South Asian Heritage Month: Aston’s Saathi House to unveil mural to celebrate 45th anniversary

Saathi House in Aston will be unveiling a large mural this week to celebrate its 45th anniversary, coinciding with South Asian Heritage Month and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

International artist Katie O will be creating the stunning artwork, which measures over 31ft (9.6m) and celebrates the local community. The mural will be unveiled on 4 August and celebrations will take palce at the centre and outside Aston Hall.

The community centre has a legacy of empowering local residents from often marginalised and disadvantaged ethnicminority backgrounds. The former attendees of the centre have glowing reviews about the place.

Ammo Talwar MBE, who attended Saathi House as a child, said: “Saathi House was a second home, growing up in Aston during the 1980s. My first home was obviously my actual home; our second home was a tie between Saathi House and Aston Park.”

Talwar has set up the leading Music and Arts agency Punch Records; and is also the chair of the UK Music's Diversity Taskforce. He added: “At Saathi House there were planned activities and a sense of purpose and companionship. Staff from Saathi House took us on our first trips to the city centre, the Ackers Trust, the cinema and the ice rink. I have a powerful memory of standing in a field at the Ackers and thinking it was the rural countryside.

“Obviously I know now I was in the middle of Small Heath, but as inner city kids, we had never experienced places like that. Had it not been for Saathi House, we never would.”

“Those opportunities had a profound effect on me, shaped who I am today and ignited my passion to make positive changes in the city I love. Saathi House had a huge impact on me, both personally and professionally.”

Another former attendee, Rahima Ahammed, who was born in Birmingham, moved to Bangladesh as a young child and when she returned was unable to speak English.

“I started to attend Saathi House towards the end of 1982. During that period, Farida Begh, Liz Anderton and Tahmina Islam were working there; for me Saathi House was my sanctuary. I clearly remember attending the girls club every Tuesday between 4pm-6pm. Although the sessions finished at 6pm, we always took our time tidying up so that we could stay for an extra bit of time,” she said.

She is now a social and political activist who campaigns for better representation and inclusivity in Birmingham and Cambridge. “We were constantly introduced to new ideas and experiences. The way I would describe it was like having our brains stretched, we were empowered to the extent that we actually felt and believed the world was our oyster.”

Rag Chand, a former attendee from the 1980s and now a barrister, said: “My aspirations while growing up were principally to stay out of prison and not get into too much trouble and to get a job. I didn’t face any racism neither did I get embroiled in ethnic divides living in Aston.

“My friends were mainly Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. There were few Indian families in Aston, we all got on in the area and looked out for each other. The single most important person in my life who changed my life was Saathi House staff member Liz Anderton. Liz was a pioneer and changed many young people’s lives in Aston.”

The charity transitioned over the 1980s and 1990s and was named Saathi House, which means friend or companion in several South Asian languages. It serves women from the Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani diaspora who reside in Aston, Witton, Newtown, Lozells, Handsworth and surrounding neighbourhoods now.

Chair of Trustees, Mashkura Begum, attended as a child and became a regular volunteer. She has revived it for the new generation.

“Over these four decades, Saathi House has shown what can be achieved by a small community organisation willing to act as a local anchor and with the community, for the community. Forty five years on, we’re still ‘still here’.

“Much has changed around us but many of the issues that we were founded to address continue to affect impoverished lives across Aston and neighbouring areas; an important reminder of why it’s crucial we do what we do,” she said.

On 4 August, along with the mural, members of the public can also engage in a family fun day with celebrations taking place on-site at Saathi House and outside Aston Hall, located a short walk from the building. For more information go to Saathi House

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