I really enjoy coming to Heba. It is different to all the other community centres I have known. This is our Heba.
Before, I was a little bit lost. I was studying English in different centres but I didn’t really know why and I didn’t know much about life in London and how to manage. At Heba, we can find every kind of help and advice, not just from staff but from the other women too; I don’t even think of the staff as separate from the rest of the women. The different nationalities are not separate either; Heba women are so friendly; we have very good relationships, very good friends here. Heba is like my house, my home. If I am tired I can rest; if I need to talk to someone I can find someone for a chat. If I stay the whole day, I can find useful, helpful things to do.
All the women in Heba have a relationship with each other. When we meet in the kitchen making a cup of tea, people say “Hello, how are you? How is your family?” even if they don’t know you, just because we are two Heba women. When we are studying we feel like we are meeting our friends too. The communication at Heba is very nice. I have been to some centres where it’s difficult to mix and the atmosphere is not friendly but our Heba is not like that. I have changed because of Heba’s atmosphere. My speaking and communicating is better. I am forming relationships much better and I feel good: much, much better than before.
At the end of term, we celebrate everyone’s success, everyone’s exam. We are all one, we are all enjoying our courses together, our progress together, even
our cultural celebrations together. We organise and cook for our own parties. We share every part of our lives in Heba Centre, not just studying, we celebrate our festivals and our traditions together.
We feel like this place belongs to us.