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Practical English session’s participants with the Chairman & Teacher |
Conducted by: Gorkha Zilla Gurung Samaj UK (GZGSUK)
(Registered Charity Number: 1175191)
Participants: Senior citizens (over 50), Nepalese migrants, family migrants, Ex-Gurkha veterans
Grant: The National Lottery Community Fund awards grant to voluntary or community organisations and public sector organisations who are eligible to apply for 12 months of project funding. This programme supports people to bring about positive changes in their community. Our project has been approved and granted £9995.00.
Project activities:
1. Practical English Language sessions for Senior citizens (26 sessions), this helps bringing people together and integrate these minority ethnic and isolated groups to other diverse communities.
2. Health and safety awareness session (1 session of 3 hours) which will help participants to be aware about the local GP access and familiarise them with other health related issues as well as to familiarise the pedestrian road safety and the traffic rules and also to make them aware about how to remain safe against fraudulent activities
and theft. Programme will also promote healthy lifestyle for senior citizens of minority community like Nepalese Ex-Gurkha families.
3. Educational and entertainment visits to historical places - which helps the participants to know about the British history Cultures and values.
The overall aim of this project: to provide support to the senior citizens among the ethnic minority communities in the local areas residing in the Aldershot in order to address their loneliness and isolation and hence to improve their quality of life.
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| Teacher Mr Rohitkumar conducting the class |
Expected outcome of the project: After the completion of the project we expect to achieve the following changes:
1. Targeted participants start sharing their feelings among each other and among cross-cultured people which helps them for social integration
2. The project will also prompt to socialise regularly and mingle in groups to overcome the adverse effects of their isolation.
3. Targeted group are expected to start finding their companion independently even after the completion of project to reduce their isolation.
Project Execution:
Seven weeks (26 hours) of basic practical English lessons commenced from Sunday, 26 January 2020 at Shiva Cultural community hall, Aldershot. Total of 36 senior citizens from the Gurkha community attended the three hours sessions. The sessions will be conducted during the weekends until second week of March 2020. 90% of the participants are elderly ladies who are so eager to learn or improve their practical English language.
Introduction of Practical English lessons
All participants were assembled in the community hall around 11 am. After the light refreshment Chairman of Gurkha Zilla Gurung Samaj UK Mr Phadakjit Gurung welcomed the participants and introduced their English Teacher Mr Rohitkumar Gurung. Executive Committee members Treasurer Mr Dinesh Gurung, Media secretary Mr Suryaman Gurung and Mrs chairman Tika Gurung were present to witness the initiation of the project. The aim and activity of the project was briefly explained to the participants. Basic practical English lessons will be conducted until second week of March 2020. After the 26 hours of practical English lessons, the participants are expected to seat on the practical English test which should earn them achievement certificates that will be presented at the end of the sessions.
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| Participants concentrating the lesson |
English teacher initiated the class by explaining how to remember the home addresses in English when situation aroused. It was so painful to discover that how our senior citizens struggled even to pronounce their home addresses. It is hoped that after 26 hours of practical English lessons, they should be able to communicate fairly if not comfortably with the other communities when needed.