Who got the gongs?
Let’s start health. Mark Davies, Director of Health Inequalities Partnership at the Department of Health has been awarded a CBE. He was last spotted by this writer at the inaugural Afiya Awards celebrating black and other minority ethnic leadership in health and social care. Beverley de Gale, who, along with Orin has worked so hard to educate our communities about the importance of bone marrow donation, has an OBE. Beverley accepted an award for Fundraiser of the Year at the Afiya Awards. Dr. Biku Ghosh, is recognised for the Southern Ethiopia Gwent Health Link, a partnership between health professionals in South Wales and healthcare workers in Southern Ethiopia. Jamaican-born former nurse and community activist in Bristol, Princess Campbell has an MBE – she was the first black ward sister working in mental health in Bristol. And one for community activist Kamaljit Kaur of the The Asian Health Agency and The Asian Women’s Network, for services to Asian women.
Over to education. Meena Modi, head teacher of Chater Infant School, is awarded an OBE. The school, in Watford, was graded ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
According to Ofsted, ‘children's attainment on entry is well below the expected level for their age. Most pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds and four fifths speak English as an additional language, with an extremely high proportion at very early stages of learning the language. The proportion of pupils who arrive at the school at times other than the start of the school year is high and many of these are also at very early stages of learning English. A significant proportion of the teachers are new to the school this year and some are at the start of their teaching career.’
The staff, children and families must have put in considerable work for the school to be awarded ‘outstanding’. Impressive.
An OBE also to Allison Chin, head teacher of the consistently outstanding Swinnow primary school in Leeds and to Hawa Bibi Laher, head teacher of Spring Grove school in Kirklees, who in an interview recounted the impact of being educated of Indian heritage in segregated South Africa.
At the other end of the learning rainbow, Professor Nirmala Rao, (OBE), is Pro-Director (Learning and Teaching) at SOAS. The gong is for scholarship. As a timely reminder that there is some diversity among Oxbridge professors, Professor Yasir Suleiman, professor of modern Arabic studies at Kings College, Cambridge, has a CBE for scholarship.
Bipinchandra Dharamshi Patel, vice-chair of governors, Working Men's College, (women allowed) London, will gain a MBE for services to Adult and Further Education and Gerry Davis, Chair of the Corporation of the College of North West London has an OBE.
Working to support families and children, Debbie Ariyo has an OBE for her longstanding work with Afruca and Asif Iqbal, media and project manager of Deaf Parenting UK has an MBE. From the young to the older, Ramesh Kumari Verma, chief executive of EKTA has been recognised for services to older people in East London, while Hector Pinkney, a long time community activist known as ‘Mr Handsworth’ has also received recognition. Somali-born Hashim Duale, who tells a harrowing tale of fleeing from his home country, has an MBE for improving links between the Somali community and service providers in Leicester. Sohail Nawaz, director of Shahbash, has been given an MBE for services to community cohesion in Preston. Shahbash was set up in 2003 to help Muslim youngsters in deprived areas. Maha Ridha is recognised for support to Muslim women and Regina Waldman for charitable services in Leeds.
Now for those promoting community equality, safety and harmony. Dr. Marcus Solanki, also of Leicester – doing well, the Midlands, aren’t they? – is gonged for services to the community. He is a mental health clinician and assistant secretary of Leicester Council of Faiths among other community-focussed work. 2007 Leicestershire Woman of the Community, Mrs. Saroj Bala Seth has an MBE for community cohesion and Kathryn Morrison, also of Leicester is rewarded for interfaith work. Not Leicester, but not far away in Northampton, Jyotsna Arun Kotnis has been honoured for services to community relations in Northamptonshire.
The awards for interfaith promotion - Dr Edward Kessler, Director of the Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths, Dr. Kanwaljit Kaur-Singh (OBE), the Chair of the British Sikh Education Council, Mona Siddiqui (OBE) who set up the Centre for the Study of Islam at Glasgow University. Devinder Kalhan, is an alumnee of the now-not-called IDEA’s Social Care Futures programme for ‘black, Asian and minority ethnic managers across the health, education and social care sectors who are delivering services for children, families and adults’. He was also chair of the Wolverhampton Interfaith Council for 6 years and his gong is for promoting interfaith relations.
Feizal Hajat, head of the Community Safety Legal Team in Birmingham, has an OBE, while Nazir Butt of Waltham Forest has an MBE for services to community safety. (Mr. Butt cuts an occasionally controversial figure.) Kuldip Rupra is Chair of MENTER, the East of England Black and Minority Ethnic Network, with a vision to eradicate racism and inequity. Journalist Winsome-Grace Cornish has been rewarded with an MBE, recognising her work as previous editor of The Voice and at Operation Black Vote. Ainsley Forbes, a property developer and previous Assistant Director of Social Services, now at London and Quadrant Housing Association, has the MBE gong for services to social housing. Birmingham resident Jennifer Johnson’s trip to see the Queen is for her commitment to preventing youth homelessness. Parvinder Singh Lalli, of Gravesend has worked in Dartford job centre for more than six years while developing community initiatives.
A touch of business. Beverley Lindsay (OBE for business and to the community in Birmingham) set up her own travel agency and is company secretary of Black Business in Birmingham. Rajinder Mann executive director of the Black Leadership Initiative is recognised for services to black and minority ethnic people in the West Midlands. Nasser Siabi is Chief Exec. of Microlink, ‘the UK's largest independent supplier of assistive technology’. Namita Panjabi, who co-founded the popular Masala World group of Indian restaurants, is honoured for services to the hospitality industry. Mayank B. Patel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Azibo Group, is honoured for services to the financial services industry and to entrepreneurship. The Azibo Group are foreign exchange specialists.
Over to arts, we have Mia Morris, for services to black heritage and the South London community and Mr. Augustine (Pepe) Francis, Chair of the British Association of Steelbands and Director of the Ebony Steelband Trust, MBE-ed for services to pan. Twin sisters Amrit Singh and Rabindra Singh are honoured for services to the Indian miniature tradition of painting. Their story of resisting the presumption of the superiority of Western art is a satisfying read. Chief Charles Coblah Cheata Thompson, filmmaker and founder of the Screen Awards has an MBE for services to the black film industry.
On the political front, former Mayor Councillor Liaquit Ali, of Waltham Forest has an MBE for services to local government. The picture of a slightly self-conscious Cllr Ali being kissed by a former Miss Black Britain did make me smile. To stop London tipping to the north, Councillor Dora Dixon-Fyle is equally awarded in Southwark. (Cllr. Dixon-Fyle is also listed on the Internet Movie Database. There is absolutely no reason why I should be taken aback as many councillors have had rich and fulfilling lives prior to politics. But I was taken aback.) Cherron Inko-Tariah is a senior policy adviser for the Department of Communities and Local Government, currently developing Big Society Policy. She is also trying to lose weight for charity.
And now to sport. (Should I have included this in the paragraph about music?) St. Kitts-born, Bury-living Denzil Hart is recognised for his services to grassroots football. He set up a local sports club offering free sports training to children. Former ABA flyweight champion, current trainer and boxing commentator, Duke Mckenzie has an MBE as does Sheffield Legend and heptathlete, Jessica Ennis and bright-of-hair, fleet-of-foot, quick-of-Twitter triple jumper Phillips Idowu.
Azhar Hussain, is founder and CEO of eGrandPrix, the organisation behind TTXGP, the world's first sanctioned zero carbon, clean emission motorcycle race. According to the website, ‘TTXGP, the eGrandPrix is an international race series providing a high profile platform for the development of electric vehicles’. Just in case you were wondering. The multi-talented John Ameachi has an OBE for services to sport and the voluntary sector. Written like that, it seems a rather limited accolade for a man who has bust any number of stereotypes about black sportsmen.
And congratulations to Squadron leader Kevin Mehmet 1485 (Dulwich) Air Cadets, a serving officer for more than 25 years.
Finally, a MBE for the wonderful Bert Williams from my home town of Brighton for being so central to placing Black History on the agenda in East Sussex. I just wish I knew of him when I was growing up.
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