STORY: Green Community Hubs – Zeshan

Zeshan, originally from Pakistan, has been in the UK for the last two years, caring for people with additional needs.

He has accompanied Abbas to the Green Community Hub project at the Lady Pit Lane Allotments for around six months.

Speaking of his involvement, Zeshan said:

“Abbas usually gets bored very quickly, so we try a lot of places and a lot of activities. I’ve never seen him get bored here – I have to say ‘ok, time is over, let’s go’. He likes this place. He has found a good community here.

“He learns a lot and he’s doing different things like planting, digging and weeding. It gives him a sense of peace. He’s tried to do some things when he’s gone home and tells his mum stories of what we’ve done here. He laughs and tells her ‘I did digging today and we were planting’.

“Before, sometimes his emotions controlled him and sometimes he ran away from places and said: ‘I’m not staying here’, especially with a group of say 10 to 12 people like here, he would be anxious. Now, when he comes here, he has friends, he talks to people, and in this place he changes.”

Zeshan also gains professionally and personally:

“As a carer I want him to be happy. We know he spends those few hours with us enjoying things, and I also enjoy this place as well, as I do the digging and planting too and it’s like a family here.

“My grandmother used to grow vegetables and send them around to people in the community, and when we were growing up our father had a little plot and had many plants, so we grew up with that background. So that’s good for me and it’s lovely to serve the people who face difficulties in their lives.