The roots to establish a community service project have always been deeply
embedded in my mind. It lived with me through a long journey of services to
the community. After working in the charitable sector for more than 12
years, I have naturally made a lot of contacts and gained a lot of
experience. I noticed however that there was a gap in the community where
many organisations did not come together; I decided to found a new agency,
Community Care Management Ltd. (CCM) whose motto is "Working Towards a
Caring Community".

As Managing Director, I want to bring all organisations, Muslim and
mainstream establishments under one roof to provide a bridge between
different communities which is a rare occurrence.

The first project of this agency and its launch was the Grand Bazaar held on
30th April 2006 in Regent's Park Mosque, London. I was hoping for 2,000
people but instead it attracted over 5,000 people which was happily well
beyond my expectation. Representatives from all sectors of the community
attended including various Muslim charities, businesses, banks and
members from institutions like Medecins San Frontiers and the Metropolitan
Police.

I would like to describe CCM as a "British Agency for Exhibitions, Seminars
and Conferences". I am no stranger to event organising, having arranged ten
charity bazaars, family days out and seven charity dinners some of them
raising up to £90,000. All of that was by the grace of Allah SWT and his
blessings.

Mr Jamal El-Turk

Jamal El-Turk launched his work "The Grand Exhibition and Community Bazaar"
on the 30th of April 2006 at The London Central Mosque. The event was very well prepared and extremely successful.

On very rare occasions like this, you can see different charitable
organisations of different sizes under one roof - to name but a few groups
that participated, Islamic Relief, Muslim Aid, Human Relief Foundation,
Muslim Hands, Helping Hands, Educational Aid for Palestine and many others.
Islamic Bank of Britain and HSBC were also present.

The Metropolitan Police set up a stall in a corner of the main hall
distributing badges and stickers to nearly one thousand children who stopped
beside their stall. It was good to see children mixing and asking questions
to the Police officers who attended on the day, two of which were female
officers wearing head scarves.

At the other end of the main hall was the international charitable
organisation, 'Medicine San Frontiers' (MSF), engaging with visitors
throughout the event, explaining their different ongoing projects
established across the globe.

The money transfer company 'Western Union' were also available distributing
their leaflets, bags and ribbons to thousands.
'Eden secondary School' and 'Al kawthar Academy' presented their wonderful
projects to the visitors.

Widely circulated 'The Muslim Weekly', the life style magazine 'Emel' and
the children resource centre 'Learning Roots' were represented at the event.

The recently awarded youth group 'The Muslim Youth Helpline' were also
present on the day, spreading awareness of their valuable services for the
community.

Other sections included the Hijab section with a diverse selection of
clothes and styles, from Morocco to Pakistan – Egypt to Syria exhibiting
exquisite goods of a high quality and standard.

Perfumes, herbal and beauty products were available. This was beside a
variety of Black Seed based products, well known for its rich history and
healing properties.

The new invention 'Wudu Mate' was available beside mosaic mirrors and
frames. Paintings, calligraphy and contemporary Islamic arts on canvas &
mirrors were displayed as well. Beautiful selections of calligraphy from a
respected group of established artists exhibiting items for show and sale.
Not forgetting a varied and informative collection of Video tapes, CDs,
Islamic books and games.

Stall holders exceeded 50 and came from different cities around the country;
Birmingham, Cambridge, Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham, Rochdale,
Maidenhead and Slough. Many thanks go towards the different sponsors who
supported the function. The Grand Exhibition attracted more than five
thousand people, all enjoying the good weather on the day, with a wide
diversity of hot food, fresh juice and tasty cakes. It was a distinguished
and special day.

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*The Grand Exhibition in London Central Mosque  was followed by the Community
Fair for Ladies in the London Muslim Centre on 27th of May 2006, and the one
that followed that fair was the Family Day Out in Blake Hall Sports Ground
on 18th June 2006.
The fourth major function will be the Calligraphy and Books Fair in London
Central Mosque on 30th July 2006.