Taraki have been awarded a grant to co-develop the Chai in the City social space for Punjabi men which you can read about here. This blog is part of a series where our project manager, Taimour Ahmed, reflects on the process of this project, key learnings, and important milestones.
- We’ve applied for funding for the next phase (called ‘Implementation Phase’)
- We are waiting to hear back on whether we’ve been successful in our application (fingers crossed)
- Our partners are setting foundations in their local communities through their peer support spaces (which makes me so proud!)
- We’re realising our dreams of building an education hub at Taraki (more on that later down the line)
While all of the above is super exciting, it is also quite daunting. It’s daunting because it makes me realise time truly flies when you’re having fun, but equally, with the development of our work comes greater responsibility and accountability. Which naturally, for me, carries a level of anxiety. While so much of my day to day is focussed around looking forward and planning the future I wanted to use this reflective blog to look back over the past 22 months as the project lead, in a very open and honest way.
We’ve achieved, realised and delivered so much over the past 22 months, it’s actually quite hard to grasp. Especially when you’re in the thick of it,which we still are, but in a quieter period. I guess there’s something really beautiful and wonderful about being able to build something from scratch, like we did with our curriculum, and to materialise it in the world. To see the impact it’s had on our participants and the spaces they’re cultivating is priceless. A common theme across this whole experience over the past 2 year is that it’s the first time we’ve done something of this nature and magintude. While that ‘newness’ feels quite exhilarting, the relative lack of historic experience also means you’re deeply unsure of what the future looks like, which is as exciting as it is daunting. Emotions I very much felt, and still feel 22 months into this project.
I guess what I’m trying to convey is that the previous 6000+ words I’ve written as part of this reflections journey aren’t enough to convey the rich emotions, deep sense of fullfillment and joy I’ve felt being able to do this work for the past 2 years. In all honesty, I don’t think 60,000 words would do it either and that’s okay. This is an experience I’ll carry for the rest of my life and I’ll be reflecting on this life changing experience for a long time coming. Which is something that brings me joy.
Before I sign off, this is my last journal entry before we hear back from Movember about if we’ve been successful in our application for the next round of funding. While every fibre of my being wants it to be a success, As I get older and realise life rarely ever goes to plan, I’m trying to cultivate a lens of ‘we’ve tried our best, now it’s up to the universe’. Which is why I always revert back to this quote from Khalil Gibran:
“Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.”
With that being said, I’ll see you on the other side, regardless of the outcome, for the future shines bright regardless because I’ve been able to be a part of something this amazing.
