One Team, One Dream

Remarkable!
That's not a word I use so often, partly because English is not my first language. Hahaha!
The delegates at this year's @UCLan CVCL leadership bootcamp have been simply remarkable. 

A unique mix in cultural diversity and age demography. Each individual with different inspiring life stories and admirable aspirations.

Its been rewarding watching the group forming and bonding, and the interesting likes, unlikes and likes again, lol. Most importantly, it has been a pleasure to see some finding their voice and growing in confidence. 

I relish the opportunity to be part of their journey as they progress with courage and self-belief knowing that "fear kills more dreams than failure ever will". 
Cherios
Lanre Olabode

Old and Broken

I was happily breaking apart the old shoe rack this lovely Saturday morning, ready to cast the remains into the abyss of the recycling bin and then this happened:

T: What are you doing daddy
Me: I want to put this in the bin
T: Why
Me: Because it is old
T: Because it is old? (he asked with a puzzled look)
Me: And broken (now I am puzzled)
T: because its old and broken? He repeated as he walked away.

Now, this conversation got me thinking about how I may need to explain to the young man that not all things that are old and broken should be condemned to the waste bin. I know what you are thinking: I'll grow old someday... You get the gist...

It also got me reflecting on our attitude to the elderly. We need to treat them with dignity and respect even when they are unable to work, walk and serve like they faithfully did when they were younger.

Ageing is not a disease, it is the natural course of nature. With age comes wisdom and experience that should be treasured. What goes around comes around.

Got to go, I need to call Mama.

#KIDSPIRATION

I wonder what he's thinking.

This little lad has inspired me in more ways than I could have imagined. I used to talk about how we only get to watch kids channels since he started to pay attention to tv. However, I tend to enjoy some of the creative programs which I find entertaining and look forward to before school run in the morning.

I have found inspiration or #kidspiration from thinking about how to make life better for children like mine, and for young people and families. Hence my forthcoming award-winning educational card game for kids.

A wise old friend said to me yesterday, "enjoy spending time with your little one now, those days will never come back again".

Making a difference

What an incredible difference one year can make. One of the most important decisions for me in 2015 was quiting my promising job for full time a social work degree. It has been a wonderful journey.

Celebrating Nyarai

While it has not been plain sailing, I have had the privilege of meeting some amazing students and staff at UCLan who have helped to shape my experience.

Meet The Amazing UCLan SU President, Sana Iqbal

Meet The Amazing Sana Iqbal

I had an opportunity to interview Sana Iqbal, the current Student Union President of the University of Central Lancashire, and it was remarkable!



I remember our initial meeting at the welcome lobby of Greenbank lecture theater during the pre-event meet and greet of UCLan Entrepreneurial Society. A few months later, her name came up as one of the candidates for SU Presidency, I knew she could win because of her brilliance and endearing personality. What better time to publish the excerpt from the interview than today as she celebrates her 24th birthday.



Lanre: Kindly introduce yourself please.
Sana: Hi, my name is Sana, I am from Manchester. I studied Pharmacy here for four years and recently graduated. I also ran to become SU President and won and now I am here.



Lanre: At what point did you decide to run for the SU Presidency?
Sana: It wasn’t a decision I made in one day. I thought about it for days and even months, some people also spoke to me about it and I eventually just went for it.

Lanre: Was there anyone in particular who inspired you?
Sana: I got a lot of support from Josie Linsel, the outgoing SU president, she inspired me by the way she performed and the amazing things she did during her time. Gareth Pye (Director of Engagement & Support, UCLan) was someone who also helped me get here by encouraging me to get involved in student politics right from my second year at the university.



Lanre: Would you consider mainstream politics when you leave the university?
Sana: (Laughs) No, definitely not. I have other career aspirations and politics isn’t one of them.

Lanre: What advice would you give to Blacks and Minority Ethnics (BME) students/graduates in the UK?
Sana: Seize every opportunity possible. It is easy to be complacent and to get stuck in your comfort zone and wanting to stick with your own group of friends. But, it is very important to break out of that. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be in the position I am now. Our University and the Student Union pride ourselves in our diversity but it all depend to students getting involved.



Lanre: If you can send a message to your younger self, what would it be?
Sana: (Laughs) my younger self, oh gosh! I would say, believe in yourself, be a lot more confident, and believe you can do this.

Lanre: It has been nice interviewing you. Thank you very much
Sana: My pleasure

Follow the link below to listen to the full audio interview:

DIVERSITY POD INTERVIEWS SANA IQBAL

How Volunteering Saved My Life

At different stages and places I have found myself, volunteering has proven to be a potent source of inspiration and opportunities to accomplish great things. I guess one could say that volunteering is freely offering one’s skills, talents, time or just taking off your gloves and getting involved with an organisation or a project without expecting payment.

I traced back my volunteering journey to when as a young adult I volunteered with the youth wing of my then church. Attractive visuals and “fresh” outlook always make an impression on me, and I recall helping to refresh the look of the meeting space every weekend and the invigorating impact it had on the young people.

One of my most memorable experience with this group was when we decided to carry out a social action project from zero budget. A bunch of mostly high school teenagers led by an unemployed high school leaver. Out of all the suggested projects, we managed to settle for the hardest to achieve: Revamp a disused library of a local high school in the community.

And just in case you are probably wondering how we got on, well here is what we did:

1. We washed every church member’s car on a Sunday for donations.
2. We used the donations to design and print Easter greeting cards that we sold to members, family and friends.

3. We then used the funds to pay a decorator, an electrician and a woodwork man for repairs at the library while we did the hard labour of cleaning and removing unwanted items from the room. We recreated the space good enough for students to go in and read and that was joyful.

4. We even had time to share our faith with the students at the end of the week.

I know I am making a case for volunteering and you may want to ask how volunteering saved me, I wasn’t actually dying in the real sense of it, but as a young person who had somehow lost zest and motivation, this volunteering experience as well as many others I undertook, steered me in the path of renewed commitment to my Christian faith and a firm believe that I can make a positive difference in my life and that of others.

Lanre Olabode

Deliciously feeshy Cyprus

What a relief! It has been a very intensive last few days of GYS Leadership facilitator's training delivered by the duo of efficient Yasmeen Ali and amazing Wajid Khan.








Get ready world, a new breed of youth peer leadership trainers have been unleached! Bring on conflict resolution and community mediation. Lol!



After catching a breather, we headed for Ayia Napa for a celebratory dinner while visiting tourist attractions along the way led by our fantastic tour guide.






We visited a beautiful St. Angla Church next to the lake, Nissi beach, Greek cave and we had a walk round Ayia Napa after the deliciously "feeshy"meal at Ocean Basket.







The highlight of the day was the opportunity to celebrate with a newly married couple by the lake in Agia Napa, it was an absolutely heartwarming climax to a fabulous day.

Sunset in Cyprus

Day two of UCLan GYS facilitator's training and its hard to imagine that we have only been here for 5 days, it is beginning to feels like home.

At the end of the day's session, we embarked on a visit to two of Cyprus' amazing attractions, Salt Lake and Hala Sultan mosque. We enjoyed walking right in the middle of the lake and it was beautiful, yeah except there is no water in the lake. Lol.

As we approached the Hala Sultan mosque, the burial place of Prophet Mohammed's (SAW) aunt, we were in awe of the beautiful landscape casted by the edifice, an amazing Ottoman architecture.

There is a calming serenity about the place typical of ancient religious places of worship. And there was the cat that (now famous) for enjoying a good petting and a quick nap on Tania 's bag.

It was fantastic watching the sunset on our way back as we all walked "on the Salt Lake" and laughed about Taahirah's 2km run for a toilet.

Lanre Olabode.

GYS Ready, Set, Go! UCLan Cyprus

After two days of getting to know the city,  we made our way to the University of Central Lancashire Campus in Pyla, Cyprus. I must say we were all struck by the wow factor at the breathtaking design of the building and the state of the art facilities on offer.

We couldn't resist the appeal for selfies before getting into the training room for the first day of training.

And as expected, the day had an epic ending with pool volleyball and pizza party at the UCLan student accommodation.