Telling narratives – our own personal stories is a powerful thing. We seldom know what people have experienced and what their own journeys have been like. So, it is really important to read these as it gives you insight into what it has been like – and sharing these can help break down assumptions and discrimination. We are all human beings – we all have feelings and we all have the right to be treated fairly and compassionately. The following stories are from staff based at Guild Lodge – both inpatients and the community.
"Those who tell their stories rule the world."
- Hopi American Indian Proverb
"We cannot change the past, but we can change our attitude toward it. Uproot guilt and plant forgiveness. Tear out arrogance and seed humility. Exchange love for hate- thereby, making the present comfortable and the future promising."
- Maya Angelou
Hi all, my background is a bit peculiar because I was born in a plane flying over Mexico... Which makes me probably the first black Mexican you’ve ever met! But because both parents are Zimbabwean, and the plane touched down there, that makes me Zimbabwean, but we all know the truth, Viva Le Mexico.
My childhood growing up in Zimbabwe was wonderful, our parents were middle class so we went to good schools, had fun holidays and a very fulfilling social life with a large extended family. All was great until a drought combined with political tensions made the environment we lived in hostile, and my parents made the difficult decision to leave Zimbabwe and look for safe and better pastures for the family elsewhere.
I moved to the UK in my mid-teens (can’t tell you when exactly, that’s highly classified) and it’s been wonderful living here despite the horrible weather and unseasoned chicken! Like many describe America in movies, the same can be said of England, it’s the land of dreams and opportunities if you work hard and go out to make them a reality. To assist with the transition period, I took on the SpongeBob SquarePants approach, to be like a sponge, ‘be open to absorb and accept change, don’t fight it'.
Learn the ways of the land, social customs, about the people, what is socially acceptable and not like the saying, ‘when in Rome’.
Find common ground, don’t be afraid to mingle, strangers are just friends who you haven’t met yet.
Through this simple approach, my experience living in England has been wonderful and pleasant and I have not experienced racism directed to myself but have seen it directed to other people. For example, when England lost out at the world cup and during the Southport riots. It’s never pleasant to see or hear and it leaves a feeling of frustration and anger which if I didn’t have good self-control would just escalate the situation. But I choose to defuse such situations and believe racism comes from ignorance and social frustrations. When things are going well e.g. when England was winning, we were all united; when we were losing then suddenly, the racism comes out.
On a lighter note, I’ve worked in various job roles ranging from a children’s play centre in my early teens, worked at Asda on the shop floor, worked as a physiotherapy assistant and as a dancer for Magic Mike, my stage name was ‘Chief Buffalo Horn'! And now I’ve just started with the OT Team at Guild Lodge and am just settling into this new role. I’ve learnt a lot working in the different roles and gained valuable experiences working with different people from different cultures, upbringings, different professional experiences and learning from them.
To finish off, having grown up in two different cultures what I would like people to know about my culture: it's respectful of others, it's warm and supportive, it’s about lifting people up when they fall and knowing together, we are stronger and better.
I was born in Zimbabwe, in a city called Mutare. Zimbabwe gained its independence from Britain in 1980, I was born a year later.
I grew up in a family of four boys, grew up in a middle class family, privileged enough to grow up in a suburban neighbourhood with a swimming pool in our back garden. It’s no wonder I did win a few swimming competitions growing up.
I went to mainstream primary school and attended a boarding school for my secondary education.
I came to the UK in 2000 aged 19, visited my aunt. As a former UK colony, Zimbabwe was very much linked to the UK and travel between the countries was a norm. Whilst I was here, my aunt asked me about my career pathway and suggested I look into doing nursing. I found myself at university studying in 2001, qualified as an RMN in 2004 and started working in this trust as a Band 5 nurse in 2005.
I started in inpatient services as a Band 5, worked as a Band 5 for 16 years! During this period there were not many BAME staff who were Band 6 or above, I knew and believed for a long time that I was ready for career progression but as we all know it is hard to be what you cannot see. In 2020 I took a plunge, applied and went into the community as a Band 6, worked in community for three years before I became Band 7.
The journey of my career progression included the support of none BAME but most importantly BAME colleagues, particularly those who had progressed further than my current banding.
Coming to the UK was a big culture shock, not everyone sounded like the Queen? The weather! And just the houses and lack of space took some getting used to.
Prior to leaving Zimbabwe, racism was something that I knew from watching TV programmes or learning through history. I had never personally experienced it until I moved to UK and lived here. Some very overt aggressive experiences and some not so overt experiences. Racism makes you feel sub-human, makes you question your existence and worthiness as a human being. It’s a dark (pardon the pun) experience which literally is human-created.
Sadly, it is during those times that you also get to experience other kind-hearted people who show their support and help restore your faith in humankind.
I have worked within the Trust since 2005 at Avondale Unit, started working in Forensic Services at Guild lodge from 2010 till 2020, and recently returned in 2024.
I have felt largely welcomed; however, there have been times in the past when I felt I had to prove my ‘worthiness’ to then be welcomed. Some things that I did not feel happy about, is a hierarchy in which all those who work inpatient understand, i.e speak with the Nurse In Charge (NIC). This seemed at times to be overlooked when I was NIC, despite wearing an obvious uniform, it appears people would come in the office and speak to the other staff (usually the Caucasian staff) first before being directed to me as NIC.
On a positive note, I have generally felt welcomed as opposed to being ‘tolerated’. P.S. I often hear people, even politicians, say ‘Britain is the most TOLERANT’. It’s not a good thing to hear, I would rather be welcomed than be ‘tolerated’.
I just love life itself, like a positive personal and work environment. I come from a culture of kindness and togetherness, I appreciate more that saying ‘you are raised by a village’, that is what I grew up part of.
I am proud of my resilience, family, work ethic and proud of myself for staying true to my Zimbabwean heritage.
I am black and I don’t need a tan in the winter! As mine is strong and powerful just like my character, heritage and culture.
My name is Felistus Banda. I was born in Zambia, a stunning country in Africa. With all the stories and humour we used to share, growing up was truly fantastic. I vividly recall that a significant portion of our school curriculum covered British history and the colonisation of several nations. Because I could think that our ancestors had to endure all that hardship, I liked history and those stories that didn't seem true at the time.
My dream career was to become a doctor. I graduated from high school with honours and enrolled in college, but right before I started my A-Levels, my father lost his job, and my mother's business was shut down that same year. Due to the high cost of education, I was forced to drop out. I made the decision to hunt for something less expensive while still focusing on the health sector. I completed three years of general nursing school and got a job right away. After a few years of working as a general nurse, I chose to further my education by becoming a mental health nurse because I had witnessed a lot of discrimination against mental health patients in my country.
Whilst in school, I saw that discrimination against staff members was just as prevalent as it was against patients. Since some staff members were also considered to be mentally unstable for taking care of patients, I made the decision to speak up for the patients and nurses by attempting to raise awareness of mental health issues. I began pursuing my master's in mental health and psychiatric nursing in 2021, and I recall coming across some information on the Australian nursing salary scale one day while working on my assignment. I was so amazed that I considered applying because I was qualified. This is when I made the decision to think about working abroad.
When I started the process, one of my friends recommended that I should attempt the United Kingdom instead of Australia because it would be difficult. I started both applications, and as my friend mentioned, the United Kingdom reacted very quickly. Before I knew it, my chance to come and work from England had come. I was really pleased to visit England when I got here in December 2022, but I also had to deal with the culture shock of the country's food, weather, and dogs. I adore it since everyone was so friendly and there were lots of smiles from people on the road and at work. But at one point, I thought I was in the wrong place because I could have encountered some discrimination based on race by some patients.
Some of the remarks were so harsh that I felt like I might have made a wrong decision coming here, and I wondered how my kids would handle such treatment when they join me. Asking many others who have been here longer intrigued my interest, and after hearing most of their experiences, I felt encouraged and strengthened. The ward team, the Development Nurse Practitioner Team, and the recruiting team all provided me with a great deal of support. I felt comforted and I felt at home.
In conclusion, I absolutely love British culture's emphasis on the small little everyday pleasures of life, such as a sunny day, a good cup of tea or coffee, holiday planning, a strong vocabulary, and a great sense of humour. Likewise, Zambia, is home to diverse cultures, languages, and traditions. More than 70 indigenous tribal groups make up most of the population. Asians, Europeans, and others make up the remaining population. The various ethnic groups in Zambia had their own communities and cultures prior to colonialism. Zambians continue to celebrate more than 20 ceremonies and cultural festivals annually throughout the various regions of the country, although much of that has changed due to urbanization and the influence of western culture.
I was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe until I came to the UK in 1999. Prior to studying nursing in the UK I had acquired a degree in Zimbabwe for sales and marketing but I’m glad I chose nursing as a career.
I trained at St Martin`s College in Lancaster and got my degree in mental health nursing and came to Guild Lodge as a newly qualified staff nurse on the 31 March 2003 and 21 years later still at Guild Lodge.
My Journey:
- Started 31 March 2003 - Guild Lodge
- Band 5 (Deputy Team Leader) Secure Services
- Band 6 (Team Leader) Secure Services
- Band 7 (Ward Manager) Secure Services
- Band 7(Deputy Manager) Forensic Community Mental Health Team
- Band 7 (Lead Practitioner) Forensic Outreach Team
- Band 8a (Interim Flow and Capacity Manager) Secure Services
- Band 8a (Matron) Secure Services
- Band 8b (Interim Lead Nurse)
- CNO Silver Nursing Award (Consultant Nurse/Trainee Approved Clinician) Forensic Community Services
Have you experienced racism? What does this feel like? What have been the good points?
Racism existed before I was born, and it exists now and sadly it has become part of my existence. I have experienced racism since arriving in UK in 1999 up to now, yet I stand here proud to be who I am. Racism affects me in so many ways, emotionally and physically. I cry about not belonging, I cry because I miss my family, and I cry because I don’t understand why people would treat me differently because of the colour of my skin.
I serve a purpose in the NHS, yet I am constantly reminded that I don’t belong here and that I should go back to where I come from. I talk and walk with confidence but deep down I am always worried about the next time someone will say something racist to me. I feel paranoid and anxious when in public and wonder what someone might say to me and only feel safe when I am at home, but this wasn’t the case a few weeks ago with the riots. I struggled to sleep as I thought I would wake up in the morning with graffiti on my house or car. No place was safe for me apart from the phone calls with my family back home who constantly reminded me to be proud of who I am and never let anyone tell me different. I can spend the whole day talking about the racism I have experienced all my life but I choose not to allow that to consume me, I have a lot to give and a lot to do, hence I take the stance that racism will not defeat me. I stand proud of the colour of my skin, where I come from and who I present. I am black and I am proud.
How long have you worked here (or other places)? What has this been like? Have you been made to feel welcome? What have been the positives? Have you experienced things you have not been happy with?
I have worked at Guild Lodge for 21 years inpatient and community and I would not change this as I absolutely love my job. There is no denying that I have experienced racism in the workplace from service users and staff and I have been affected by these experiences but I always remind myself that despite the hate there are a few people who appreciate and value my existence and contributions and the positives outweigh the negatives. I have been shown kindness by service users and colleagues who have stood by me in all the years I have worked in the NHS and they have made me feel welcomed.
What do you love and want others to know about your culture and heritage? What are you proud of?
I am a proud African black woman, my skin, my culture, my heritage and no one can ever take that away from me. We say in my language: Umuntu, ngumuntu, ngabantu - it is an African humanist philosophy phrase. It points to the sense of belonging to a collective loosely translated into “a human being is a human because of other being". Survival, spirit of solidarity, compassion, respect and dignity.
What message would you want others to know about you, your culture and heritage?
I belong here, we belong here, and hate will not win.
