Mayor Kangethe: “Being Mayor has been one of the greatest honours I have had.”
Outgoing Barking & Dagenham Mayor Elizabeth Kangethe has always had a passion for developing and supporting young people. As she prepares to hand over the Mayoral chains and robes to Councillor Simon Bremner, she talks to Emdad Rahman about what her year as Mayor has meant to her.
Elizabeth came to England with her son Kenneth, who attended Barking Abbey Comprehensive School and is now studying TV production at university. Upon moving to the UK, Elizabeth took her teaching degree and qualified at the University of East London. She has taught in several primary and secondary schools throughout East London, including in Barking and Dagenham as well as the London Boroughs of Havering, Redbridge and Newham. She is currently the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers representative at a school in Havering where she has worked for 12 years, and is also the Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic representative.
Inspiring young people is one of Councillor Kangethe’s passions. She said: “Young people need to be exposed to politics and to activism. They should be supported by adults and when they are in these environments it is up to leaders like myself to address them, their issues and hopefully inspire them. Young people can only do it with our help.
“I always say to them, have confidence and passion in what you do, aspire to achieve a vision and always work hard. If you do these things you’ll turn out ok. Adults need to talk to young people. They can’t do it without guidance. Adults must make time outside the boundaries of the curriculum and talk to younger people. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”
She added: “This year I have enjoyed meeting hundreds of young people. I hope they have been inspired. That would be a great achievement in my role as Mayor. I believe young people are not leaders of tomorrow, but leaders of today. Most are already in positions of some influence and it is up to us to give them the correct guidance and make available the best options for them to choose. If we do that our communities will benefit a lot.”
Elizabeth was elected as the Councillor for Parsloes Ward in 2010 and has sat on the Children Services Committee as Deputy Lead Member and on the Assembly as Deputy Chair, and she is a member of the Licensing Board and Development Control Board. She has also served as a school governor for Parsloes Primary School and Sydney Russell Comprehensive School.
From an early age, Elizabeth has enjoyed undertaking voluntary work with the Girl Guides and Scouting Associations and is presently a Scout leader. She works with many youth groups and likes to help young people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups in society by playing a positive role in the local community.
She said: “Barking & Dagenham is like the representation of the entire world and it makes me so proud to be a citizen of this borough. We are so wealthy, and black, white and all nationalities live side by side. If you go to the markets they are brimming with multiculturalism. This makes our borough an attractive prospect for investors and regeneration. We live, we learn, we celebrate together. It’s not like a cocoon here: people make an effort to mix and there is a clear respect among communities. We are very rich indeed.”
During her free time Elizabeth enjoys singing with various church choirs, and she works with faith forums within the Borough. She works with many BME women’s groups to help them settle and adjust into society, in order to improve community cohesion. Elizabeth also volunteers with groups that support women who have experienced domestic violence. She is also one of the leaders of the Kenyan community in the UK.
A keen Arsenal supporter, Elizabeth enjoys watching various sports and is delighted that Arsenal has retained the FA Cup. She has a great passion for community cohesion and the desire to see the diverse communities in Barking and Dagenham live together in harmony.
“In my Mayoral acceptance speech last year, I said that my passion was to bring people together. This is a special place and I am happy that I have contributed towards uniting our borough. As long as we see ourselves as contributing citizens, the only way for us is up.”
I told Councillor Kangethe that a few young people asked me to find out who is the most famous person she has met. She smiles: “Even before I became Mayor I met the Queen at a Commonwealth function, and I have met the Prime Minister. For me the real celebrities are the people of Dagenham. They really are.”
Future plans include consolidating her position. “Being Mayor has been one of the greatest honours I have had. I enjoy working in the front line and helping people. I hope to continue that and to be involved in active politics. Who knows, I may look at a senior position and maybe even an MP somewhere someday.
“I don’t believe my political career is ending now and I hope to be active for many years, as long as the electorate have faith in me. If I believe in myself and I can deliver what is expected of me, then why not? I can aspire to climb higher. In this regard I always quote Obama: ‘Yes we can!’”