Balsall Heath Community Festival starts in just 23 Days! We’ve been finalising events, preparing banners, and will have all out at next Second Saturday, 13th June 2026, The Old Print Works, to put the finishing touches together with everyone.
To reflect the old Carnival preparations, we’ll be painting a giant bill board this Saturday, listing all the fabulous activities, all FREE over the ten days of the festival.
Jane Thakoordin worked with Sewing Solidarity, a collaborative project with GAP Arts a young people focused creative project in Balsall Heath, 2025. Working over several sessions, a diverse group of young people engaged in discussions about their relationship to local community. Drawing on the traditions of union banner making, they co-designed a series of small hangings and a larger banner.
The banners are exhibited permanently at GAP Arts and the larger banner is available for local organisations and groups to borrow for community events, as it will be for #BHCFest26 The phrase “Strength in our Community” was written by a young participant of the Sewing Solidarity project.
2016 CarnivalJayne Thakoordin’s Banner for Balsall HeathColouring competition 2010Retrofit Model House in action in The Old Print Works Cafe 2026Fun at the Carnival 19951977 Float and banners2004 dressing up fun2016 costumes2004 Carnival Banner
Balsall Heath has seen many changes over the decades, reflecting it’s rich and every changing culture. Ten interpretation panels will be installed ready for Balsall Heath Community Festival, linked to the fabulous images of Mick Turner as well as archive images and present day photography. The Tramworks is a Listed building of historical significance. A truly grand tramwork purpose built and specially designed to be in keeping with the ‘select residential area’ around it.
Climber and Manager Joe outside Creation Climbing Centre, next to the history panel.
Jago, a regular climber finds out about Trams in Brum
Jago, a regular climber at Creation Climbing Centre said:
‘It’s really cool that these buildings aren’t demolished or lost.’
Reflections of the Carnival
The history panels will be ready for Balsall Heath Community Festival, 3rd to 13th July #BHCFest26. Balsall Heath Local History Society (BHLHS) have been selecting Archive images, talking to residents, businesses and local organisations to reflect our history in the panels. For more of the images and stories we are linking via QR code on our panels to ‘In Changing Times‘ resources. We will be building on these to keep our history alive and updated as Balsall Heath changes.
BHLHS are also preparing a touring ‘Balsall Heath Carnival Exhibition’ to run alongside many of the events happening as part of the Festival. The Carnival used to be on the first weekend of July, and while nothing can replace it, the Festival is one way we are hoping to continue celebrating our community and building pride in it.
If you’ve ever been to a local ward meeting (and let’s face it, not many people have) you probably won’t be counting the days to the next one. Not so in Balsall Heath West as newly elected Councillor Duncan Ali injected some hope, enthusiasm, discussion and plans for action.
I was expecting a drafty community hall, broken plastic chairs, and hours watching a couple of dull, old men dominate the microphone, designed to exhaust and depress. I didn’t expect a packed room, fabulous food, chat with old friends and meeting people I had seen before, and now I can say hello to on Moseley Road.
Why Ward Meetings Matter
Birmingham City Council state ward meetings are a local gathering focused entirely on topics important to the people in a specific area. It’s designed to give residents a direct way to help shape their immediate community through Ward Action Plans. Our last Action Plan (Be Bold, Be Balsall Heath West) breaks down ‘Priorities’ into ‘Actions’ using a spreadsheet matrix (not completely unreadable).
It’s a semi-formal chat which should in theory give residents a say in the budgets, policies, and changes impacting our daily lives. The problem has always been how it happens.
Warm, Welcoming, Well fed
Early on there was a promise of food – a waft of curry from the next room, while a series of local organisations were given three minute slots to introduce themselves. Then it was time for food and informal chat. Tables were set out with QR codes and ‘Priority Areas’ like Youth, Housing, Bins… You were encouraged to chat with each other and to continue the chat later on the WhatsApp groups linked on the tables. For those from an ‘education’ background from 1990s, you might recognise ‘Unconference’, ‘Teachmeet’ or ‘Open space’ type structure. There were no long, agonizing slideshows or exclusive podiums. Instead, the room was broken down into smaller, breakout groups.
Everyone was made welcome, and free delicious food on offer helped a relaxed atmosphere where we could discuss important issues, not least the Balsall Heathan and Balsall Heath Community Festival.
Voices from the Floor
First of all, Duncan gave quick quote from an American President about ‘Asking what you can do for Balsall Heath’, and explained the delay in forming a BCC Administration (announcement soon!), then there were some quick intros – here’s some of them:
‘We’ve got a team of people, volunteers, passionate about what we do…any parents want to get involved, you’re more than welcome, we’re just down the road, based in Clifton…’
‘We’ve got twenty odd sites across Balsall Heath East and West…We run regular volunteer sessions, three or four a week…Growing plants that provide food for nature, and for us, for you guys.’
‘My first hat is basically I am a human being. We all share this. We are human beings that…he [Duncan] has the moral compass, wiht others of course, supporting the innocent people in Gaza.’
‘I’d like to quote another great American President, President Roosevelt in the Great Depression in America in the 1930s…’What on earth can we do?’ and Roosevelt would say to them, ‘Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.’
‘I want to say thank you, normally when someone gets elected we cdon’t see them again until they’re knocking on our doors four years later…we need to work together to close the gap of inequality.’
The work, activism, and lasting influence of photographer Rhonda Wilson are being brought back into the light in a brand-new exhibition, Seeing Rhonda, making its debut alongside the official launch of the Rhonda Wilson Community Archive at The Old Print Works.
Spanning more than three decades of work from the 1980s to the 2010s, this project is a tribute to a woman who changed the cultural landscape of our city.
Photographer and Activist
She was a photographer, journalist, educator, cultural entrepreneur and activist, championing Birmingham women and social change through her photography, tackling issues like low pay, homelessness, and women’s representation.
Photographs, letters, posters and publications sit alongside personal notes, sketches and overlooked ephemera, revealing how she worked, collaborated and built opportunities for others.
“It is very fitting to have Rhonda’s archive in Balsall Heath where, in 1989, she set up the Poseurs Studio and Gallery with fellow photographer Ming de Nasty. The process of uncovering letters of thanks, rolls of her photographs and her personal notes is both exciting and profoundly moving.” Dr Annette Naudin
From co-founding Poseurs Studio and Gallery in the late 1980s to developing influential initiatives such as Seeing the Light (founded 1995) and Rhubarb-Rhubarb (founded 1999). Personal letters included in the archive offer a powerful insight into Wilson’s impact, documenting how her support shaped careers and opened doors for emerging photographers. The archive and exhibition bring into focus the contributions of women too often absent from formal collections, and reframing Birmingham’s cultural history through their work.
“We are delighted to host the Rhonda Wilson Community Archive here at The Old Print Works and to have the opportunity to shine a light on this important part of the city’s cultural history. Rhonda’s influence and impact on photographers and creatives is evident and we look forward to developing the archive further.” Hannah Greenwood & Rebecca Tura, Interim Co-CEOs, The Old Print Works
Archive material, Rhonda Wilson community archive. Image courtesy The Old Print Works.
“She thrived on creativity, she based her world upon it…One of the last things she said to me recently was ‘If an image can hold you for a second, then take you on a journey somewhere secret, peaceful or magical or tell a story to the viewer, it’s a true reflection of the person that made it’. To the very end she talked about light.” John McQueen
Plan Your Visit
The exhibition is free (though donations to support the archive are very welcome!).
The monthly newsletter published by the Balsall Heath Local History Society (BHLHS) in Birmingham, UK. It serves as both a community bulletin and a historical record for the area.
What’s Inside the Gazette?
The publication typically includes a mix of current news and historical research:
Historical Articles: Local stories and accounts of local landmarks – the social history of the Balsall Heath and Highgate areas.
Photographic Archives: Rare images of the neighbourhood from various eras.
Society Updates: Information on upcoming monthly meetings, guest speakers, and local heritage events.
It is published monthly and has been a staple of the society for years with digital archives dating back to at least 2010. Distributed to members, recent and archived editions are also made available as PDF downloads on the official BHLHS website and on the Heathan.
This is the first of what are going to be regular updates on the progress being made with the transformation of the baths and the library (MRB and BHL for short) by Joe Holyoak. Thanks Joe!
What is happening?
An enormous investment is being put into these two landmark buildings on Moseley Road in Balsall Heath. Although the two buildings will remain in the ownership of the City Council, the transformation is the work of what we call the Coalition. This consists of six bodies: the City Council, the MRB Charitable Incorporated Organisation (MRBCIO), the National Trust, Historic England, World Monuments Fund, and the Friends of MRB.
Together they have raised £36.5 million. This will be spent on two phases of work: we are currently in Phase 1, with the contractors Galliford Try. For the first time, the two buildings have been connected. At the end of Phase 1 work on the library will be completed, and it will reopen in 2027, enlarged with the addition of a new mezzanine floor. The majority of the funding for Phase 1 came from the government’s Levelling-Up Fund, now called the Local Regeneration Fund.
Work is also proceeding in Phase 1 on parts of the baths, particularly the conversion of the washing baths at the front of the building. The major work will be in Phase 2, with the reopening of the Gala Pool for swimming. Pool 2, previously used for swimming, will be boarded over and become a venue for music, film, weddings, and so on. Announced in May was a £9.2 million grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, which completes the funding for Phase 2.
Astonishing achievement from brink of closure
Only ten years ago, Moseley Road Baths was threatened with closure. To be now proceeding towards completion of a £36.5 million transformation, including Balsall Heath Library, is an astonishing achievement. It is going to offer everyone in Balsall Heath a great range of facilities to enjoy. More information can be found on the website moseleyroadbaths.org.uk.
Future updates in The Heathan Will give more detailed news on the progress of the building contract, thanks Joe!
Visit the Baths at Balsall Heath Community Festival
To be confirmed dates and times, Moseley Road Baths and Library are offering a tour (Joe is one of the volunteer guides) as part of our Community Festival 3rd-13th July #BHCFest26.
Retrofit Balsall Heath showcased their fabulous retro model house. Their team ran interactive activities and chatted with residents about how to insulate Balsall Heath’s beautiful (but sometimes drafty!) older housing stock to help cut down energy bills. The model house itself has travelled a fair bit already to local schools, and will be taking to the pavement again for Balsall Heath Community Festival. You’ll get another chance to see the model house in action, taking pride of place in our “East West Retrofit Procession” on Sunday, 5th July, the third day of our mammoth ten-day community celebration!
Retrofit Model House in action in The Old Print Works Cafe
Colouring competition returns
Long-time residents will fondly remember the iconic colouring competitions from the old Balsall Heath Carnival days (1977–2016). Back then, local schools and local organisations would distribute posters, and families would proudly display the finished masterpieces in their front windows for the judges to spot while walking the streets, with fabulous prizes up for grabs!
We loved that tradition so much that we are bringing it back for 2026!
Share your progress, your finished windows, and festival excitement using the hashtag #BHCFest26!
Carnival 2010Carnival CertificateWelcoming all! Retofit invite everyone for free snacks and activities at the Old Print WorksRetrofitting our cityColouring in competition 2009Keywords: Poster;2008;CarnivalCarnival 2010Sharing ideas at the Old Print WorksSharing the Carnival vibe and Greening Balsall Heath
For two and a half weeks I have been working as the Green Party councillor for Balsall Heath West and I am pleased to have the opportunity to share some first impressions with you here in the Heathan magazine.
Having gradually ramped up our election campaign running up to May 7th a short rest period might have been expected but we seem to have only accelerated faster since then with our own internal elections from amongst the 19 new green councillors- proud to announce an experienced and effective leader- Julien Pritchard and also very proud to announce that we elected Kamel Hawwash (our very own Palestinian Brummie) as deputy leader. As well as internal elections we have been engaged with coalition talks and negotiations involving many late night meetings. Due to Labour refusals to work with us we are looking at putting together a minority administration with the Lib Dems and some of the more principled independents. Soon come!
Casework has been piling in and I am working out a systematic process to deal with each situation fairly and robustly – I am also still very busy working as SENDCo in a large primary school so I am appealing for patience from ward members – after September I will be able to reduce my hours significantly and some more things will be sorted out them.
Community Action Meeting
Sunday 31st May 5:30-8pm, Balsall Heath Church Centre, 100 Mary Street
Join us for an evening of collaboration and change, with lcal organisations, neighbours and share ideas and take action on issues that matter to our community with Councillor Duncan Ali. Together we can make a difference!
Calthorpe Park, Birmingham’s first Public Park, was opened in 1857 for the ‘public health’ of people in Balsall Heath. We’re celebrating the achievements of Balsall Heathans living locally making a positive impact (first panel at Seven Streets Pocket Park)
Dan Burwood from Fruit and Nut Village helped locate and install Calthorpe Park Panel:
“I’m really happy to see the history of these places. It links with what we’re doing now, to engage people with being in green spaces differently. Trying to grow perennial food, share skills around that kind of thing [links] with what was here before. I think that helps us to imagine what might be here in the future.”
Dan Burwood with the new interpretation board on the corner between Cheddar and Edward Roads
“It’s heartening to see how these things shift because we’re growing edible perennial. Food, lots of fruit trees, nut trees in these Parks now. And people were doing that before. I think the way things are isn’t the way things have to continue to be.”
Traditional allotments (some previously nearby on Edward Road) are ‘allocated’ for individual use. Fruit & Nut Village designs and plants forest gardens, community orchards, and edible hedges that belong to everyone. They focus on perennial food crops, meaning plants, bushes, and trees that live for many years. They support communities to be more self-sufficient and work in local spaces to provide freely abundant food.
Growing Together in Calthorpe Park
Fruit and Nut Village and Friends of the Earth Postcode Gardeners work together supporting many sites near existing Parks and in more urban spaces, including:
The Calthorpe Interfaith Community Orchard, located in Calthorpe Park is a true testament to Balsall Heath’s diverse community. It regularly hosts interfaith tree-plantings and celebrations. It will be a part of our Balsall Heath Community Festival, bringing people of all backgrounds and faiths together to share food under the shade of fruit trees.
Partnering with Anawim (Birmingham’s Centre for Women), Fruit & Nut Village hosts regular site planning and care sessions on Mary Street. They creat safe, therapeutic, and educational spaces where women can connect with nature and learn sustainable growing skills. Find out more on 3rd July event, the launch of Balsall Heath Community Festival.
Seven Streets Pocket Park, also a part of our Commuity Festival as part of our ‘Green Trail’ on 5th July.
Get Involved at Calthorpe Park
The beauty of a forest garden is that it thrives on collective care. Whether you have a green thumb or have never touched a trowel in your life, there’s always a space for you. You can join a relaxed weekday care session, drop into a weekend workshop, or simply stop by to enjoy the peace and quiet of the orchards.
Keep an eye on their social channels or local noticeboards for upcoming Balsall Heath sessions—and next time you’re walking through the neighborhood, look up! You might just find your next healthy snack growing right above your head.
The Heritage Fund grant comes on top of £5.1m from Birmingham City Council. This is part of a £10 million total commitment to the project. Other large contributions: £350,000 Garfield Weston Foundation, £250,000 Architectural Heritage Fund, £50,000 Edward Cadbury Trust. and £12,000 Saintbury Trust.
The funding means additional air heat pumps will keep energy costs down on top of existing Phase 2 commitments:
Full restoration of the iconic Gala Pool, including a restored mezzanine gallery and a new accessible ground-floor public viewing area
Conversion of Pool 2 into a flexible event space
Transformation of the Women’s Slipper Baths into a community health & wellbeing hub
Reimagining of the Men’s Second Class Slipper Baths as a community gym
Development of the boiler room into a flexible studio space
Due to open in 2028, there will be employment and training opportunities for local people, new accessibility features. Changing Places facilities (poolside and dryside), pool hoist and pod, lift and ramp access, and wheelchair-accessible changing and viewing areas. Moseley Road Baths will be, for the first time in its history, truly welcoming to all. Phase two will “effectively remove Moseley Road Bath’s at risk status”.
Get ready to celebrate Balsall Heath this Summer. If you’ve taken a stroll through Seven Streets Pocket Park today, you might have noticed a fantastic new addition. The very first of our community history interpretation boards has officially been installed!
Hywell from the Friends of Seven Streets Park was on hand, watering redcurrant bushes and sunflowers planted below and shared his excitement:
“I think it looks great, fits in well, and it’s good for people to see a bit more about the area.”
This beautiful new panel is just the beginning. It is the first of eight historical interpretation panels popping up across Balsall Heath this year as we gear up for a massive summer of celebration.
Walking Through Time and Balsall Heath
Trails are at the absolute heart of our 2026 celebrations – our Balsall Heath Community Festival includes a Green Trail, a Heritage Trail and a Faith Trail taking place between 3rd and 13th July. There is no better way to experience Balsall Heath than by walking through, and perhaps with local organisations and volunteers so proud of where they live.
For months, the Balsall Heath Local History Society has been deep in the archives, dusting off old photographs and uncovering the fascinating, untold stories of Balsall Heath and the incredible people who have shaped it. Working alongside brilliant local partners, these discoveries have been brought to life in a series of interpretation panels.
They mix community memories, rare achival photos and each board links via QR code to yet more online resources, photography audio, film and more. It is a part of our living history and we intend to maintain and update the signs and the resources as Balsall Heath grows and changes.
Get Ready for a Summer of Celebration!
The trail launch is part of a much bigger wave of excitement. Balsall Heath is getting ready for a spectacular summer as Believe in Balsall Heath launches an unforgettable series of events.
Mark your calendars for July 3rd to 13th! The Balsall Heath Community Festival, celebrating our community with FREE activities and opportunity to share the joy of Balsall Heath!
We Need Your Stories!
History is about our lives and our memories. We want to make sure every voice is heard. Is there a local story, a neighborhood legend, or a piece of history we’ve missed? Let us know or drop us a message. Help us keep the rich story of Balsall Heath growing!
Keep your eyes peeled for the next seven panels appearing in your neighborhood soon. Happy exploring!
Hywell From Friends of Seven Streets with Marcus, Balsall Heath Local History Society
This year marks an incredible, historic milestone for Anawim, an organization that has served as a sanctuary, a lifeline, and a beacon of hope for women in Balsall Heath, is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Liz Berry captures the spirit of Anawim’s mission, honouring the unsung, resilient women of Balsall Heath and Birmingham:
Psalm (after Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Psalm III’)
Illuminate all women. Beginning with Balsall Heath, at dawn. With the ghost of Sister Maisie bringing tea to the sex workers; with the women in red aprons laying out jigsaws in the nursery; the cleaners coming home from Corporation Street on the 50, eyes flickering shut in the heater’s warmth. Illuminate the nurses leaving for the early shift, windscreen wipers on, radio crooning; the mothers cutting toast into triangles, stepping toddlers from their wet pyjamas; the girl making love, eyes closed, still half-asleep, feeling water rise through her like the cut being thawed. Illuminate the insomniacs in their kitchens in the fading dark, night nearly behind them; the college girls and their sisters, asleep in shared box rooms, phones in hand, always waiting for his message. Inshallah. The woman who begs for money at the Middleway junction, scabs on her wrists and round her mouth like poppies; the one who dozes in a tent in the bushes, the one so thin with a little star tattooed on her cheek and her eyebrows painted black. Illuminate the women praying; the women doing yoga foreheads to the floor in child’s pose; the old women who lie stiff with arthritis, remembering, as girls, how frost furred the inside of the windows, wondering how early they can ring their daughters; daughters boiling kettles and stripping bedsheets, turning on the radio to Kath, in her windowless studio: “Good morning, Birmingham, I’m with you all the way until 6 …” Illuminate them all. Let the buried Rea be a blast of light.
LIZ BERRY
Liz Berry’s collections of poems include Black Country, 2014, The Republic of Motherhood, 2018, and The Home Child, 2023.
Parenting is a beautiful, rewarding, and sometimes incredibly overwhelming journey. No matter what stage you are in, having a supportive community can make all the difference. We’re delighted to share that Approachable Parenting, based in Balsall Heath, is launching a range of supportive programmes and workshops designed to empower, guide, and connect parents. Whether you are looking for practical advice, health insights, or just a safe space to chat, we have something for you.
Here is everything coming up and how you can get involved!
Chit, Chat & Chai Workshops
Grab a cuppa and join us for relaxed, informative sessions focused on wellbeing and community solidarity.
The early years are crucial for your child’s development—and your own confidence as a parent. Our tailored 0–3 programmes offer practical tools and expert guidance. Spaces fill up fast, so please secure your place early!
0–3 Parenting Programme (Online)
Starting: 13th May
Perfect for: Busy schedules or parenting from the comfort of home.
Are you part of a school or community organisation supporting families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)? We want to partner with you! We are now offering tailored workshops and drop-in sessions specifically designed for your groups. Get in touch with our team to find out how we can support your community.
How to Refer a Family
If you are a professional or a friend looking to support a family who would benefit from our services, you can refer them directly to us using our quick online form:
Don’t miss out on future updates, parenting tips, and upcoming workshop announcements. Join our community mailing list to stay in the loop (or opt out at any time).
If you have any questions or would like to collaborate, please feel free to reach out. We’d absolutely love to hear from you!
Warmest regards,
The Approachable Parenting Team
Approachable Parenting CIC is an award-winning non-profit organisation offering families culturally sensitive parenting programmes and services that integrate psychological principles and techniques from the Muslim faith.
Naseem Akhtar BEM looks back on the challenges growing up and growing strong in Balsall Heath. She has spent over 20 years inspiring and encouraging thousands of women in Birmingham and, with the Saheli Hub team, transformed lives through activity.
Naseem has lived in Balsall Heath nearly all her life. Growing up in Balsall Heath in the 70s and 80s, Naseem recalls hiding where she came from when at school in nearby Selly Park:
I genuinely used to hide that I was from Balsall Heath…I used to say, ‘just by Cannon Hill Park’, or ‘by the Edgbaston Cricket Ground’.
For a young girl in a traditional Muslim household with five brothers, the streets were off-limits. ‘I thought I wasn’t allowed out because I was an Asian girl. Looking back, I wouldn’t let my sons out now, knowing what was happening on those corners.’ Balsall Heath was then known for street prostitution and drug dealling.
‘It’s only when I became a teenager it kind of almost started to become like that 24-hour service. So, you’d see women on the streets in the morning, noon and night and growing up in a kind of traditional Muslim household, no one ever discussed what these women were doing or what it was about…I think that the day that I was really kind of horrified was when I stopped at my doctor surgery, who’s still my doctor, amazing doctor on Cheddar Road, and I remember one day walking past and a woman was sitting in a bikini. I thought what’s that about? But nobody talked about it.’
The Thread of Activism
Naseem’s journey into advocacy started in a local sewing factory at 19 when she realized she was being paid a third of what she thought she should. She went to the ‘low pay unit’ with her brother and photocopied leaflets, distributing them to every woman in the building.
‘…it was on piece work. And some people got the best pieces and some people didn’t, and I didn’t like it. But what I loved in the factory was that it was a lot of Asian girls. As an adult having left school with no real qualifications – I wasn’t allowed to go to College or Uni because Margaret Thatcher had come along and she’d shut all the colleges, unless you went to mix college. And in my generation, many girls weren’t allowed…because of the fact that they’re mixed.’
It was a hard lesson in leadership. “I was ostracized by half the factory,” she admits:
‘I learnt you can’t be an unelected leader by yourself. You have to bring people with you. I stayed for six months to prove a point, then got a job that paid the full £150. I went back to the old factory and showed them my wage slip. I wanted them to know you can get paid properly if you find the right employer.’
Saheli – a Vision Born of Rejection
By the early 2000s, Balsall Heath was changing. The community – churches, mosques, and residents – had reclaimed the streets from the sex trade. But for Asian women, “social exclusion” remained. Naseem joined the Balsall Heath Forum:
‘They could see I was really committed and so they offered me the job. Initially I was too scared to take it – my brother had completed the application for me and I got the interview…I got the job and started from there. So the Forum then employed me to see what women wanted and we secured funding for a feasability study.’
What they wanted was a health and fitness facility run by women, for women:
‘They wanted to do a swimming exercise, Fitness and Sport, and when we asked them why aren’t you using the biggest Sports Centre on the edge of your neighbourhood, they said because they felt nobody understood their culture. The women-only times were very limited by the time you got in and changed you needed to change back…it wasn’t suitable, so they just didn’t go.’
Responses to the feasibility study were dismissive – NHS services said ‘We don’t do leisure, we do health’, and City Council Leisure staff said, ‘That’s never going to happen’.
Naseem partnered with South and City College, starting in ‘The Learning Library’ one day a week. Soon, women were flooding in. Women who came for the gym ended up staying for ESOL classes and vocational training offered by the college too:
‘We changed in one of the side offices. And the numbers just started to go through the roof. So we started in April, I always remember that, and by September we had a meeting they said just have that bit of the site, just have it. And so we ended up using the site Monday to Friday.’
A big break came from a moment of raw honesty at a high-level regeneration conference. Naseem was given seven minutes to speak. She told a room full of suits that despite £6 million being spent on “regeneration” in her area, nothing had changed for women and girls. That honesty caught the ear of a funder from Sport England. He asked for a one-page vision. Naseem sent him a photo of local girls in hijabs and helmets, splashed with mud, beaming after a day of mountain biking in a ravine.
Today, the Saheli Hub stands as a testament to what happens when you stop telling a community what they need and start listening to what they want.
Naseem’s ‘radical’ ideas – that women from all backgrounds deserve to take up space, ride bikes, and prioritize their health – have helped build a bridge to a healthier future for women and men.
From a girl who was once ‘walked to her friend’s house by her brothers for safety,’ Naseem has been walking, running and biking with an entire community in Balsall Heath and across Birmingham.
Naseem is the project manager at Saheli Hub, a charity in Balsall Heath run by women for women, which aims to improve health and wellbeing and encourage participation in exercise and sport. The hub is based in Calthorpe Park and operates out of three wellbeing centres and two GP practices.
Since starting the charity in 1998, Naseem set up The Young Sahelis, a youth club for girls aged 14-25; The Saheli Running Club, which has seen over 75 women run half marathons and seven women complete full marathons; and The Saheli Cycling Club which has taught over 2,000 women to ride a bike.
Naseem has always been passionate about breaking down barriers to exercise for women in her community. She’s channelled this passion into creating opportunities for local women of all abilities to gain confidence to take part.
Saheli Hub welcomes around 1,600 women a year, 80% of which are from diverse ethnic backgrounds, who have now started their physical activity journey with Naseem and the Saheli Hub, regularly taking part in walking, jogging, cycling, chair-based exercises, yoga, pilates and body conditioning.
Yesterday, the students of the Bosnia UK Network Business English Course celebrated their graduation – a special moment filled with pride, gratitude, and inspiration. Over the past eight weeks, these incredible students have shown remarkable courage, dedication, and growth. Many joined the course feeling shy and uncertain about speaking English, but step by step, they gained confidence, strengthened their communication skills, and prepared themselves for future job opportunities.
A heartfelt thank you goes to their wonderful teacher, Beverly, for creating such a practical, supportive, and motivating learning environment. Beverly shared how proud she is of every single student and reflected on the amazing transformation she witnessed throughout the course.
And the success is already beginning — most of the students attended job interviews this very week! They spoke with gratitude about how much the course helped them feel confident and prepared for real conversations with potential employers. We are deeply inspired by every student’s hard work, progress, and determination.
We wish each of them the very best for the future and hope they find careers where they can truly shine.
Bosnia UK Network
The Bosnia & Herzegovina UK Network empowers communities affected by war and displacement through support, education, youth empowerment and opportunity, while strengthening the long-term capacity of the voluntary sector – they provide advice 1:1 and organise activities from courses to culture, dancing to dinners.
