.png)
Small Change, Big Difference.
CEO of the Penny Appeal Charity: Ridwana Wallace - Laher
How did your appointment as the first Muslim woman to become a CEO of an international charity, come about?
I was given the opportunity to become the first female CEO of an International charity after working within the Penny Appeal for eight years. During that time, I had undertaken many different roles. The international charity space is very male dominated, so I was really proud to get the role as CEO of a charity turning over 30 million pounds, to date. However, it all started in my previous role as a secondary school teacher. I really enjoyed teaching and was a subject leader and head of year. I used to encourage my students to engage with charity work and that’s how my passion for supporting charities began. Initially, I started off supporting charities, by doing cakes sales and shaking my bucket on the street, as well as organising many other events to raise awareness and funds. I was approached by the founder of Penny Appeal, Adeem Younis, and asked if I would like to take on an official role, but refused at first as I thought the role was not for me. I had worked hard to gain my teaching qualifications and was happy. But after some encouragement to join during the start-up phase of the Penny Appeal, I thought, I am going to give it ago. It was an exciting time, as it was all very new, and I really believed in the vison Adeem had. Initially, I started as a volunteer co-ordinator, I then worked in the fundraising department and, eventually, had the role of working alongside our high-net-worth major donors and, then as a director of fundraising. After Covid I was made the director of donor care, working alongside marketing, events and call centre staff, anything to do with income generation and growth. I was very effective in those areas, so was quickly promoted to senior director. Later the role of CEO came up and I was encouraged by Adeem to go for it! After a thorough interview process, and over 100 applicants, I was told I got the job. So, I went from bucket shaker to CEO in eight years.
Is there a particular time of year that people seem to support the charity more, or do you witness that people respond more in a crisis?
A bit of both really, for instance, during Ramadan it is one of our busiest times. Because one of the five pillars of Islam is giving and it is believed that giving during the holy month, multiplies your rewards. I do feel it is important to show people the impact of their donations, so I am travelling to Turkey to look at the impact of our work with the Syrian refugees, I will be taking some footage and images. I can use that feedback to inform our donors of where their donations have helped with things such as, food packs and temporary housing. As a woman, I am keen on making sure the refugee women have dignity packs, so they have a safe space to breastfeed and undertake personal care. I will also be meeting with some of our partners, to discuss the next phase of our support. Unfortunately, what tends to happen when charities respond to crises, is they make an impact and then move on to their next project, but what we like to do is maintain and build relationships, to ensure that people are getting back on their feet to the fullest. A few years ago, we worked with Rohingya refugees, who were subjected to violence and attack back in 2017. Although that issue is not reported in the mainstream media, currently they are still a community of the largest refugee camps in the world. We have to be aware that aid is not just needed in the midst of a crisis, as it takes a long time, for people to rebuild, not just economically, but mentally and physically. So, at Penny Appeal, we want to be there for the whole journey, wherever we can.
‘You Can’t Be What You Can’t See’
Does the Penny Appeal, only support Muslims?
No, part of our aim is to help anyone that needs help, regardless of their religious affiliation or not. Our values are set by Islamic principles, of love thy neighbour, so whoever needs help we will help. Most of our work in the UK, consists of supporting homeless people and we also run food programmes. Back in 2020, there was a huge explosion in Lebanon and there were thousands of displaced Christians, we provided aid to families and ensured we supported everyone.
How has your faith influenced the work you do?
I would say that my faith influences my work by providing a firm foundation. We do not promote Penny Appeal as a Muslim Charity, because our team is made up of all kinds of great people from all walks of life. We want to be seen as helping everyone, regardless. As a woman, I hope to promote Penny Appeal as a charity that elevates the status of women. In UK society there is a lot of misunderstanding around culture, deeming Muslim women as being supressed, but there are powerful and influential Muslim women contributing to major companies. However, in underdeveloped countries, Muslim women are often left behind. I hope that my impact can be seen in helping women in these countries to become educated and raise the element of women being at the forefront, whether it is in the UK or Internationally. It is important to include women in decision making, because they can often bring a different perspective and will be able to identify the needs of women that men may not consider.
What is your vision, as CEO, for the future?
My vision is for Penny Appeal to become a household name. We are bold and not afraid to face some of the hardest issues or look outside of the box, we are very forward thinking. For instance, we were the first charity to run a pantomime, which was a lot of fun. We think it is important to merge cultures, because our children live here and doing similar things to their non- Muslim peers, things like that, help to integrate and introduce others into different cultures and experiences. Fundamentally, as long as we are doing everything within Islamic principles, then we feel that it is OK to promote the charity in different spaces. We were also the first charity to run a domestic violence help line, which can often be seen as a taboo subject within the Muslim communities. We want to face these issues head on, as well as others, such as fostering and adoption. Penny Appeal is a Muslim led charity, launched in 2013 by founder Adeem Younis. Adeem was an orphan child, originally of Pakistani origin. He decided to start a charity after visiting Pakistan and witnessing the extreme poverty and felt pressed to help out, originally using donations from the UK to help provide education for children. Adeem is a successful entrepreneur, pioneering various businesses, such as Singlemuslims.com. After many years of supporting charitable causes, Adeem realised he needed to create a clear divide between his businesses and charity work, so being a man of principle, he decided to start the Penny Appeal, initially using a lot of his own money to help during the start up stage. Adeem has a massive heart for orphaned children and struggles with living between a society where small change here, can make a big difference in other countries. The strap line for Penny Appeal is: ‘small change big difference’.
Comentarios