Over the past three months, I’ve been planning, managing and delivering Flavours of Friendship – a community project that brought people together through English language learning (ESOL) and cultural sharing on the themes of Ramadan and Easter.
I’ve been doing it freelance in Birmingham for Moseley Community Development Trust in partnership with The Springfield Project.
It’s been one of those pieces of work that involved the full 360° mix: shaping the programme, developing the learning plan, creating and co-delivering the ESOL sessions, coordinating people and resources, sorting logistics, producing materials, and keeping everything moving on a very tight timeline.
I’m proud of what the project became, I thoroughly enjoyed working with Abida, my co-facilitator, and I have learned a lot through doing it. In particular, it’s reinforced how much community projects rely on clear priorities, calm decision-making under pressure, and regular communication with delivery partners throughout – something I’ll be more intentional about building in from the start next time.
What I’m proudest of, though, is how much the participants seemed to gain from it. They reported thoroughly enjoying the sessions: the friendly space where they could practise English; the opportunity to share experiences, learn about one another’s cultures and simply enjoy being together.
There was a real sense of connection, curiosity and mutual support, and it was lovely to see people growing in confidence, joining in more fully, and building new friendships.
It’s also reminded me that, although I don’t identify as a ‘project manager’ in the traditional sense, I do really enjoy this kind of end-to-end, community-rooted delivery work: where project planning, teaching, relationship-building, problem-solving, and reflection all overlap.
I’ll share more about the project in due course, but for now I’m taking a moment to recognise that this is the sort of work I’d be very happy to do more of.
Happy Easter!
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