Family and friends of Fizza Ahmed, who passed away in April in Manchester, will commemorate what would have been her birthday with a charity event on June 5 at the British Muslim Heritage Centre.
Fizza’s loved ones say they will host a charity fun day for all in celebration of her and everything that she stood for – fun, kindness, generosity, creativity, community engagement and a love of nature.
It will be a public event and proceeds will go towards supporting community well-being projects, including community gardens, that Fizza led and supported.
Fizza was last seen in Didsbury at the end of March. Greater Manchester Police later confirmed they had found her body but there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.
Meanwhile, tributes are still pouring in for Fizza.
Well-wishers called her an intuitive friend who offered her hand in comfort or a shoulder to lean on for all. She checked in on elderly neighbours through the Covid crisis and accompanied vulnerable people to appointments. She visited people in hospital who had become unwell, and visited elderly people at home whom she had met whilst in hospital herself.
She helped elderly allotment plot holders to take care of themselves, and looked out for homeless people on the street, restoring their dignity by learning their names and frequently getting them food.
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She was an selfless volunteer at Mad Dogs Homeless Project soup kitchen, Moss Side Eco Squad litter pick and the Myriad Foundation Soup N Smiles project.
Ruth Edson, of the Platt Fields Market Garden project, said: “It was such a pleasure to meet with Fizza at Platt Hall during the lockdown period and walk round the park sharing ideas about how Platt Hall could best serve surrounding communities. Fizza was so passionate and was full of ideas and energy. She will be very missed.”
Mark Frith, fellow Founding Director of Growing Togetherness CIC, said: “As a founding Director of Growing Togetherness CIC Fizza was an integral member of the team that enabled the joint project with the Friends of Buile Hill Park, Salford Croquet Group and Incredible Edible Salford to expand.
“The Seedley Pavilion Café and community gardens is a vibrant community space for people to come together, there is a pay as you feel cafe, community allotment and croquet lawn for you to explore.
“Fizza was one of my first choices to be a director, her passion for nature as well as her inexhaustible energy to support communities and individuals to develop was a natural synergy to the team. Having worked alongside her in Hulme I knew she would be a driving force to get things delivered. Fizza is sorely missed but will never be forgotten by all those she met and supported.”
John Egerton, Integrated Neighbourhood Lead Manchester Local Care Organisation, said: “Once in a while our lives are blessed with someone who radiates kindness and goodness. Someone who devotes all their energy to helping and supporting others. Fizza Ahmed personified that person. Her love for people and nature and her desire to make our communities healthier and more equitable was the catalyst for many programmes in Central Manchester and beyond.
“Wherever Fizza saw an opportunity to improve health inequalities, she grasped them, bringing together partners to work on many initiatives including Manchester’s Youth Violence Reduction Programme, adult and children’s health activities and the development of inner-city garden spaces to support mental health, reduce isolation and provide green therapy.
“Fizza worked tirelessly throughout the Covid pandemic supporting Manchester’s vaccination programme both in a clinical and engagement capacity where her guidance and expertise was invaluable. Fizza achieved all of this whilst working with her own serious health condition, which she did not disclose whilst caring for so many of us. Her legacy will be to empower and engender others to adopt her principles and values.”
To learn more about Fizza, or to leave a tribute, please visit: Fizza’s online memorial
Her charity fun day will take place on Sunday June 5 between 11am and 5pm at the BMHC, College Road, M16 8BP.
There will be a soft play area for Under 5s, tennis skills coaching, tie-dying T-shirts and willow crafts. Games will include “Beat the Buzzer,” inflatable sumo suits, football shootout and a giant “kick and stick.”
