Tributes paid to matriarch of St Albans Asian community
Habiba Anchawan - Credit: Archant
An influential member of the Asian community has died at the age of 87.
Habiba Anchawan had lived in St Albans since 1973 when she arrived from Uganda with her six children.
Widowed at a young age she had brought up her children as a single mother.
She was a valued member of the Tiffin Club for older Asian women, which meets every Thursday at St Lukes Church.
Habiba was passionate about the importance of education, and was known for going out of her way to support Asian parents at Mandeville JMI School.
She encouraged parents to integrate into the wider school community and helped them to overcome language barriers.
Chair of the Hertfordshire Asian Women’s Association, Farhat Zia, said: “Habiba was known by our community as ‘mum’, because she was an inspiration to all of us, a wonderful role model. We will all dearly miss her.”
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A plot at the Tiffin Club’s section of the Community Garden in Highfield Park has been named ‘Habiba Garden’ in her memory because of her love of flowers.
