The Care City team are a diverse bunch! Although we do all have one thing in common…a desire to improve the lives of our East London community. And with different ages, skills and career backgrounds, our experiences make for great collaboration and success. But how did we all arrive at Care City? This National Careers Week, we reflect on the journeys the Care City team took, to become part of our Community Interest Company…let’s start with Rahela and Pia…

Rahela Begum, Project Lead

“I say I started my career at 30, because that’s when I found what I really wanted to do, which is helping people in my community! It didn’t start out that way though. My first job was at a market stall in Greenwich Market selling fudge, although those cobble stones were not kind to my feet and I don’t even like fudge! 

Growing up I wanted to be a journalist because I love meeting people and hearing their stories. This led me to seek out any opportunity that would get me close to people and writing. I interned at a local community newsletter in Peckham, I volunteered at a magazine company in Brixton and I completed work experience at Random House. I graduated in English and Media as the economy crashed in 2008, at a time when it was hard to find any work, so I volunteered at my local library and got a job there. I would do anything to be close to books – a perfect culmination of people and stories! So, I worked in the Library service for five years. I realised I wasn’t progressing much in my learning, so I took a risk and a pay cut and joined a literature charity – The Reading Agency. 

I moved to Barking and Dagenham at this point, onto a houseboat, and found some incredible opportunities to work in participation (Participatory City), community engagement and health (Thames Life) all in B&D. I feel so lucky I was able to work directly with my community. Care City had been on my radar since I moved to the area, anything innovative and interesting has always caught my eye, and Care City seemed to be trying new ways of doing things in Health. My stars aligned as my contract ended and Care City were recruiting for a Project Lead in the Workforce Team. I joined the team in May 2022 and I have been loving it ever since. Collaboration is at the heart of what I do and there’s always a chance to get away from my desk and meet new people at Careers Events, and after the market stall – standing for a few hours at a careers fair is a dream.

Pia Barna, Project Lead

It was at a hotel in a small Swiss village where I started my first job during the school holidays. The place was popular for hosting international student groups and the hotel owner was in need of an additional pair of hands during dinner service. Having an opportunity to practise my language skills with young people from across the world was incredibly exciting. By the end of my hotel career they must have been solid enough because I befriended a girl from America who is now one of my dearest and closest friends!

Upon graduating from school, I felt that it wasn’t the right time for me to go to university. Luckily I knew that I was good at organising and that I loved filing (I know!) and so I applied for an office apprenticeship at my local city council. I spent a year each at the civil registry office, the office for justice and the prosecution office, where I learned valuable customer service skills and got even better at filing!

While the majority of my friends decided to move into full-time roles after our apprenticeships, I was craving some adventure and couldn’t think of anything cooler than working on a cruise ship. I took a leap and spent the next year working at the reception desk on a cruise ship. (The downside of that is knowing that no work place will ever offer you comparable views from your desk.) From Italy to Singapore, through the fjords of Norway, around Iceland and the UK, I tried my best to make our holiday guests’ vacations as memorable as possible. 

After all the travelling I knew that I wanted to settle down somewhere. It had been my biggest childhood dream to be living in the English capital one day and when a colleague from the ship was looking for someone to sublet his flat to, it felt like a surreal coincidence. A few months were enough time to find an office assistant role in an audit and consulting company where I quickly took on more responsibilities and moved up to Project Supervisor. 

It was then that I started thinking more specifically about the impact that I could have with my skills on my community. I first ventured into the direction of sustainability and food security and became a project manager in an international vertical farming company where I led an innovation and research project. It turned out to be fascinating but not my passion and I knew that a slight change of direction was needed.

And so I finally arrived at Care City – excited by the prospect of overseeing projects that would benefit local communities. In my nine or so months of having worked at Care City I have often thought to myself “I had no idea that work could be like this!”. Doing meaningful work alongside a kind, compassionate and supportive team makes me feel like I’ve won the lottery even without mind-blowing views from my desk.