Community and Comfort: Ola’s “Ours” Story

I stopped working recently, and after working for my whole life, being at home can feel boring and lonely sometimes. But leaning on the community in the Greenhouse Centre, getting out and spending time with other parents, it’s great. Kids can be hard to deal with, but speaking to the other parents reminds me that I’m not alone. This is something everyone else is experiencing, and it gives you confidence in what you’re doing.

I’m Ola, a mother of two to Zeina and Adam, who are both part of the table tennis programme through the Greenhouse Centre. The Centre has been a big part of our life, with Zeina joining the table tennis club seven years ago – she’s a big part of the Centre community no matter where the club is being held that week – she always turns up.

For me personally, one of the biggest things I got was the community of people in and around the Centre, who could help me raise my two children, but also remind me I’ve got people to lean on during times of need.

In the Centre, there were women-only classes in the morning, and adult sessions in the evening too. We could play table tennis, basketball and badminton for ourselves. There were lots of opportunities for us to make new friends, get to know new people, and honestly just enjoy ourselves.

I’m so looking forward to it being reopened. Everyone around me loves going to the Greenhouse Centre for the people inside – it’s really the people that make the place. Whenever I walk past it, I’m constantly peeking in like, “Is it open yet? I can’t wait!”