Great to visit Alexander McLeod Primary to hear from students about their Black History Month project on the Windrush scandal.
I was so impressed with the student’s knowledge of the Windrush generation and their ability to communicate this important story that impacted so many people’s lives.
I was also interested to hear about the student’s investigation into the different demographics of people who live in Abbey Wood and how this has changed over the years.
Engaging with young students and seeing them so interested in politics is inspiring and truly one of the best parts of being an MP. The enthusiasm and dedication of all the teachers and support staff at the school was evident to see.
I am once again very pleased to announce that I’ve been holding a constituency competition to design my annual Christmas Card for 2023. I invited students from schools across Erith and Thamesmead to take part.
The theme for this year was: ‘What Makes Me Happy in Erith and Thamesmead’. I would like to thank all the pupils who drew and painted a design that showed what they love about places in our constituency. This included the parks or open spaces, local communities, shops, landmarks, animals or even family and friends.
The artwork was assessed by a panel of judges, and the winning design has been used as my Christmas Card and sent to more than 1,000 local people, businesses, and community groups.
We had a brilliant turnout for this competition with so many excellent designs being sent in. I’d also like to say a massive thank you to all the schools, teachers and parents who helped organise the competition.
Attached is a photo of me meeting with the Speaker of the House to showcase the winning design, he was very impressed by the competition and has put the winning design on display!
Congratulations to this year’s winner, Mija Liumpa, aged 10, from Parkway Primary School. You can see Mija and myself below with her winning design.
To complement the design, Mija wrote a few words:
“I chose to draw this as it reminds me of nature and the mulberry tree of Abbey Wood ruins. It is an amazing place which calms me, and I can meet many dogs there which is also why I chose to draw them. It is one of my favourite places of calmness and my favourite place in Erith.”
It was great to visit the students of Parkway Primary School in person this week, and hand Mija her well-deserved prize as overall winner of the competition.
Thanks also to the local co-sponsors who kindly supported part of this year’s competition – Co-op Belvedere and Manak Solicitors.
Congratulations again to Mija and I wish a Merry Christmas to all.
I was also very pleased to join the Javan Coker Foundation (JCF) this month as they celebrated the installation of their newly refurbished kitchen at the JCF centre.
Alongside the Council Leader, Cllr Anthony Okereke, it was lovely to join the team for the opening and hear about all the great work they have been doing to support children and families in need.
If you would like to find out more about the charity and what they are doing in our community, then you can find their website here: https://www.thejavancokerfoundation.org/.
https://www.abenaoppongasare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GA7mrpFWIAAELFK.jpg13662048Abena Oppong-Asare MPhttps://www.abenaoppongasare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SM-Logo-3.pngAbena Oppong-Asare MP2023-12-15 16:13:162024-07-08 11:24:01New Kitchen at the Javan Coker Foundation
This November, I was honoured to lay wreaths at Thamesmead War memorial followed by the War memorial at Plumstead Cemetery in remembrance of all those from Erith & Thamesmead who gave their lives to protect our freedom. On Remembrance Sunday, I also went to the Wreath laying at Callender’s Cables Memorial.
Thank you to Thamesmead and Abbey Wood Royal British Legions for arranging the services and for all the work they do throughout the year.
Earlier in the month, I was also honoured to place a poppy in Parliament’s Garden of Remembrance on behalf of the residents of Erith and Thamesmead.
We shall never forget those who bravely served and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
It was great to join pupils from Year 6 at Windrush Primary School in Thamesmead this month. It was really nice to be grilled by them on what I’ve been doing as an MP and hear about why they love living in our local community.
A big thanks to the school for inviting me and I look forward to coming back again soon.
https://www.abenaoppongasare.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Windrush-Primary-school-edited.jpg7681365Abena Oppong-Asare MPhttps://www.abenaoppongasare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SM-Logo-3.pngAbena Oppong-Asare MP2023-10-23 16:46:002024-07-08 11:26:20Visit to Windrush School
At the end of September, I was so pleased to chair the launch of the landmark survey on Black British Voices by The Voice Newspaper in the Houses of Parliament.
This ground-breaking report and its findings are shocking but to many they will not be surprising. The report details the results of the largest ever survey of Black Britons – surveying over 10,000 people. It reveals the concerns felt by so many about racism across our country and within our core institutions.
Following this report, I’ve been pleased to share the findings with my colleagues in Parliament and with the Government. I hope that everyone can take on board this vital research and raise awareness of racial injustices wherever it is found.
https://www.abenaoppongasare.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/F7NB9oIWQAAC968-1.jpg6661000Abena Oppong-Asare MPhttps://www.abenaoppongasare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SM-Logo-3.pngAbena Oppong-Asare MP2023-10-20 16:28:052024-06-12 09:36:28Launch of The Voice Newspaper’s Black British Voices Report
It was great to attend the Erith & Woolwich Kabaddi Tournament this month on Winns Common. I really enjoyed watching the games and was pleased to meet so many local fans and lots of visitors from across the country.
Really pleased also to be joined on the day by Tan Dhesi MP, Cllr Baljeet Singh Gill, Cllr Anna Day and Cllr Larry Ferguson.
Thanks again to Erith & Woolwich Kabaddi Club for organising the event.
I was delighted to pop in and see the new defibrillator at Lesnes Abbey Lodge this month. It was great to be invited by Lesnes Abbey Friends to meet them and hear how they raised an incredible £2,000, with support from local organisations, to install this life saving device.
You may be aware that increasing access to and awareness of defibrillators is an issue I’m incredibly passionate about. In July this year, I organised a Westminster Hall debate on this issue and challenged the Government to do more where possible on public access to defibrillators. In the debate, I said:
“Defibrillators represent an incredible technical advance. They are lightweight, easy to use and designed only to help and not harm the patient. The issue is not about their design but their distribution and public awareness of what they are and how to use them.”
It was great therefore to join Lesnes Abbey Friends as they celebrated adding this important device to our community.
I also got the opportunity to join Lesnes Abbey’s first ever Woodland Festival. This event involved a jam-packed day of events and activities and was a great celebration of Lesnes Abbey and Woods.
Lovely to pop into Lakeside Studios in Thamesmead to attend their fantastic Open Studio Event. It was very nice to celebrate this amazing space and to hear from some of the artists about their work.
If you don’t know already, this venue is listed as one of the top 10 must-see buildings this year by Architects’ Journal.
I would highly recommend everyone tries to visit if you haven’t already.
https://www.abenaoppongasare.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Abena-at-Lakeside-1.jpg437580Abena Oppong-Asare MPhttps://www.abenaoppongasare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SM-Logo-3.pngAbena Oppong-Asare MP2023-09-18 13:49:452024-07-08 11:28:40Visit to Lakeside Open Studio
I’ve been delighted last month to hold my third annual Campaign Summer School.
At my jam-packed 3-day event, we had a fantastic group of enthusiastic and inspiring young people who were incredibly engaged in learning about how to make a successful campaign and gain the skills needed to make a real difference in our community.
On the first day, I was excited to share my journey to Parliament and what I do as the MP for Erith and Thamesmead. We were also privileged to be joined by Laura Coryton and Rima Amin, who shared their 5 steps for turning a petition into a successful campaign. Laura founded a campaign against the tampon tax in 2014 and Rima worked with Laura on the campaign when she worked at Change.org. We were also joined by Paul Richards who shared his expertise on writing press releases and Christine Quigley and Nick Smith who introduced the students to the world of finance and public affairs.
“Our campaign lobbied the government into establishing the tampon tax fund, through which almost £100m has been donated to female-focused charities”
Laura Coryton on her campaign against tampon tax
On day two, we were joined by Google, who shared how to navigate and make full use of the new digital age to build on campaign ideas, business ideas, and how to kickstart your career. It was also great to be joined by Kwajo Tweneboa who shared his first-hand experience of going from a concerned citizen to a veteran campaigner on housing issues across the country. We were also pleased to welcome Katie Perrior from iNHouse Communications and media experts from 853 and the Guardian, who shared their important knowledge on how to make a campaign successful.
We started the final day with a presentation about how Parliament works with a special briefing from an expert team at the UK Parliament. It was great to see the students ask so many questions about how our government works and how each of them can personally make a difference. I also want to thank Councillor Anthony Okereke, Leader of Greenwich Council, Martin Angus, from the Local Government Association (LGA), and Councillor Zainab Asumramu for sharing their important personal insights into the role of Local Government and how to get politically active in your local community.
Every year this is such a special week for me. I get to spend lots of time sharing what I know about campaigning and Politics and learning from local young activists across our community who care passionately about a number of critically important issues.
From national issues like Climate Change and the cost-of-living crisis, to local issues like vaping in schools and tackling fly-tipping, it was fantastic to discuss their ideas about what they can do to campaign for change.
I want to send a big thank you to all the speakers who joined during the week, to London South East College team in Erith, who hosted us, and to my team who did a wonderful job making the Summer School work so well. Finally, I also want to send a big thank you to all the students who were so engaged and optimistic and I’m sure will go on to do great things in their careers.
You can follow what happened on my social media or by looking up the hashtag #AbenaSummerSchool2023.
