Civic Awards Picture Gallery

THEIR selfless work rarely makes the news, but by tradition they don’t go seeking glory.
They freely give up hours, days even, of their time merely in the pursuit of enriching the lives of others, such as the elderly and vulnerable.
But now it was time for the borough to honour some of these unsung heroes and heroines.
The voluntary services of a magnificent dozen townsfolk were celebrated in what have been dubbed “the Peoples’ Oscars’ on Saturday night at the annual Civic Ambassador’s Ball.
This year’s was the tenth and last such ball as the title Civic Ambassador passes into history with Cllr Akbar Chaudhary’s term draws to a close.

It was his time also to thank the many people, including his background team, for making his year so memorable.

A host of visiting Mayors and deputies from London boroughs joined him and around 250 other guests at the gala event.

But the night was shared by the dozen residents whose reward for going the extra mile in the Newham Recorder sponsored event was the presentation of an engraved bowl.
Newham Recorder and Stratford Express Editor Colin Grainger spoke to all the winners present and thanked them for their service to the borough.

He said: “This is a truly remarkable gathering of a dozen people who are so special to Newham. They are an inspiration to everyone and they go about all they do with dedication and devotion.
“They are a credit to Newham. Again there were a huge number of people nominated for these awards, which we are delighted to support each year. Their work is greatly appreciated in the community.”

The task handed to the Committee on Civic Affairs of selecting the winners from the scores of nominations was unenviable, Chief Executive Joe Duckworth admitted. But winners they were.
People such as Mrs Guri Barlow who has been keeping an eye on others and making the borough a better place to live for over half a century through volunteering deeds through her local church.

Then there was Sandra Erskine who has been tackling street crime while also stepping up and highlighting street environment issues.

For the first time in its history a married couple - Alan and Vera Robb - were celebrated, both for their work with the East Ham based Air Train Corps which has touched thousands of young lives.

Vera later revealed that at home Rob was the first to open his official letter to discover he was being honoured.

“I was very pleased then Rob said ‘Well you have a similar envelope you ought to open’. I was just amazed but thrilled I had been chosen.”
Shocked was the first word most recipients uttered when asked by the Recorder on their feelings o reading their letters.

One winner who missed out on the lavish dinner of smoked mackerel pate starter and herbed chicken was Asian community activist Ghulam Minhas.

He had to return to Pakistan for business and personal reasons.

His award was collected by his 25-year-old son Saquib who said his father was very sorry not to have attended personally.

Ravinder Kang, long standing servant of the invaluable EKTA project, was a little tired even before the night’s events.

“To be honest I could not sleep a wink last night with the excitement, but I can say I am so very happy,” she told us.

All the winners shared tables with their nominees or invited guests.

The dinner, cooked and served by students from Redbridge College, was followed by a raffle and auction, with donations from London City Airport, Kuoni and West Ham United among the gifts.

More than £3,000 was raised to boost Cllr Chaudhary’s chosen charities of Community Links, Real Life Parenting and Diabetes UK.