Peterborough Census ‘hero’ recognised for serving the community

Bernadetta Omondi was announced as one of the winners of the Census 2021 ‘Community Heroes’ competition earlier this year.

The competition ran across England and Wales last December with a judging panel led by actress Joanna Page.

Each of the winners have made a big difference to their communities during a year like no other, and now 22 purple plaques have been installed to recognise their efforts.

Bernadetta’s has pride of place at the sensory garden in Central Park, Park Road.

Her nomination was for her voluntary work which has included shopping and delivering food to people who need it. She is also the chairperson of Black History Month and other committees.

Bernadetta said: “See the person and not the difference, let’s have meaningful social mixing. We are all learners and teachers at the same time. Let’s make the difference.”

Jawaid Khan, head of community resilience and integration at Cambridgeshire County and Peterborough City Council, said: “The Census is very important for the city’s future development. We are most grateful for all the support being given by our community champions who are selflessly putting a lot of efforts to encourage more people to take part in this process.

“We are most honoured to have Bernadetta’s effort recognised at national level and wish to add our heartfelt appreciation to her and all the community champions.”

Every household is required by law to complete the Census. Even though Census Day – March 21 – has been and gone you can still fill out your form to avoid a fine.

The information given is used to help services we rely on, such as schools and the emergency services, plan on accurate information.

It is even used to plan where to build new supermarkets, what food to put on the shelves and how many parent and toddler spaces to put in car parks.

All households were sent a letter in the post in early March with instructions for taking part. If you have lost the letter or have a second address - including a caravan - that you have not visited - go to www.census.gov.uk to request an online completion code for your address via text message.

If you know someone who is unable to complete the Census online there are two Census support centres in Peterborough offering phone and face-to-face support - PARCA (01733 563420) and GLADCA (01733 566343.

Go to https://census.gov.uk/help/find-a-census-support-centre to find the nearest centre to you.

You can also call the freephone contact centre on 0800 141 2021 for help or to order a paper questionnaire. For language support call 0800 587 2021.