Janineby East Leeds resident Izzah Khojah
Hi everyone my name is Izzah Khojah. I am 13 years old and I am going to be writing an article for this newspaper every month. My articles are going to be about my life in Leeds as someone who has just moved from London to Harehills, to live with my single mother. I will also cover various about important topics and write about them each month. I hope you all have a great read!
For starters I want to talk about a club I go to for 13 to 18 year old girls called Getaway-Girls. Getaway Girls has been based in Harehills for over 30 years but recently moved to a stunning new building between Gipton and Seacroft, hand build for them by DIY SOS- you can see how it was built on I Player. Getaway Girls empowers girls and young women aged 11-25 to learn new skills, build confidence, resilience and raise aspirations.
It offers a great opportunity for young women to express themselves by doing a wide range of activities such as self care sessions, poetry and cake decorating. If you have daughters, nieces or friends from this age range who may be interested just get in touch with Flavia
Her email is flavia.docherty@getawaygirls.co.uk
Address: 19 Brooklands Ave., Seacroft, Leeds LS14 6RX
Phone: 0113 240 5894
The type of activities that happen in the school holidays are usually day sessions, like self care events which include poetry and djing. They are so much fun, and I was able to meet new girls who I would not normally see, from different schools. I made friends with a girl called Selena who had moved from Romania two years previously. One of the girls told me “It’s a comfortable place to be and to make new friends” Another said ““Everyone here is welcoming and accepting”
I also got to meet a amazing female rapper and poet called d3. She led a poetry writing session. She was great, and taught us many techniques to find rhyming words for our poem. At the end of the session we presented our poems in front of everyone, which was lovely to see. Some of the poems were sad, some where happy, some were funny and some were heartfelt, but all of them had meaning to them
For the self care event we had different stalls we could visit. The stalls consisted of henna hair braiding, temporary glitter tattoos and nail art. There were also lots of yummy food that was all halal, like fruit, samosas, and chicken.
Overall my experience was lovely. I enjoyed my self immensely and was able to get my henna done, as well as interact with new people and learn about poetry. I think my favourite activity was getting my henna by a lovely women who was Flavia’s friend. She was quick and had intricate designs and I am so happy that I got it done. Definitely worth it, and a shout out to Natalie who was able to give me this opportunity to write to all the lovely and amazing people reading this, love you all loads.
Main Photos by Cloud 9 photography
