Mohammed and Hayley enjoy going to independent businesses and restaurants in the local area and recently visited Namjii Restaurant in Wolverton.

The food at Namji is exceptionally delicious, but that’s not all. The owner, Naseem Khan, is an incredibly friendly and warm-hearted person.

Naseem is very well known on social media within her local community. She has a reputation for constantly carrying out charity work – supplying ingredients, or cooking food for the homeless and those in need. In addition to owning two restaurants – one in Wolverton, and one in Xscape Milton Keynes – she frequently hosts soup kitchens and community cook-offs. She has also created a community interest company called Give Back 2U.

Give Back 2U UK

Give Back 2U UK was created with socially disadvantaged women from the BAME community in mind. In particular, it aims to provide skills and training to those who did not have access to educational opportunities. Give Back 2U UK state that their overall mission is to ‘Educate, Train, Empower and promote Human Rights for women’. So far, Naseem Khan has personally trained three women who were previously housewives, and now work as sous chefs across Milton Keynes.

Skills and Training

This includes Educational Training, which encompasses a wide range of skills. For example, Maths and English – many jobs require a certain level of numeracy and literacy skills for applications to be considered. Providing women with these skills not only enhances their daily lives but can be an important part of their journey to employment also.

Practical skills such as First Aid are also offered, as well as Food Hygiene certifications. Depending on the industry the women would like to work in, certifications like these can be crucial to job offers. They are also very useful and practical skills for general life.

Another practical skill they offer education opportunities for is Sewing. Naseem was taught to sew by her mother when she was growing up. She believes that it is vitally important to have at least basic stitching skills. Sewing can provide a source of income, and it is also great for saving money, cutting down carbon emissions and redecorating your home on a budget.

Give Back 2U UK don’t just teach women the skills outlined above, they also provide assistance with CV writing and interview skills. Therefore, they are able to support women along each step of the way, from education to employment.

Running throughout all of these skills is the theme of confidence building, so that women feel empowered to achieve goals they did not previously think were possible.

Free School Meals has been a very emotive topic throughout October in Milton Keynes. Naseem quickly set about organising, sourcing and preparing lunches for nearly 300 school children over the school half term.

Donations are always appreciated – whether they come in the form of cooking ingredients, or financial contributions. House Hub was only too happy to help!

Well done Naseem!