Staff at the Community Trust decided to partake in fasting during Ramadan to support their Muslim colleague, Shanaya Choudry.
Shanaya has been participating in Ramadan since she was 13 years old and was offered countless support by management and colleagues at the Trust to help and support her during the 30-day holy period.
Five members of staff who work with Shanaya decided to fast throughout the weeks to show her their support.
Explaining how the support made her feel, Shanaya said: “Initially, I was a little bit taken aback that they were actually going to take part as I didn’t expect it at all. It’s such a good gesture.
“Last year, someone mentioned that they were going to take part but I thought it was just a passing comment, I didn’t think anyone would actually follow through with it.
“It made me feel really great, it made me feel like I do have a place to belong. It gave me a sense of pride.
“I’m the only Muslim working at the club so the fact that my colleagues were willing to do that and support me really gave me that sense of belonging, which was lovely.
“It was also great that the management team were so supportive, offering me a room to pray and offering me anything I needed. They really couldn’t do enough for me to help and support my needs.
“It just showed me how good this Trust is and how much we can come together as one.
“The community has united and supported me and a big part of our religion is all about good acts and togetherness and acts like this really make Muslims like me feel like we belong here.
“It’s great to see and it really shows the power of colleagues and shows that a little bit of support can go a long way.”
Shanaya also had a message for anyone who may be interested in learning more about Ramadan or fasting.
“The term Ramadan can be misunderstood sometimes,” she said. “It’s not just about not eating food or drinking anything, there’s so much more to it that you don’t realise.
“It’s all about togetherness, good acts and so much more. There’s lots of benefits to it and it can be really good for you.”
Ryan Cheshire, who is one of the colleagues who participated in fasting to support Shanaya, spoke about the reasons behind the decision.
He said: “I think it was simply all about support and making Shanaya feel like we were part of it as a team rather than just her as an individual.
“There were four or five of us that chose to do it, some did a water fast and some observed the strict rules.
“It felt important to me and the others. Shanaya is the only Muslim member of staff so we wanted to show her that she’s not on her own and we wanted to support her.”
Ryan also touched on the importance of raising awareness around the subject. “I think it’s really important to raise awareness to help people,” he said.
“You see footballers stopping throughout the games to break their fast and it’s great to see the subject getting more coverage and you see a lot more about it now, which is great.
“There are lots of Muslims in this country and I have a lot of Muslim friends so I believe the more people that can participate and understand it the better.
“I have found it okay. Around the times that I would normally eat, I would get hungry, but once you get past that you don’t feel it, you feel fine and get past the point of hunger.”
Ryan had a message for people thinking of trying fasting. He said: “Just give it a go, it’s really interesting and there are lots of health benefits to it.
“Educate yourself on the subject and just make sure you try and understand it for the people around you.”
