'There is massive inequality in education' - dedicated volunteer in running for Scotswoman of the Year

Every day this week, we are sharing their stories. Today, it is the turn of education activist Sameeha Rehman.

ANN FOTHERINGHAM reports

SAMEEHA Rehman, education activist and dedicated volunteer, had the idea for her social enterprise Ubuntu Scotland when she was 12 years old.

“We did a project at school, where you had to come up with an idea and could win £1000 to help you achieve it,” she explains. “I looked around my class and it seemed like if you didn’t fit the academic mould, you didn’t get much out of school, and that didn’t seem fair to me.

“School is supposed to help shape you as a person, it should be a place which helps you develop the skills you have, whether those are academic skills or not.

“I came up with the idea of doing workshops to help pupils learn different skills and boost their confidence and I got into the final of the competition.”

Several years later, Sameeha was volunteering at a local kinship care project, tutoring them to help make sure they stayed on track with their classmates.

“And then lockdown happened, and suddenly, these kids were facing a really tough time,” she says. “Many came from quite deprived backgrounds and the schools were saying – well, what’s the point giving them work to do online, they won’t do it anyway?”

She frowns. “That made me really angry,” she says. “And then, and I don’t know it was fate, or what, but I was clearing out a cupboard and came across my original proposal for the school competition.

“And that was where Ubuntu Scotland began.”

READ MORE: Adventurer and athlete shortlisted for Scotswoman of the Year

Sameeha has now worked with hundreds of children in dozens of schools across Glasgow and Lanarkshire, and she is hoping to expand throughout the central belt.

“We work with the school to identify local people who can help by sharing skills and knowledge, and we run workshops on a range of topics, from life skills and creativity to finance,” she explains.

“Recently, we have been working with refugee and asylum-seeking children at St Ambrose High in Coatbridge and that has been hugely rewarding. We recognise how hard the last two years have been for teachers – they just can’t do everything. So hopefully we can help by bringing in interesting folk who inspire and encourage the kids to get involved in their local communities.”

The sessions are provided free of charge – Sameeha does everything on a volunteer basis and sources grant funding to help pay speakers’ expenses.

“I believe in it,” she says, simply. “People are not the same and there is massive inequality in education. That’s not right, and I want to help change it.”

Sameeha, who has three older siblings, grew up in Springburn and now lives in Stepps, just on the outskirts of Glasgow. In addition to running Ubuntu, she has a demanding day job as Chief of Staff to Steven Bonnar MP.

She also runs Stepps on the Level community magazine, is secretary of Stepps and District Community Council, a director of Glasgow ESOL Forum and a volunteer photographer for charities including the Scottish Refugee Council.

Sameeha lives with her mum Uzma and her cat, Minni. Sadly, her dad Hafeez died last year and she credits her passion for community and helping people to both her parents and grandparents.

“My family didn’t have a lot but they were always there to help their neighbours and would give what they had,” she explains. “My great-grandparents went through many struggles and upheavals and never once complained, and the opportunity to help others and support the community around them was not a question but a necessity through pure kindness.”

Sameeha adds: “My great grandfather on my mum’s side of the family went from Burma, because of Japanese bombing, to India and then Kenya as he worked for the British Army,” she explains. “After the independence wars in India in the 1940s, they were made homeless and this forced all of the family to join him in Kenya. In 1973, there were moves in Uganda to strip Asian workers’ rights to employment and fears of similar moves in Kenya sparked my family’s move to Glasgow.”

She adds: “In this city, we take peace and safety for granted, and it would be remiss of me not to appreciate the life I have had, and do all I can for those around me. This is why helping the community will always be my priority.”