Three individuals and three organisations have been recognised for their dedication to their communities during the Hackney Council meeting on November 23.
Mayor Philip Glanville presented the awards to those who “made a positive and selfless contribution to the lives of Hackney residents”.
He praised the “Hackney spirit that shines through” the 200 plus nominees and six winners.
The awards were established in 2016 by former Mayor Jules Pipe to celebrate Hackney’s “civic heroes” and inspire more people to get involved with their communities.
Awarded fitness instructor Paul Fusu. Pic: Jannine Newman 
Hawa Trust Foundation Founder Hawa Daboh Sesay. Pic: Jannine Newman 
Rise 365 Founder Joyclen Buffong. Pic: Jannine Newman 
Migrant Centre Director Charlotte Buckley(left) Pic: Jannine Newman 
APEX Director Faisal Pirbhai. Pic: Jannine Newman 
Connecting All Communities CEO Shukri Adan. Pic: Jammine Newman
Paul Fusu, who had previously been given a sports participation award by Glanville in 2017, was awarded for his free accessible dance classes.
Fusu was diagnosed with polio at a young age, and even without the use of his legs, got a qualification in fitness and instructing.
He now gives seated lessons in solo salsa as part of SOSA Dances Fitness, as well as seated dance lessons for NHS patients and people in Benabo Court retirement home.
Fusu said he was “honoured” to receive the award and thanked the participants of his classes: “I love them, and this is for them as well.”
Sierra Leonean activist Hawa Daboh Sesay received an award for founding the Hawa Trust Foundation, which campaigns for the ending of female genital mutilation (FGM) and violence against women and girls.
Sesay survived FGM while growing up in Sierra Leone and used her experience to provide women and girls with support following abuse and help them access health care.
She said the award “is not for me alone. It’s for all women and girls who have gone through FGM, domestic violence, rape”.
Sesay thanked everyone in her community for making the Hawa Trust Foundation “a home in Hackney”.
Joyclen Buffong, was awarded for her work with young people. She started her career as a youth worker, and now manages multiple youth hubs in the borough.
Most recently, she founded Rise 365 in 2019 – a community interest programme that supports young people in reaching their goals in life.
Glanville praised Buffong for “building invaluable relationships with residents” and “making a positive impact on so many lives over generations”.
Buffong told the council: “I believe it’s my passion and purpose to support young people and advocate on their behalf because they’re amazing.”
Hackney Migrant Centre was the first organisation to be awarded for it’s support of refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants for over 10 years.
They provide free advice and support access to housing, welfare, lawyers, and health care.
A spokeswoman for the centre thanked the mayor for the award but said “the real unsung heroes are the men and women who come to our centre to get advice”.
She praised their resilience and resistance to the “hostile environment” that comes with being a vulnerable displaced person in the UK and Hackney specifically.
Apex, providing programmes and courses to families and young people in Hackney, was then awarded for its provision of education, sports, and drama for children, as well as mentoring, coaching and family support.
Through the pandemic, the organisation provided iPads and laptops to children from low-income families to help them with their education.
Faisal Pirbhai from the group accepted the award at the council meeting.
He was surprised that he’d been chosen as a winner and thought the phone call to let him know he’d won was a prank: “I actually thought it was one of my young people pulling my leg.”
Faisal added he was “humbled” to be in the presence of all the other winners who have made such an impact on the lives of people in Hackney.
Finally, Connecting All Communities was awarded for its work tackling discrimination in the borough by putting on events for mentoring, employment support, housing and welfare support, and translation services.
During the pandemic and beyond, they supported families by delivering week food parcels and providing hot meals to those in need.
The CEO, Shukri Adan, accepted the award and told the council of her childhood living during the civil war in Somalia.
She said: “In the place I was born there was chaos … so once I came here to have peace and I found division, I couldn’t understand why.”
This inspired her to start Connecting All Communities as a way to unite an area that seemed so divided to her.
She ended the awards ceremony at the council meeting by thanking “every single person who made us who we are”.
