Interview with Saif Ahmad, Chief Executive at MADE in Europe
What is your role at MADE in Europe?
MADE in Europe was borne out of an idea I had for an NGO for development and enterprise which would attract young Muslims in Europe and prepare them to fight against global poverty and injustice.
My role is to conceptualise the idea, to structure it, document it and share it with key Muslim players; NGOs, community leaders, institutions and so on across Europe and rest of Muslim world. I share with their leaders the vision of preparing a group of Muslim youngsters to use and share their experience of growing up in Europe and their concern to see a just and fair world. My role includes winning the ground support from the Muslim community, securing the resources to launch this huge project, recruiting staff, setting up the office infrastructure - everything!
How did MADE in Europe begin, and what was the inspiration behind it?
The idea came to me while I was Chief Executive at Muslim Aid. At Muslim Aid, we inspired and engaged hundreds of Muslim volunteers from the campuses who were not only raising funds but articulating what Muslim Aid stood for. In particular, they were articulating our response to global poverty.
Generally speaking, there was a distinct lack of understanding and knowledge within the Muslim community about global poverty so these youngsters who supported Muslim Aid in this effort to deal with disaster and poverty across the world came to know about MDGS and the collective coordinated response to it. For example, when Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh in November 2007 we mobilised volunteers from the campuses and over 7-10 days we managed to secure over £1 million from the community itself; it was a huge response and effort across the whole community. We wanted those youngsters in the forefront of raising this money to see how the money transformed the lives of the people. We built around 3000 homes from the donations and the volunteers that went to see it for themselves were touched so deeply and charged with emotion, drive and commitment to do something.
I was wondering what could be done to use this energy. I believe that youngsters can work miracles if they are given the opportunity and the tools, and that they have the power to transform the image of the Muslim youth from disaffected, angry, and excluded to being the leaders of change. The reality dawned on me so clearly I was absolutely mesmerised that I've got to something. I cannot afford to use these youngsters to raise money for the organisation; I have to give these youngsters the driving seat.
What motivates you to go to work every day?
I am relentlessly pursuing the dream I have for MADE in Europe. I'm fully committed and believe that one day I will have over 10,000 young European, predominantly Muslim, volunteers, ambassadors of Europe, trained and deployed in poor countries around the world working to upgrade and uplift the suffering of the poor so that malnutrition, maternal mortality and so on will become history. There you will find Muslim midwifes, trainers and volunteers running clinics. My dream is that there will be a physical presence of thousands of Muslim volunteers placed through MADE in Europe.
What are you are working on at the moment?
I am working on three main things. First, the Act Global pilot that is training 14 volunteers in disaster response. Two of these youngsters have just returned from the Swat valley in Pakistan, four others went to Sri Lanka in August, and a few will go to Bangladesh and Indonesia. I am working to deliver the project and raise the funds for it, and I am also motivating the volunteers and placing them in areas where their skills are needed.
Secondly, I am developing our programme to enhance the capacity of Muslim NGOs. Many of these NGOs are unstructured, have a lack of direction, and some have poor infrastructure. I'm currently working with five Muslim NGOs that have signed up for this programme, for instance, I am reviewing their governance, financial structure, operational plans, business plans and so on.
Finally, I am developing cross-faith partnerships and have met with World Vision, Christian Aid and others to work on particular campaigns and develop the relationship so that we can build a model that other smaller NGOs can follow. Most faith organisations work on their own, but we have found that if we want to produce something good we need to cross our frontiers and embrace those who we don't know and work with them for the common good. There is a lot to be gained from working in cross-faith partnerships but many organisations are not ready or prepared so I would like to take people on board and make it happen.
What are the main challenges for MADE in Europe's work?
The main challenge is funding. My track record is my past; the things that I have done and the vision and ideas that I have taken on board. On that basis, the challenge is for institutions to fund those ideas to enable them to grow and for existing organisations who are delivering similar programmes to take us seriously and give us the opportunity to deliver part of their project so that we can test out the model to see if it works. We need to win their confidence so that they take us as a partner to deliver the project. I also need to secure unrestricted donations from individuals and philanthropic organisations.
Do you have a mentor or someone who has inspired you?
I am indebted to Brian McAndrew, the former CEO of the London Borough of Enfield. I worked for him 20 years ago and he taught me management, interpersonal skills and how to be humble and work with people who are in need. He was a great man and is still one of the main supporters and a great inspiration to MADE in Europe.
Where would you like MADE in Europe to be this time next year?
The main aim is to be a fully functioning organisation. I would like us to be delivering at least one main and two or three smaller funded projects. I would like to have 50-100 organisations signed up to the capacity building programme and have held one major conference. There will be 25-30 staff working and 400-500 volunteers. I anticipate that the organisation will have a turnover of about £2 million in 2010.
What is the key challenge for the sector in the coming year?
I feel strongly that we don't need to reinvent the wheel. We need more collaboration, which Bond is trying to do, and to bring people together. I think the sector needs to fine tune its expertise. If someone is good at something we all need to chip in and support them instead of contesting and competing. I think our sector needs collaboration and cooperation but unfortunately the NGO sector I have seen does not do this as much as other sectors. For example, on climate change everyone is doing their own thing, and in responding to disasters there often isn't a coordinated response.
There has to be some innovative ways of working together, especially in a shrinking financial world where many NGOs will find it difficult to survive. We need to be able to show value for money. Bond is uniquely placed to support and assist NGOs in this way. Rather like an arranged marriage, Bond can link organisations to each other for their mutual benefit, and this would help the sector a great deal.
