Councillor Rekha Shah will be Harrow’s next First Citizen; she is to be the new Mayor of Harrow. Currently Deputy Mayor, she will be formally instated on May 19th 2016.
An energetic and committed member of Harrow Council, she has spent a year as Deputy Mayor. She was proud to fulfil virtually all of them, supporting the mayor and doing her best. She told us last week, pausing for breath in between the elections and looking after her granddaughter, that it is important to perform at your best when you become Mayor since all eyes are upon you.
Parents and upbringing.
Rekha was born and brought-up in Mumbai. “My father was a Civil Engineer and my mother held the biggest job in the world of raising seven children, which she did very well. I grew up in a large and closely knit family. We were always told to respect everyone and treat everyone as equal. We studied and played together and shared our views with each other. I was slightly different and always wanted to socialise more than others. I travelled a lot while growing up. My mother was very clever and in looking after a large family, she taught us family values.”
Early memories and early challenges
“My early memories were that we always used to share everything. My father always wanted us to do well in our lives. My formative challenges were about how to move forwards in my life. I came to London – Harrow in 1978, and married Navin [Shah] whom I’ve known since my school-time. We have two grownup children and a charming granddaughter ‘Amari’. Aneka my daughter is a Councillor for Kenton in Harrow and my son is a solicitor.
Rekha’s career
Rekha worked with various medical practises in India before she came to London. After her children grew up, she worked for over 20 years as a Social Worker for Brent Council “and tried my best to support service users. I worked in an Asian Mental Health Day Centre for ten years and gave my very best to re habilitate service users. During this period I had the opportunity to study and obtained a Diploma in Management, Counselling course and various other courses.”
Rekha said that when her husband Navin became a local Councillor in 1994, it began the family’s journey into active politics. “As a member of the Labour party I used to organise fundraisers and attend and got indirectly involved in local politics.” When the children had grown up Rekha decided to take an active role in serving the community and became a Councillor in Harrow 14 years ago. During this period she served as a portfolio-holder for community and culture and served on many committees including heath scrutiny etc. She stated,
“I’ve enjoyed serving the community and supported people by dealing with casework.
The Mayoral Year
As the Mayor of Harrow I will be the first citizen of Harrow and I’m very much looking forward to representing our diverse and united community in Harrow and working with a large array of voluntary organisations who do such a fantastic job in serving and supporting people. Currently I’m considering raising funds for a couple of local charities during my Mayoral term and appealing to everyone to support us. The task ahead, attending hundreds of events and being ambassador of Harrow, is daunting but I’ll cherish it. Time management will be a challenge but I know I’ll have great support from the staff at the Mayor’s Parlour, my family and colleagues.
I thank the Labour Party and all my colleagues on Harrow Council for giving me the opportunity for this very vital position and I’ll be working hard to ensure I do justice to the trust and confidence vested in me. I would like to say to Asian women that please get involved in community work and politics. From my personal experience I know it’s tough for us – having to manage families, hold a job and all that – but it is important that we find time and passion for doing what we can for our fellow citizens. There is depravity- and support needed by vulnerable people- so please go out and spare some time. Every bit helps.
I am hoping to serve to the best of my ability in my mayoral year and be a good ambassador of our richly diverse borough of Harrow.”
It isn’t easy being a committed mayor while also being a dedicated wife to a busy poliitican, grandmother, and mother, but Cllr Rekha Shah is a role model for many of us and the Asian Voice wishes her well.
