Ramadan is a scared month in the Muslim calendar year and whilst many associate it as a month of fasting, it is so much more than that. It is a month focused on giving back and being even more conscious of ones surroundings, which includes neighbours. Giving back doesn't always mean giving money, it can come in many forms from helping with lifts for shopping / appointments, picking up the phone to have a chat, sharing a hot meal.

In Covid, over the month of ramadan since we couldn't have our Iftaar parties with friends and family due to the restrictions, I set up a Ramadan Saturday Night 3 Course home cooked hot meal for local families in need of a decent home cooked meal, irrespective of faith. Many of us had time on our hands and we were aware that many families were struggling & I thought the money I would have spent on hosting Iftaar dinners, I would spend on helping others. Coming out of covid, things have not get better so I continue to do this initiative & it has now become an annual calendar event for all of us. 

I also set this initiative up because I wanted to lead by example and inspire my kids to be aware of the community around them & to teach them how they could make a difference, which is why I get them to help me pack the bags and make the labels.

However I don't do this by myself I have a great team of volunteers made up of friends, family and people whom I have connected with via various Facebook groups. Each one of them plays a vital role, whether that's cooking, doing drop offs or shopping. Each year the list of people who need help gets bigger and bigger, some now beyond the geographic region I can cover. 

This year I hope to inspire people on a national basis to do the same, you don't have to help 100s, even if you help 1 or 10 local families it makes a difference, here's how to do it.

1. Create a WhatsApp group reaching out to friends, family neighbours to see who would be interested. Some may help to cook, others may just wish to donate towards the cause but every little helps.

2. Determine a menu for each of the Saturdays in advance, there tend to be 4 Saturdays. Below is a screenshot of one weeks menu and how we all put our name against what we could do and in what quantity.

Typically each bag will have a starter, rice, a curry, naan bread, fruit, trifle, cake & soft drinks

Speakers for School is an initiative set up by Robert Peston as a bid to close the gap often found between the state and private education. The initiative entails employers from various backgrounds to work with schools in deprived areas via workshops, inspiring talks or work experience. 

I am committed to use my position of privilege to give back and help empower the youth, giving them the skill sets needed to succeed the world they live & to make them understand not to sell themselves short based on the postcode they are born into.

Some of the initiatives I have undertaken have been with the fashion students at Uxbridge who worked with me for a week to design t-shirts which celebrated the 75th anniversary of Pakistan independence & a virtual weeks placement in covid in which they had to design face masks.

If your school would like to get involved in doing a creative project a weeks work placement, please get in touch & we can discuss how this could be done.

I am delighted to be one of the sponsors of the local team helping them with kit needed for the players.