Somali community centre that has served Leicester for 20 years in 'crisis' after water tank burst

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Sunday January 28, 2024

The Somali Development Services building was flooded and the ceilings had caved in

Part of the building which is home to Leicester's Somali Development Services is out of use after the incident. (Image: SDS)

Part of the building which is home to Leicester's Somali Development Services is out of use after the incident. (Image: SDS)

A community centre in Leicester was left trashed with thousands of pounds of equipment damaged after a water tank burst. The Somali Development Services (SDS), which is based in Evington, has served the community for 20 years and has been based in Abingdon Road for 15 years.

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On Thursday, January 18, after days of wet and windy weather had cleared, part of the building suddenly became flooded with water pouring down the walls. Staff had no idea where the water was coming from and had to call Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) as some of the ceilings began to cave in.

It soon transpired that a water tank on the roof of the building, which SDS said did not belong to them, had burst, due to previous poor weather conditions. The centre has now been forced to halt some of its vital services while it attempts to arrange repairs and replace equipment.

Jawaahir Daahir MBE, who set up SDS 20 years ago told LeicestershireLive: "It's really bad - some of the rooms have been affected really badly. One of the offices [affected] is where we keep a lot of our stuff.

"All the things in that room are damaged. There are TVs, security camera equipment, computers - everything."

She added that the incident happened too quickly for staff to save much of the damaged property. She said: "Before we knew it, everywhere was flooding. Thank god when the [fire service] came they were able to locate the issue and turn off the water but by then, the damage was done."

SDS has been forced to move some of its services to other parts of the building - which is owned by Leicester City Council - or stop them altogether. But the temporary measures will have a "big impact" on the hundreds of people it supports.

Jawaahir said: "Our young people's services have had to be cancelled. That's 100 or so young people who use our service.

Parts of the ceiling came down, destroying files, electrical equipment and more. (Image: SDS)

"We're operating very limitedly at the moment. It will affect a lot of people, especially the most disadvantaged communities."

Although nobody was hurt in the incident, it has had devastating consequences for the organisation. Jawaahir said it is now at risk of losing contracts which ensure it can provide certain services and will face a loss of income.

A city council spokesperson said: “We’ve been in contact with the tenant and are working with them to see what practical support we can offer to help get them up and running again. However as the tenant, it is their responsibility to arrange for the repair work to be done through their insurers.”

It is hoped the damage to the centre will not dampen SDS's upcoming 20th anniversary which is due to be marked later this year. during Black History Month. Jawaahir started SDS as a one-woman operation which has grown to today having hundreds of volunteers.

The organisation is now seeking support to help repair the damage, replace vital equipment and restore services as soon as possible. Anyone able to donate to the SDS is asked to via PayPal. Further details can be found on the SDS social media pages.

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