Haaya

General information

HAAYA is a minority ethnic led voluntary organisation based in the borough of Hounslow. HAAYA is concerned
with the aspirations, achievements and integration of young people aged from 10 years up to 25 into the mainstream, providing support to young people for personal and social development. Much of this is possible by empowering the youth and giving them a voice of their own. We aim to address issues relating to disaffection and social exclusion. This is achieved through a variety of educational, social, welfare and leisure activities as well as advice sessions.

The aims of the HAAYA are:

1. To promote and support personal development and access to opportunities of the individual members of the young people, particularly the most Vulnerable and disadvantaged, regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds.

2. To contribute to preservation and enhancement of self-identity through a range of leisure and educational activities;

3. To encourage greater participation in the host community;

4. To promote a greater sense of community and co-operation.

Activities

Our of HAAYA's activities and services are centred on around the educational, welfare, spiritual and physical development of young people. These activities include sports, camping, after-school activities (indoor and outdoor), day trips for amusement, visiting historical places to develop knowledge, a supplementary school for young people underachieving in mainstream education (mainly GCSE and "A"-level students); advice sessions on street crime, drug abuse, Aids & HIV, and a community involvement programmes. We also provide informal drop-in advice and refer young people to the appropriate specialist agencies as necessary.

Mission Statement specifically requires that our activities
to be open to all young people living in Hounslow and surrounding boroughs, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Our membership is predominantly drawn from the three target communities, and our activities are designed to be
culturally appropriate to those groups. However, we have altogether nine
different ethnic groups represented in our membership, including Arabs, Iranians, Sikhs and English. HAAYA is the only group we are aware of in West London that works with such a varied ethnic mix and the only one anywhere as far as we know that has managed to integrate large numbers of Somali youth into mainstream activities.