This project has been one of the most rewarding. We have achieved so much by enabling people to reach their career goals and aspirations within such a short space of time.
ESF Community Grant beneficiary – Noushin Raja
ESF Community Grants, administered by community charity, Groundwork, provides grants to small organisations in the voluntary and community sector to provide support to unemployed and inactive individuals to engage them and move them towards employment through packages of training and support.
One of those organisations is the Moonlight Trust based in Dewsbury within the borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire.
The Moonlight Trust was born out of tragedy. From which came kindness and hope. The charity was founded by Nousin Raja in memory of her brother Amaar who was robbed and killed in Dewsbury. Amaar was 17 years old. Noushin set up the Moonlight Trust to support those in need and continue her brother’s legacy. Amaar was nicknamed Moon as he was “a shining light to us and now he will bring light to those whose lives suffer from the darkness of poverty and oppression,” says Noushin.
The Moonlight Trust application, -“Coffee, Cake & Careers” empowers local women from economically inactive background with tailored 1-1 bespoke and group workshops. The workshops concentrate on employability skills, confidence building, resilience and social cohesion. The aim of the project is to enable women to be heroes of their own life and to provide them with the skills they require to reach their goals and aspirations.
“The funding has enabled us to provide everything we needed to support our women with experience and skills they needed. From trips to Universities to bringing in top careers consultants and motivational speakers as well as with equipment and venue.”
“This project has been one of the most rewarding. We have achieved so much by enabling people to reach their career goals and aspirations within such a short space of time. I have seen the transition and how each participant became more confident, overcame barriers and progressed by getting the dream job, work experience or access to higher education. Our project has have achieved progression for over 90% of our participants which included either putting them in full time employment or HE or training & qualifications”. Noushin Praja Project Manager
The people who have taken place in the workshops have had overwhelmingly positive experiences: “I have not worked for four years and dedicated myself to looking after my children. This gave the confidence boost and just the support I needed and I landed on my Ideal job”.