Story and selfie by Safiya Saeed
I am Safiya Saeed (Berberaawi) and have lived in Sheffield for 36 years. With no English, I was determined to learn the language to support my family. I opened a Salon in Burngreave 2005 where I won the Cosmopolitan Fearless Female of the year, next day I was a guest at No.10 Downing Street.
When my fithth child was born, I decided to close the salon and become a full-time mum. I’ve always been active at my children’s schools, setting up parents’ groups, advocacy and translation or simply bridging the communication gap between parents and the School.
I’ve always volunteered with young people and families, bringing resources in the Burngreave area or taking part in meetings and discussions. My main concern was how much negative impact my children would suffer if I didn’t try to change their environment by keeping the area safe and bringing positive change.
It’s early days in my new role as Burngreave Labour councillor but I am determined to bring positive physical change, with the help of my colleagues.
I am proud of my area and Sheffield as a whole, for giving me an opportunity to represent their voices. I strongly believe that no one can change the community alone, it takes unity, passion and teamwork. We are very lucky in Burngreave, there is a wide range of cultural backgrounds, green spaces, large numbers of volunteers doing lots of work.
We want to empower job fairs, benefit advocacy, youth work and businesses forum networks. Not forgetting the overwhelming negative impact of Covid-19 many families and businesses have suffered and we will continue supporting them until they are back on their feet.
The climate change emergency is top of my list, because our future depends on it. Our New Deal aims to achieve most emissions reductions by 2030 in a way that is evidence based. Greener transport, greener jobs, carbon free housing.
Families and young people are my passion; we must address the pandemic and the suffering for many families, and aid access to help and advocacy. As a youth coordinator, I know many young people do not have the support of a clear pathway to recovery for their mental health and access to support with education, jobs and regular activities. We are investing £2 million into youth services, and supporting and creating more resources for grassroots organisations and charities and highlighting their success, which will help their sustainability
Please vote to continue to see change, people are the real voices in this city. Volunteer in your area, it’s a great way to develop personal and social skills, it reduces isolation and you can make new friends.
Next time you see me, please say Hi.
