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The 2009 Fusion Awards held at Blackburn Rovers Football Club on Saturday 30th of May demonstrated the talent, creativity and dedication of community heroes and champions in and around Blackburn and Darwin and the North West.
The awards recognise the work of those individuals whose community activities very often go unrecognised. The awards are seek to recognise and to celebrate educational achievements, entrepreneurial activity as well as organisations and individuals who contribute towards community cohesion.
The event was sponsored by a number of organisations including Lancashire Constabulary, the learning and Skills Council, NHS, Blackburn with Darwin Council, Shahi Qila and Asian Image.
The event was presented by Sameena Ali Khan. Currently the main presented for ITV Central, Sameena guided an audience of several hundred local luminaries in the in the packed Premier Suite in the Jack Walker Stand through a programme of fashion, entertainment and inspirational individuals and organisations.
The entertainment included an extended dance routine led by Imagine Asian Dances, mixing traditional Asian dance with disco, hip hop and R&B themes and a spectacular fashion show.
One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the entrepreneur of the year award by Kewal Dass, Learning and Quality Director Learning and Skills Council North West and also a member of the Network for Black Professionals Executive Board. This was one of the most hotly contested awards, which went to Faisel Atcha who recently established a clothing company called Lawung which has become synonymous with providing new styles of Islamic clothing mainly for young people.
Twenty two year old Faisel set up his clothing business in his bedroom, but soon had to expand, especially as all of his North West outlets sold out in the run up to last Year’s Eid festival.
The award that saw the audience spontaneously explode into continuous applause was the Community Service Award which was awarded, posthumously, to Mohammed Yasin Gorji for his pioneering community work. Described as a “friend, colleague and a true gentleman”, Mohammed worked as a Police Community Link Worker, dedicated to encouraging greater levels of understanding between people from different cultures and communities.
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