Rehearsals for carnival 2003 have been taking place every Thursday evening at the Kuumba project in the heart of St Pauls.

Amirah Cole is the carnival's chair, a social worker, mother and all-round action woman.

She says the carnival can be all-consuming and, at times, it is difficult to not get obsessed by the procedings.

"It doesn't go away after the main day - you could be working all year round.

Young people are encouraged to get involved.

"It's making everything happen you know the kind of stuff people don't see."

Learning on the job

Amirah has many sleepless nights sorting out unfamiliar things like the carnival's accounts.

"I've done a lot of learning on the job and it's been a steep learning curve.

"At times I've found it difficult to balance my paid work with my voluntary work - my home and my family is very, very important to me."

The theme for this year's carnival is "unity for the community" and the committee is working with schools to encourage young people to get involved.

"Carnival for me is about the opportunity that it provides for a whole community," says Amirah.

"The main carnival day is just a piece of the work we do.

"There's a lot of work which goes on behind the scenes that is difficult to do, especially when you know you've got a lot of things on.

"You can't wait to make time for yourself."