Local learners go forth to produce community booklet
A new community directory with a difference was launched at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre recently. ‘Going Forth’, a booklet which features community contact information as well as striking photographs and interviews, was produced by a group of adult learners with the support of West Pilton’s Community Leaning and Development (CLD) staff.
‘Going Forth’ was the result of a project that originally started back in January last year, explained CLD worker Alan Addison. “It really all began with a course we ran for parents and carers in local primary schools called Bite Size Learning, a very successful five week course. The people who were involved back then wanted to do more, so we invited them here to the Centre to do another five week community-based learning course. There was still an appetite for more after that, so we approached CLAN (Community Literacy And Numeracy) for funding and that funding allowed us to think a bit bigger, and that’s when we decided to make this booklet.”
Alan Addison said: “We had two great tutors working with us; Lesley and Claire, and we also received a lot of support from CLAN’s Resource Base as well. The main object for us was to make learning as enjoyable and accessible as possible, so that people who got involved wanted to stay involved. I’m really delighted that that happened and I can say that this project has been one of the most satisfying pieces of work in which I’ve ever been involved. All the way through people have been so enthusiastic about learning and they have produced such great work.”
Adult learners gained a wide variety of new skills during the production of the booklet - from interviewing skills (local people were interviewed for inclusion in the booklet) to computing, art and design and photography. Participants also found that the project helped to build their confidence and self-esteem, which for some meant a route into further education, training and employment. Two Going Forth members shared their experiences with guests at the launch.
Margaret Tomney said: “I started out on a Bite Size course at my grandson’s primary school and I’ve been involved ever since as I enjoyed it so much. The whole experience has been great for me - we have all learned a lot of things since we started out. We’ve enjoyed working as a group and we’ve been helped by some great advisors who have always been there to listen. I hope the courses will continue - I will certainly attend them, and I would encourage anybody who hasn’t taken part so far to get involved - it’s well worth it in the long run.”
Annmarie Duke added: “Like Margaret, I started off with Bite Size at my son’s school. Since coming here, thanks to (CLD workers) Alan and Gina, I’ve found a confidence that I didn’t have before. I was very shy, but getting out of the house and meeting new people has changed me as a person. I got a new job at Morrisons and I’m now a supervisor, and I’ve told my bosses that I’d like to go further. I’ve came out of my shell a hell of a lot and Going Forth has changed my life for the better - as long as the courses go on I keep attending because I get so much from them.”
Addressing Going Forth participants, Alan said: “The booklet is not the end of the journey - it’s just the beginning and I’m sure Going Forth will go on to even greater things, I think we can achieve a lot more. We also want to thank all the partners who have made the project such a success - NHS Lothian, Telford College (who printed the booklet), Craigroyston Community High School - really lots of agencies and local volunteers have made this happen. The biggest thanks, though, goes to you, the local community. Everybody sitting here gave their time, their warmth and their knowledge and that’s what made the experience such an enlightening one - that’s what the HMIE inspectors saw when they visited us. They didn’t see clever professionals strutting their stuff, they saw local people working together. In the future Going Forth will continue to create a safe and welcoming learning environment for existing members and will go on to encourage new learners, too. You, Going Forth, will go forth with others in the knowledge that you are at the heart of community learning in Forth neighbourhood.”