The charity Ashford Place has received £86,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to work on a project called Generations of Learning. The heritage project will bring together experiences from Irish and Pakistani immigrant communities that arrived in the 1950s and 60s in Cricklewood, north west London.
The project will help younger generations understand the reality and challenges faced by immigrant communities, as well as the invaluable contributions made. It will show how these brave communities helped to shape the place today.
Commenting on the award, Tariq Dar, Chairman of the Pakistani Community Centre, said:
“The Pakistani and Irish immigrant communities have and are making a valuable contribution to our local community in Cricklewood. With funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund they will continue this contribution by passing on their experiences, their knowledge and wisdom to our younger people who will learn new skills as well as having a mature and informed understanding of the impact of immigration on local communities.”
Those involved in the project will create an archive, a collection of oral histories and a few displays of the community’s experiences including arriving, living, working and raising families in Cricklewood, a thriving area and an industrial powerhouse in the 1950s.
The collection will highlight their economic and cultural contribution and showcase their achievements over the last 60 years, including how they staffed the factories, industries and local services.
Danny Maher, CEO at Ashford Place said the charity has strong links with these communities,
“We have been talking for years about the Irish and Pakistani influence on the life of Cricklewood and Brent. Now, thanks to National Lottery players we can record it and help our younger generation to both understand and learn from the experience of their parents and grandparents.”
Interviews and records from elders in the community will offer younger people an opportunity to see what life was like before and what Cricklewood looked like.
Ashford Place will work with younger people on the project, creating dialogues between the communities and offering them the opportunity to learn new skills such as archiving, interviewing, recording and public speaking.
Find out more about Ashford Place and stay up to date with the project on their website.