Somali Parents
Supporting Somali people and other marginalised communities in Hammersmith.
As most parents will know, navigating the complexities of school life can be a challenge. Knowing who to talk to when your child is struggling, and how to ensure that your concerns are acted on, isn’t always easy. For those experiencing language or cultural barriers, the situation is far more complex. Parents often have little choice but to rely on their child to translate letters from school and act as an interpreter in meetings between parents and teachers, a far from ideal situation, especially when the child’s behaviour or educational difficulties need to be discussed.
Jamal Ismail is the Director of Somali Parents. He shares, “Children may not give you the true picture of what’s happening, so parents need to be able to speak with the teachers directly, but if you don’t speak the language, you can’t express yourself properly. How do you fill in forms and answer correspondence if you don’t have someone who is willing to help? If the parent doesn’t receive that support, then the implications will be felt by the child.”
Recognising the difficulties that families face, Jamal came together with other Hammersmith parents to launch Somali Parents. Meeting demand is an ever-increasing challenge for the charity. Jamal is the only paid staff member, and he only works for the charity part-time. Nevertheless, assisted by a team of volunteers, the organisation offers support to families across the borough.
Somali Parents’ main focus is on education and helping to improve children’s prospects. Jamal or a volunteer can attend meetings at school to act as a translator and as an advocate, and will support parents to get Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in place where necessary.
As one parent, Um Abdullah, shares, “Somali Parents helped my son to get higher grades in their GCSE exams … helping my son and other pupils with the provision of additional lessons.”
Somali Parents also runs workshops to help parents understand the differences in regulations and expectations around parenting in the UK compared to their country of origin.
Healthcare
Many people new to the UK don’t fully understand the healthcare system or who to turn to for advice. They may not be able to read healthcare communications or easily access information online, and they may have a limited understanding of which situations warrant a visit to the GP.
Jamal recounts the story of a young Somali woman who had cancer but thought her unexpected bleeding was due to haemorrhoids and was too embarrassed to visit a doctor. By the time she did seek help, it was too late, and she sadly died just months later.
Somali Parents runs healthcare workshops about cancer symptoms and support available, as well as drop-in sessions to help ease concerns amongst the community and give people a better understanding of how to access NHS services and what to expect from an appointment. Recognising that women often feel more comfortable discussing health issues with another woman, the charity will sometimes bring in a Somali-speaking female GP to answer questions from the audience and talk to people in private if they need more advice.
Somali Parents also runs blood donation awareness sessions, as the NHS urgently needs more donors from global majority backgrounds to help treat conditions like sickle cell disease.
Additional support
Jamal and the team often find themselves assisting parents in many other ways, particularly when it comes to how to navigate support services. He shares, “People make enquiries on a daily basis – ‘We have housing issues; we have payments in arrears; we need support.’ Asylum-seeking people come to us for information on how to get a lawyer to help with their asylum application. Or they may want to study English, or they need some food from the food bank. Somali Parents also help clients with information about benefits. As a voluntary organisation, we try to help as much as we can, according to our capacity.”
One such service user, Shehnaz, says, “Somali Parents help me to get a solicitor to assist with my asylum claim, and communicated with different agencies to get the support I need.”
To enable people to better navigate these systems themselves, the charity runs free digital education sessions, where participants can get help setting up the NHS app, creating a Universal Credit account, accessing school apps, and so on.
Hammersmith United Charities’ funding
We provided a grant of £5,400 to Somali Parents to help with running costs. Jamal says, “Hammersmith United Charities are a very good organisation in terms of supporting the local community. When you have an idea, you can talk to them. They also try to promote our work and do more to support us. They’re a good partner you can rely on.”
Find out more
Somali Parents is based at 202 Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush, W12 7JP. If you speak Somali and need help communicating with your child’s school, please call 0207 1013426 or email somaliparents@outlook.com
Jamal is also keen to hear from Somali or Arabic speakers who are interested in volunteering to support their community in Hammersmith.
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