The Nishkam Centre welcomed Communities Minister, Baroness Hanham to see first-hand a project that benefited from European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) money to support small and medium enterprises, regenerate the local community and create jobs.

On a tour of the Nishkam Centre, Baroness Hanham met residents, entrepreneurs and businesses who have benefited from the multi-purpose community hub which offers support in the areas of training and education, health and wellbeing, youth and community activities, economic development, civic and interfaith engagement alongside inspiration through its widely recognised Anglo-Sikh heritage exhibitions.

The £6m+ construction cost of the Nishkam Centre project was funded 33% by ERDF (£2.54m) and 67% from the parent organisation Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ) and the congregation. During construction a staggering £4m+ came from community donations and support from GNNSJ.

In addition, volunteer input of 110,000 hours was valued at around £1.5m. This major collaboration between a faith-inspired organisation, public agencies and the local community has shown what is possible when the right partners come together. The landmark project has made a significant impact in a deprived inner city region.

Communities Minister Baroness Hanham CBE said: “For over a decade, European Regional Development funding has made a real difference to the economy and lives of people in the West Midlands. Regenerating communities, supporting local enterprise and local people through new jobs and opportunities, are key priorities for this vital funding Programme.

“It is great to be able to see how an ERDF investment made over 10 years ago is still thriving, providing a lasting legacy and continued support through the centre for local people.

“I am delighted to be able to visit the Nishkam Centre in Birminghamto meet and talk to people from the local community who have really benefited through the facilities and support on offer.”

In just five years of operation, the Nishkam Centre’s successful engagement with local social capital to deliver innovative education, training, health screening, wellbeing, art and heritage, interfaith and civic engagement has been acknowledged as a model of best practice for community regeneration and development.

The Nishkam Centre was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services 2010 and also nominated for two distinguished awards:

• WMCCE –West Midlands Centre for Constructing Excellence.
• Short-listed for the “Best Public/Community Project” section in the 2006 LABC National Built In Quality Awards. Judges believed the project to be an outstanding achievement and since the Nishkam team was predominately made up of active volunteers competing at the highest level with professional construction companies was even more rewarding.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors featured the NCA project on its cover page (Issue 172, Sept 2006) and the project received a rapturous review. Carrying the title “Faith will be rewarded”, the article summarised the essence of spirituality and secularity coming together to create something unique, innovative, futuristic yet potent, focused and value driven to make a difference to the community.

The Baroness visited the Five Centres for Excellence – Gurudwara, Community Cooperative, Educational establishment, Health and Social Care and Nishkam Centre – and was overwhelmed by the visionary work undertaken coupled with the genuine desire to make a difference to the lives of ordinary people. She saw the Nishkam Nursery and the Primary School – the first Sikh-ethos multi-faith school in the West Midlands. The school which opened less than a year ago demonstrates public opinion by the fact that independent sources show it to be significantly oversubscribed and in demand.

Director of the Nishkam Centre, Amrick Singh Ubhi said: “We are pleased the Baroness was able to see the work undertaken here and appreciate her comments and encouragement. She is indeed an asset to the ERDF team and the Upper House; she clearly won the hearts of many of the beneficiaries that she spent so much time with today.

“I hope, just as Baroness Hanham saw today, others understand that faith, public agencies and community partnerships are multi-dimensional and bring immense benefit. Humans are born with tremendous capacity to do good – as sparks of the Divine. The Sikh Dharam (faith) teaches us how to overcome ego by ‘nurturing’ and ‘reconditioning’ the human to ‘resonate’ with the Divine. This is what inspires and drives the great endeavours here – values and the innate passion to serve all creation.”

For more information on how the Nishkam Centre may be of service to you, please visit www.ncauk.org.

Large crowds from diverse communities gathered at the Nishkam Centre to help respond to the shortage of Asian blood stem cells donors for people who desperately need lifesaving transplants. The 325 sign up was the sixth highest achievement to date for such an event for the appeal demonstrating the overwhelming support and community spirit.

The event hosted at the Nishkam Centre 25^th March 2012, Handsworth Birmingham was a collaborative approach between the Nishkam Centre, Anthony Nolan Trust, Council of Sikh Gurudwara’ s (Birmingham) and the Rik Basra Campaign to help increase membership on the Anthony Nolan Trust register.

The initiative was organised due to the substantial shortage of Asian donors on the national and international donor register.

It was reported that not only are there far lower chance of finding a matching Asian donor for a potentially life-saving transplant than a Caucasian patient, we also have the highest number of people waiting for a match among all minorities.Birmingham’s communities and Nishkam staff and volunteers came out united in overwhelming numbers to change these odds.

Building on the momentum of a similar event in Leicester by the Rik Basara Campaign, this day was aimed at raising awareness of Leukaemia, addressing the lack of participation from the Asian community and encouraging members of the Asian community aged 18-40 year old to register with the Anthony Nolan Trust.

Speaking on the success of the event, Rik Basara commented: “I want to thank everyone that supported the day and most of all the individuals that took time out of their day to register.  I have absolutely no doubt the collective efforts of all those involved will save a life. It really is a great example of community self help in action.”

Ann O’Leary, Register & Be a Lifesaver Manager at Anthony Nolan, said: “Since October 2011, the recruitment of Asian donors to the Anthony Nolan register has increased by over 300% compared to the previous six months.  The Rik Basra Campaign has contributed significantly to this, adding over 1000 new donors through targeted recruitment events and many more through online applications via our website.

“It is important to Anthony Nolan to attract donors from different ethnic backgrounds to increase diversity within our register.  We have worked on a programme of recruitment events over the past year and are so pleased to have had the support of the Rik Basra Campaign.  We are very grateful to all the volunteers who helped to run this weekend’sBirminghamevent and to everyone who turned up to register on the day.”

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Released by: Nishkam Centre

Telephone: 0121 515 4229

Email: info@ncauk.org

Aston Villa football club celebrated being awarded the Advanced Level of the Equality Standard by Kick It Out at Birmingham’s Nishkam Centre as part of their proactive, conscientious effort to engage with all groups and communities across the city of Birmingham and spread the message that Aston Villa is a place for everyone.

The tremendous achievement made the team the second club in all football with the Advanced Level. It also served as a great occasion to visit their friends at the Nishkam Centre and celebrate their achievement with an equal multicultural and interfaith ambassador that works with organisations and faiths groups towards uniting individuals and communities across the country.

The visit to the Nishkam Centre included a tour of various areas of both the faith and civic arm of the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha and a visit to theNishkamPrimaryFreeSchoolwith a kick about with the children, all keen to see the stars.

The team expressed their thoughts on the desire to learn about the diverse cultures that make upBirminghamand spreading the message about the Sikh community too.

The Equality Standard for Professional Football Clubs has been developed by Kick It Out to replace the Racial Equality Standard introduced in2004.

The aim of the Racial Equality Standard was to provide a framework for clubs to help formalise their commitment to race equality and to help create an environment where spectators, players, managers and administrative staff

could participate without fear of discrimination.

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Released by: Nishkam Centre

Telephone: 0121 515 4229

Email: amrick.ubhi@ncauk.org