In 2020 Raham Project started as a community group; Its aim was to support families from diverse ethnic backgrounds during the perinatal period. By August 2021 it formally registered as a Community Interest Company. Raham Project started because of Faiza Rehman’s personal experiences and frustrations as a midwife and a new mother.
Witnessing first-hand disparities and unconscious biases towards people from diverse communities and her passion to want to improve service user experiences. The organisation continues to grow at a fast pace and one of the elements of their work has been providing cultural awareness training to health care professionals. This training is done in collaboration with Ferzana Kausir who has been championing conversations about diversity and inclusion for most of her career.
We have a vast array of experience working within both the maternity system and the voluntary system. We have supported training sessions for the voluntary sector on how to connect with diverse communities as well, as the education sector to student midwives. On other occasions, we have facilitated training for other healthcare professionals such as general practitioners about the postnatal 6-8 week appointment.
Professional Experience, Highlights and Distinctions:
- We create a safe and non-judgmental space for mothers and partners from ethnic communities that links families back to
maternity care providers. - We raise awareness of the perinatal period with a focus on mental wellbeing. We provide cultural awareness training for
healthcare professionals - We provide representative information and a maternity support network for ethnic mothers and their partners.
- Our monthly Lunch Clubs continue to thrive, bringing together mothers and children from diverse ethnic communities to an existing community cafe run by our partner Barnardo’s.
- In April 2023, PCVS and Peterborough City Council funded us to deliver a monthly Walk and Talk in our local park. This has been a great opportunity to build relationships with the community and connect mums to the support they need.
- The informal, private Facebook peer support group was created and run by and for mums from
diverse ethnic minority communities in 2021. We continue to see growth in membership and interaction year on year, although it is notable that we have stopped online meet-ups as the demand has been for in person events as we move out of
post-pandemic circumstances. - Funded by SEEN, MUMMA (Mothers United for Maternal and Mental Health Action) is a partnership project between
Barnardo’s, Raham Project and CPSL MIND. - Raham Project has developed Baby & Birth: culturally sensitive birth preparation classes as part of the MUMMA offer, and also available privately. The classes are led by trusted midwives and offer rights-based information about pregnancy, birth and becoming a new parent, tailored to the individuals attending.
- BLISS – We hosted a very special listening event with 5 mums to discuss experiences of parental touch in NICU. This was recorded by Bliss and made into an educational video for healthcare practitioners.