time for me to take up courses to boost up my knowledge which will help me get into employment in the future. I have enrolled in two courses with learning curve now through the Bangladesh International Centre, level 2 in Business Administration and level 2 in Children and Young people’s mental health.

By doing these courses through the help and support from the Bangladesh International Centre I feel I have more self confidence and I feel that I am actually capable of doing different things which I thought I couldn’t, it has made me more independent, and because I felt like that I applied for a college course for business management and due to attend an interview soon.

I have also started doing training with employees from the Bangladesh International Centre to become a volunteer stroke ambassador. This training will help me organise and take part in future events and work with the BME community. I will also start helping out at the centre voluntarily and I am grateful that they have given me this opportunity to expand my knowledge.