A BRADFORD community organisation marked 40 years of hard work with a celebration at its centre yesterday.

The Bangladeshi Youth Organisation (BYO) was founded in 1982 and has supported local people in Manningham from all backgrounds.

Around 350 to 400 people were at the anniversary celebrations, according to project manager Mohammed Joynal, who has been involved with the BYO for 22 years.

“It was fantastic – there was a great turn out and we thank all our partners and representatives from Bradford Council for attending,” he added.

“The Lord Mayor Martin Love was there, as was former lord mayor Shabir Hussain and Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

“A six-year-old and a nine-year-old also gave very confident speeches about how the BYO has helped them with their studies and through our holiday activities programme – that was fantastic.”

Joynal added that many examples of the BYO’s success stories were also present.

“Abdul Karim, who is a mental health manager within Bradford Council, explained how the BYO stepped in when he was was expelled from school and college,” he explained.

“He is now a board member here, too. He values the support we gave him and is now giving back.

“Helping to turn people’s lives around is a massive achievement for us.”

Looking forward, Joynal said there is still plenty that the organisation can offer.

“It’s been a fantastic 40 years of pioneering work. There’s been so much change and progress, but we need to keep fighting the battle,” he said.

“The pandemic was tough and the current crisis is really affecting people.

“The need for centres like ours remains high – a lot of people are struggling to survive at the moment.

“That’s why we give out food parcels, have mental health groups and support people with education and employment.

“We have a very young population in Bradford, and the energy they have needs to be diverted into positive things.

“We need to harness our status as the City of Culture, and all sections of the community must benefit from that.

“Health inequalities are massive – if you live in Manningham, you are – on average – living 15 or 20 years less than someone living down the road in Baildon or Ilkley.

“We’ve done a lot of work to fight that, but it must continue.

“The damage that cuts have done to communities like ours are also huge.

“Our hands are very full right now – but we aim to make sure that young people from all backgrounds succeed.”