Hello everyone, hope you are keeping safe in these tough times and I hope this reaches you in the best of health. During this quarantine it could get quite boring at home spending all day indoors but remember that this is a joint effort ad we can beat this disease only if we work together not only as a constituency and country but as a whole world together.

I have been keeping busy during this quarantine by taking my daily exercises, spending quality time with my family and fasting. It is the holy month of Ramadan and I hope all your fasts get accepted if fasting, I know it’s difficult to celebrate Ramadan and Eid at home but there are no other people better to celebrate with then your family. So let’s pray and celebrate at home.

During the past few days there have been a few violent crimes around Blackburn involving heinous crimes. I would like to pay my respects to Aya the young 19 Year old Law Student who was senselessly shot while walking to get groceries. I want again want to stress how important it is not to turn to violence if having an argument or a disagreement, there are also many people you can talk to if you need help to leave crime including me and my other counterparts. But in this hard times we as a town need to come together to show the country and the whole world what a great place Blackburn can be.

Thank you very much.
Khalid Omar

During these difficult times it is very hard to find a glimpse of positivity. But one thing we can appreciate and be positive about is the hard work and dedication of our heroes working for the NHS daily.

Everyday our saviours in the NHS are battling day and night against the Coronavirus, trying to save as many lives as possible. It may be an extremely hard task to deal with but each day the staff of the NHS are trying their best to make a real difference in saving as many lives as possible and working continuously against this virus.

This week the Youth Forum members each wanted to write a short message of appreciation for our modern

OUR MESSAGES

Muhammed B – “During this pandemic there has not really been a lot of things to smile about. But one thing that I am sure everyone can smile about and appreciate is the hard work of our heroes in care and working for the NHS. Day in and day out they are helping all that have been affected by this terrible virus, without a second thought they are there ready to face anything that comes before them. Truly thank you for your dedication to protecting and helping the nation. We will forever be in your debt”

A’Aisha – “If there’s anything this pandemic has taught us-it’s who the real superheroes are. Thank you to all the NHS staff and community volunteers for all their hard work and sacrifices. We will forever be in debt of your courage and efforts”

Zareen – “The heroes are those who risk their lives every day to make our world a safer place. We can only remain thankful and express our gratitude to the sacrifices others are making. A huge THANK YOU to everyone constantly working to help in these challenging times. You inspire us all to be better people”

Amine - “In our time of struggle, the doctors, nurses and staff of the NHS came to our aid at their own expense. But in our time of success, we couldn’t pay the healthy wages required so that those who give their all could live lives worthy of their sacrifice. Our thank you should be to help the NHS staff the way they helped the nation”

Zainab – “In these unprecedented times, let us say a huge thank you to our carers, doctors, nurses and all the staff in the NHS who fight wholeheartedly each day risking their own lives to protect ours. We along with the future generations will remember the sacrifices you make as you remain heroes of this pandemic.”

Zara – “In the self-isolation and quarantine nightmare of 2020 that is Coronavirus. We should stand proud of our NHS. The workers who through selfless dedication have boldly risen to the challenge posed by Coronavirus just to protect us. Their courage and sacrifice will not go unnoticed by anyone. Thank you, our NHS”

Khalid – “I would like to support and thank all the hard working NHS staff for the sacrifices they are making during this time of difficulty and hardship”

Introduction

Hi everyone, i’m Zara. I’m the Youth MP for BwD and also part of the forum. I’m writing this week to contribute to the weekly blog that has been set up to entertain you and give info to all of you reading of what we are doing and how we are still working on our campaigns, and coping with coronavirus.

What I’ve been up to!

As you all know we can’t and shouldn’t be going out at this point. However I am taking full advantage of the one exercise a day and going out on a run every morning.

Other than the run I do i’m basically sticking to my normal routine. I’m treating everyday like a normal day just more indoors than usual. I’ve got hundreds of movies downloaded on netflix and my TV and I aim to do one a day for as long as they last, I try doing a little bit of revision every day of the school work i’ve done throughout the year because i’ve finished now for half term so no more work being set in the day. So revision makes the time go much faster, believe me (i’m usually the last person promoting revision). Apart from these two things i’ve got to be honest I do nothing else part from eat but I try cooking my meals and making different ones most days as this is another way to pass the time. I can’t always say they come out edible though because most of the time it’s far from that.

Overall message

I know it’s tough staying inside all day and finding things to keep us busy please do, and please carry on listening to what we are told to do and the rules and regulations we should follow. You are contributing so much by just following these rules.

Introduction

Hi all, from the recent feedback we received about this specific topic on our forum blog post. We have decided to update this post every 2-3 days.

Today, we have decided to talk about the importance of staying inside and what you can do whilst at home (in a more detailed post).

Let’s get into it…

Importance of staying inside

In the current situation, staying inside is the most important thing at the moment. It may seem difficult but we have to understand that staying home can make a big difference. Due to a reduction in people going out, a glimpse of a good outcome has arisen. According to data there is a sign that the virus may start to slow in its spread soon. With that being in mind, like the professionals have said ‘we cannot take our foot of the pedal’ we have to carry on following guidelines and staying inside.

However, there have been some members of the community that are not abiding by these set of rules and the guidance given by national/local government.

This has resulted in many fines being issued over the weekend. Residents may feel tempted due to boredom to go outside, so in the section below I am going to be discussing activities and things you can do whilst at home!

Things to do at home!

One of the many things you can do whilst at home is catch up on tasks that you have not had time for during the year. Such as:

• Cleaning
• Organising
• Reading
• Catching up on TV shows

Another important thing to do is exercise. This will overall improve your physical and mental health. Statistics show that a person that exercises daily is likely to be happier throughout the day. Another important thing to do is keep on top of work, this will make the day go faster and will help you to keep within the normality of daily life before this crisis.

Overall message

Remember to stay inside and only travel for necessities. If you are completing your one form of exercise, make sure it is within the proximity of your home and remember to follow the social distancing rule. Try to support the local/national government by following these guidelines and overall preventing the spread of the Coronavirus.

Stay at home, Protect the NHS, Save lives

Introduction

Hello, my name is Muhammed Bapu.I am the Deputy Youth MP of Blackburn with Darwen. I am also part of the BwD Youth Forum, this week we decided to start writing weekly blog/information posts to keep everyone up to date with what we are doing and what we are working on.
For our first week of writing this post we decided to talk about the most compelling issue affecting the world at this moment. Which many of you know is the Coronavirus.

In this post we are also going to be talking about what we have been up to during our time off school while at home. Let’s get into it…!

Coronavirus

In the past weeks we have seen the Coronavirus pandemic increase and increase in its severity and spread. This follows on from the news of being told to stay at home. Which is extremely important in preventing a large scale spread affecting thousands or even hundreds of thousands. Being told to stay at home for weeks can be boring but it can be seen as a time to catch up on work or even relax. It is also very beneficial in stopping the spread of the virus.

So let me tell you what I’ve been up to in this time …

What I’ve been up to!

During the first week of being home, whilst keeping on top of school work I have also been working on gaining a wider and more in-depth knowledge of the Coronavirus. I have also been relaxing, catching up on TV shows, watching past football matches, playing video games and trying to learn new skills. Keeping myself busy with school work has been very beneficial. I have kept my daily routine/schedule relatively similar to try and adapt to the new temporary norm. I think keeping to the same type of routine as before this virus started will help a lot and make time go faster!

Overall message

Through these tough times the best thing to do is keep a sense of unity and to listen and follow advice given by the professionals. This will help to protect hundreds of lives and get us through these hard times faster!