Atif Aslam from our South Yorkshire specialist partners Ellesmere Youth Project is an outstanding young leader – and he credits his skills to the man he calls “the best in the business!”
Atif has known Imran Ali, Ellesmere Youth Project’s charismatic and talismanic leader, since he was 12. Now, 14 years later, Atif has followed in the footsteps of his role model by becoming a youth worker, sports leader and mentor at EYP and lead mentor for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural issues at a local school.
He has nearly finished Levelling the Playing Field’s Level 3 Trauma-Informed Mentoring qualification which has reinforced his on-the-job learning and allowed him to share experiences with other trainee mentors from across the LtPF network.
“Without a shadow of a doubt I wouldn’t be where I am now without Imran,” says Atif (pictured above, centre, with young EYP participants). “I owe everything to him and now I want to fulfil that role for the next generation.
“I was one of a group of friends in my year group who all went to his youth group and now all of them are doing good work in the civil service, marketing or teaching. That is not a coincidence. He has had a massive impact on us.”
Atif admits that as a child he had low self-esteem and anger management issues. “I was the chubby kid and felt overlooked,” he says. “I used to get into fights regularly and kick off over the smallest things. I felt misunderstood and didn’t express myself in healthy ways.”
Meeting Imran (first at a previous project called Activity Sheffield, then at EYP) changed everything. “He gave me purpose, perspective, responsibility, friendship, mentoring (without ever using the word ‘mentor’), love when it was needed and boundaries,” says Atif.
“This kid who was shouting, swearing and throwing stuff around turned into an angel in Imran’s sessions because there were clear boundaries. I had a strong relationship with someone who cared.
“He’s the best youth worker and sports leader I’ve ever seen. He’s honest, transparent and puts the kids first 100% of the time. Although I 100% model my leadership style on him, over the years I’ve realised I’m not Imran, so I have developed my own unique approach.
“Imran is hilarious and has natural charisma. I don’t have that to that extent, but I’m very personable. I have very, very close relationships with the young people I’m mentoring. I’m extremely thorough and don’t like to miss any details. If something happens, I am on to it straight away and I want to know why I didn’t pick up on it.
“So although Imran and I are very different, our core boundaries and values are the same. If I’m running a session and he’s not there, the level of discipline is the same and it still runs smoothly. I think that is important for the success of the project.”
Atif, Imran and other staff members are from the same community that they now serve. They went to the same schools, visit the same mosque and walk the same streets. This, Atif feels, is vital to them forming relationships and achieving a positive impact on the children.
“Being local is very important,” he says. “Immediately there’s a barrier broken down because the kids recognise your face. There’s nothing they can tell us which we don’t already know about.
“We are a big pull to attract them to our sports sessions and holiday activities. An external coach can put on a basketball session in our community and get zero kids, whereas if a member of staff who kids know is running that session, they will all go. That’s just how our community works.”
Atif has found that the LtPF mentoring training has added new layers to his mentoring knowledge and skillset. “A lot of the things we’ve covered I’m already doing in my everyday practice but it’s amazing to learn the terms and theories behind them,” he says.
“It’s added a lot of my knowledge of the different intricacies of mentoring and it has been really useful to meet other people on the course and hear what they do. Learning from others is massive. It’s really good for contacts, information sharing and perfecting your craft.”