A Historic Visit to the African Arts and Heritage Centre 🏛️🌍

We were honoured to welcome Angela Rayner, Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, to our African Arts and Heritage Centre — a visit that meant so much to everyone at West African Development. As the local MP representing the very communities we serve, her presence at our doors was a powerful recognition of the work being done here, day in and day out, to celebrate African heritage and support integration across the borough.

Angela Rayner has represented Ashton-under-Lyne in Parliament since 2015 and previously served as Deputy Prime Minister, giving her a national platform and a deep understanding of the issues facing communities across the country. Having her walk through our doors and engage directly with our team was a proud moment — a chance to showcase everything WAD has built, from our ESOL classes to our football project, and to have those efforts seen and valued at the highest levels of local representation.

Visits like this matter enormously for a grassroots charity like ours. They open doors, build relationships with decision-makers, and help ensure that the voices and needs of our diverse community are heard where it counts. For a small but ambitious charity working hard to make a big difference, engagement from respected public figures brings valuable visibility, strengthens our credibility, and helps pave the way for future support and opportunities — all of which fuels our mission to grow the Centre and expand what we can offer local people.

We’re grateful for the visit and excited about what continued relationships like this could mean for WAD’s journey towards even greater impact and recognition. 🌍❤️🪘