Posted 20 September 2017 - 12:00
Posted 20 September 2017 - 12:00
News
Children’s nurse and family star in No Place Like Home photography project
A photographic project giving a window into people’s home lives features children’s nurse Amina Ahmed
A children’s nurse who has campaigned for better pay has a starring role in a new photographic project which shines a light on life living in London.
Senior staff nurse Amina Ahmed lives with her husband and their four young children in a one-bedroom flat in Catford, south east London.
The exhibition No Place Like Home, by Jonathan Donovan, aims to show the diverse nature of the places which Londoners call home.
Attention
Ms Ahmed came to Mr Donovan’s attention through her role with the RCN helping to promote its Scrap the Cap campaign, which calls for the 1% pay cap to be lifted.
She told Nursing Standard: ‘I was part of the RCN lobby of MPs at Westminster and told my story about living in a one-bed flat and struggling to make ends meet since my husband was made redundant in 2012.
‘Someone approached me and said Jonathan wanted to meet me. He came to our house and I told him more about how we live.’
‘Sad reality’
The ongoing project includes an audio clip with each picture, in which the subject talks about their experience of living in London.
Ms Ahmed says she is struggling to pay rent and buy food, but says there is nothing unusual about her situation.
‘It’s something a lot of nurses are going through,’ she said. ‘This is sadly the reality for many of us who go to work each day to make things better for others, but are being forced to neglect our own lives.
‘I try not to let it affect my job, and I would not give up nursing for anything in the world, but our situation is undoubtedly holding back my career progression.’
Juggling work
Ms Ahmed, who has been a nurse for nine years, was recently promoted after juggling work with study.
She said: ‘I was writing coursework modules from being on placement at a high dependency children’s unit.
‘I had to complete them at the library or at the hospital, because I simply could not find the time or space to study at home.’
Big difference
Signs are growing the government may be planning to remove the public sector pay cap and Ms Ahmed says doing so will make a big difference.
She added: ‘The extra money would mean I could afford to rent us a bigger place.’
No Place Like Home runs until 22 September at Platform Southwark, 1 Joan St, London SE1.
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