‘We need to celebrate their selfless work’: Woman who cared for her ailing mother and helped raise her siblings from the age of ELEVEN hits out at the lack of support for young carers
- Najma Hafeez, 52, from Birmingham spent her childhood caring for her mother
- Her mother suffered debilitating illnesses including serious asthma and angina
- Is it estimated that 700,000 carers in the UK are young adults like Najma
- Carers Rights Day UK is being marked today, on Friday 30th November
Childhood should be a carefree time but for Najma Hafeez, 52, from Birmingham it was time of great responsibility.
Najma, a former councillor for Birmingham City Council, began caring for her severely ill mother when she was just eleven years old and continued throughout her childhood.
And now she has hit out at the lack of support for young carers, with a rising number of carers not receiving any allowance.
Amongst the 7 million carers in the UK, some 700,000 are young adults or children; however the exact figure is expected to be much higher as many, like Najma, are unregistered or unknown in the system.
Speaking on Carers Rights Day 2018, Najma Hafeez, pictured, has hit out at the lack of support available for young carers following her own experience of caring for her mother
Najma pictured as a little girl, second right, with her mother and siblings. Speaking on Carers Rights Day, she said: ‘Many of these carers do not receive any carers allowance’
Najma’s mother Suraya Hafeez suffered from serious asthma, angina and many other illnesses and was regularly hospitalised during Najma’s childhood.
With her father working long hours Najma, the second eldest of six siblings; brothers Anjam, Fashwar, Murtza and Kumal and one sister Asma, took charge along with her elder brother Anjam.
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‘Being the eldest girl in a traditional Asian household, I was automatically expected to take charge with my elder brother Anjam of household chores and caring for my mother and siblings,’ said Najma.
Najma had to manage all her mother’s appointments, medication and her siblings’ school needs such as school uniforms, packed lunches and parents’ evenings, leaving not much time for herself.
‘I remember being surprised by my friends’ horror at the amount of work and responsibilities I had,’ said Najma. ‘For me, it was normal’.
Like many other young carers, Najma’s schooling was affected.
Najma is now a parent herself (her four sons are pictured) and has hit out at the lack of support for young carers, with a rising number of carers not receiving any allowance
Young adults aged 16-18 who are carers are twice as likely not to be in education or training and 68 per cent of young carers are bullied in school, according to a survey by Carer’s Trust.
The statistics also show that 56 per cent of young adult carers in college or university were struggling because of their caring role. And young carers are four times more likely to drop out of their college or university course.
‘I believe we should acknowledge the invaluable help and support these people are contributing to our society,’ said Najma.
She added: ‘We need to recognise the enormous amount of money they are saving to our National Health Service and identify and pay carer’s allowance.
‘Carers, especially young carers need support such as counselling and respite care.
Najma, pictured with her two sons, believes with the increasing elderly population, the number of carers is likely to rise
Charity Carer’s Trust reported there are around 10,000 young carers between the ages of five and seven providing unpaid care, according to the most recent Census.
They also found that 46 per cent of young carers are getting up in the night to care for family members, missing out on their own sleep and more than 80% are carrying out caring duties every day or most days of the week.
This number of carers is expected to rise by 60 per cent to 3.4 million by 2030. Figures show around 670,000 of these unpaid carers are looking after people with dementia.
‘With our increasing elderly population, this figure will certainly rise,’ Najma said. ‘We need to celebrate and reward carers for their selfless hard work’.
Carer’s Rights Day is on Friday November 30. For more information visit carersuk.org
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