Women in Oldham Learn Car Maintenance Through Charity Course

A charity in Oldham has been hosting a car maintenance course for women led by a qualified female mechanic.

Organised by Oasis Hub Oldham, the course, which is held on the last Wednesday of every month, incorporates preparation for the theory test.

Classes started in January and are taught by Rubena Begum, who is passionate about educating women and young people.

Begum, who owns her own garage, has taught students a lot of practical things alongside theory. She has covered: where the engine is, what an engine looks like, what tyres should look like and the pressure they should be at. She has taught how to service a car.

She said: “I started these sessions because I was sick and tired of seeing women get ripped off or overcharged by garages just because they didn’t have knowledge or confidence around cars.”

The car maintenance course is held in the Hub Room at Oasis Academy Clarksfield. The ladies who attend get involved and ask a lot of questions. Ten women joined the latest session. There is the language barrier, but the ones who speak English help those who can’t.

At the Clarksfield Hub, they also have a walking group where women can walk in groups of up to 16 women. The majority of women who join are from south Asian backgrounds.

Oasis is a large organisation, and it is split into many branches across the country. The main base is in London.

Katherine Owen, community team leader, said: “There are two branches of the Oasis Hub Oldham – Clarksfield and Hollinwood, with around 200 members in total who attend Zumba classes, coffee mornings, maths sessions and creative writing courses among others.

“The ladies that join us say they want to walk but they don’t know where to start. They don’t want to walk on their own as people could gossip about them.

“We are trying to get women to be independent and do things on their own. We give them the tools to do things themselves and not have to rely on other people.

“We are a charity, so we rely heavily on fundraising and donations. If we can’t make money, we can’t run. We have had to cut our hours for this reason. We rely on people donating money.