Swindon’s first Goan-origin woman councillor Adorabelle Amaral-Shaikh has been campaigning to get re-elected in the local Borough elections in Central Ward Swindon on May 4.
Adorabelle, who is also a Shadow Cabinet member for the Labour Party with her portfolio for Swindon as Communities & Culture, was first elected in May 2019 with a winning total of 2,454 votes.
PERSONALITY
“Besides my passion for community service, local charity and community engagements and dedication towards my role as a Borough Councillor, I am also presently employed with Zurich Financial Services for the past 16 years working a full-time job as a Corporate Risk Implementation Manager and also manage my young children and family,” said Adorabelle, who traces her roots to Panjim.
Adorabelle Amaral-Shaikh
PROGRAMMES
During the first 18 months of her tenure as Councillor, Adorabelle said she was instrumental in promoting safety of residents during Covid, creating Covid awareness campaigns for the BAME communities and making videos for schools and employers, especially as the United Kingdom went into lockdown 10 months on becoming a new Councillor.
“I was able to support local residents by running a Food Bank from my home, delivering medicines. We also cooked meals, donated and delivered them with local community support to charities during Covid.”
“In addition, we donated and delivered presents to children of the Great Western Hospital Swindon during Covid, especially during the festive period, we attended Covid support meetings at the Swindon Borough offices,” Adorabelle added.
During Christmas, Adorabelle said she was also involved in activities like Local Senior Citizen Sessions & Christmas programmes, installation of a Christmas Tree in ‘Broadgreen Community’, getting children of ‘Rhytmix Choir’ to perform Christmas Carols for the community, the ‘Christmas Tree Light Switch On’ programme with the Mayor of Swindon and Christmas Gift Donations and supporting local children within care in the Borough.
Other activities included ‘Ward Walks’ with the local police and inspectors of area, pushing for safer streets for children and families, installation of cameras in key areas to deter antisocial behaviour, local charity volunteering as a Goan Community in Swindon, conducting the ‘Threshold SleepOut Challenge’ and taking part in the National Mother Tongue Language Day.
Besides receiving recognition for her work, Adorabelle said she has interacted with several leaders on various issues.
“I was the winner of the MTM Awards for Community Work, was invited to India House to meet Deputy High Commissioner and Indian Embassy colleagues, met with MP Valerie Vaz in Swindon and welcomed her to the Goan Labour Team.”
“I have interacted with London Mayor Sadiq Khan and also met Labour Party Leader Kier Starmer while kick-starting the local campaign in Swindon.”
Adorabelle said she has also highlighted issues in the media and spoke on BBC about the knife crime rise in Swindon.
Last year, Adorabelle also conducted a consular camp for Goans in the UK in association with the Indian High Commission, VFS Global and the Swindon Goan Volunteers team in Swindon.
The services provided during the camp included passport renewal, passport surrender, OCI, birth registration, death registration, power of attorney, PCC and other consular attestations.
There were over 700 applications in total and a footfall of over 1,000 people who attended the camp from all over the UK, including Liverpool, Manchester, London, Wales, Winchester, Sussex and Kent.
PERSPECTIVES
Adorabelle said she is passionately working to better all communities and residents of her ward.
“I often walk with the police and directors of local departments in the area showing them first-hand issues that residents face every day. I believe if you walk in the shoes of others, the problem is better understood first-hand,” said Adorabelle.
“It has been a privilege to serve my ward which is so diverse and yet different to other parts of Swindon. I have a proven track record of delivering outcomes, am very responsive to my casework which has earned me merit among my residents and peers, hoping that residents make Swindon a better place to call home.”
“I believe everything I do is always keeping the interest of residents at the heart of what I do,” she added.
