Our Journey

CitiCare International was established to bring artists from diverse communities into a dedicated creative space in inner London. We wanted to address inequalities and isolation between London’s many communities. It has been said that the city experiences social apartheid in some areas and who better to bring us together than the artists in our midst? We founded the Asian led Noor Jehan Arts Centre (now known as NJArts-London) – it became a great place to build connections between segregated peoples. The Noor Jehan Centre launched Arts Events designed to educate audiences about the beauty in their midst and to celebrate the talents inherent in London’s diverse communities. Megastars felt the same way. In 1998, Sir Cliff Richard OBE formally opened the centre. Sir Cliff Richard OBE, Ustad Dr. Zakir Hussain Padma Bushan and Jamal Shah became Patrons of the Noor Jehan Centre – London.

Celebrations: An annual FEST was launched to recognise genres not celebrated in established arts festivals. We supported young people to learn musical skills from their cultural traditions so they could engage with artists from elsewhere. Celebrations of music and dance built bridges across linguistic boundaries, bring people into new social spaces. NJ Arts became a training centre as well as an artist’ support centre.

Networks: Our relationships with marginalised artists brought social welfare needs to the fore. Young Somali musicians brought a stranded orchestra to us for help and we met many illiterate, vulnerable mothers. We became their Voices in the face of exploitation, marginalisation, neglect, and bureaucratic necessities alien to their background. We even attended magistrates’ courts dealing with inter-clan feuds!

Educational Materials: The Noor Jehan Centre draws together poets, writers, musicians and the worldwide Urdu literati. The centre’s founder, an Urdu scholar, decided to use his creative writing skills to promote mutual understanding between peoples. A quality publishing initiative was born. Individuals asked if they could make the material accessible for their own people, so translation projects were launched

Disaster Relief. The horrific quake of 2005 propelled us into Disaster Relief. We had just set up a core group in Pakistan wanting to respond to various social welfare needs identified by the Pakistani artists amongst us. We raised money to enable them to deliver aid to distressed and scattered peoples along the lower hills of the Himalayas. They listened to them as they described how other aid agencies continually passed them by, delivering goods to communities high up in the mountains. Suffering from the cold and exposed to the elements, those without relatives were truly abandoned. We raised thousands of pounds to supply them with survival packs that included items they themselves had requested.

Training: NJArts volunteers were keen to train youth in music skills. One of our team, head of the Music Department of a large East London secondary School initiated coaching sessions and youth events among Bangladeshi and Somali groups. Later, during Covid, coaching became international, individualised, zoom sessions for young ladies wanting to learn music in a nation where these skills were fiercely guarded by the men of traditional ‘musical families’ who followed traditions derived from an ancient caste system.

In Pakistan, the small number of skilled people equipped to manage projects in the field limited our relief activities, so we invested in training the next generation of leaders, in London, Lahore and Karachi. Our trainees were soon ready to become Rapid Response Teams assisting devastated victims of floods in Sindh in 2010 and most recently, in Balochistan 2022/23.

Overseas: Saira Peter MSc (Kar) MA (London) became a recognised celebrity, classical vocalist. She founded The Saira Arts Academy. Modelling integrity, professionalism and creativity for a generation of young ladies, she inspired many to take creativity seriously. Her philanthropic and professional example was lauded by the Government of Pakistan where she was awarded the Sindh Excellence Award. In London, her work ethic inspired many young people to believe they also could achieve something worth while.

Saira Peter MSc (Hons) MA (London) holds MA in History from Queen Mary London University and is now the Director of the Noor Jehan Centre, London. (NJArts)

At Citicare we build relationships of trust and mutual accountability between diverse peoples. We embrace: Cultural Awareness, recognising Diversity: Consultation styles: Flexibility: Transparency: Acknowledging the wisdom and insight of the many.

Thank you for visiting us!