26/10/2023
The organisation, formerly known as Aik Saath, hosted civic leaders, young people, parents and funders at the Copthorne Hotel on Friday, October 20.
More than 250 people showed their support to young people’s charity, Together As One at its 25-year anniversary celebration in Slough last week.
The organisation, formerly known as Aik Saath, hosted civic leaders, young people, parents and funders at the Copthorne Hotel on Friday, October 20.
Attendees were treated to music and dance performances as well as a screening of a short film featuring words from local and national leaders on community cohesion.
Together as One CEO Rob Deeks said: “The atmosphere was fantastic. It was a really lovely mix of people and we couldn’t have asked for more.
“There’s a lot of tension all over the world right now, and maybe some of the approaches that Together As One has developed over the years, is what we need more of.”
The charity was established in response to gang violence between young people from Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities of Slough and Southall in the mid-1990s.
The conflict received national media attention and Channel 4 documentary ‘The Peacemaker’ aired in March 1998, where producers asked conflict resolution expert, Dr Dudley Weeks, to mediate between the gangs and successfully prevented conflict from escalating.
To build a lasting peace, Dr Weeks advocated for a conflict resolution group led by young people, which resulted in the formation of Aik Saath, meaning ‘Together As One’ in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.
The project quickly evolved to work with all young people, regardless of their faith or background.
Founding volunteer Selmah Chaudhary said: “In the 90s, the conflict within our community was scary – even for adults.
"The project started with just three of us learning conflict resolution skills and sharing them with other young people. I’m proud of everybody that’s a part of it. I was part of the beginning but it’s brilliant to see it develop the way it has.”
On Friday (October 20), Together As One chair of trustees, Jamie Hassan, opened the event with a speech which singled out trustee, Janet Morgan, who has served the charity since its inception 25 years ago.
In attendance were Slough mayor, Amjad Abassi, and High Sheriff of Berkshire, Simon Muir, as well as Slough MP, Tan Dhesi, and Deputy Lieutenant Geraldine Lejeune OBE.
Rob praised the contributions of alumni and current volunteers and thanked everyone in attendance for their continued support.
He also discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and praised the young volunteers who stepped up to run vaccination centres, giving 1,666 hours of their time and cooking for NHS staff.
The charity’s spoken word project, Empoword, showcased performances from poets Aditi and Desree; as well as a song by one of the charity’s alumnus, Kuran Dohil; and dances from partners, Creative Academy.
Ramesh Kukar, CEO of Slough Council for Voluntary Services said: “The charity is a bridge builder, bringing different communities together. The community harmony that they have achieved is quite phenomenal.”
Kulbir Brar, community and diversity officer at Thames Valley Police added: “Because of our great relationship with Together As One we’ve been able to collaborate on several projects over the years.
“I think that a lot of the reasons why Slough is a cohesive town with some really great positive young role models, that younger generations can aspire to be like, is because of the hard work that TAO has done over the last 25 years. The town would be a very different place without them in it.”