I was delighted to have the opportunity to become the operations manager for the Bushra Ali Group Global CIC. You will find me looking after day-today operations for the CIC, communicating with speakers, panel members and members of the community and organising new events. I am a creative at heart and so I enjoy working on our graphic design and managing our social media accounts.

I am passionate about community work. It is very important to have a safe space to share conversations that would normally happen behind closed doors. By discussing issues that affect us, we realise that we are not alone in our experiences and feelings. By coming together to share, we can bring about positive and long-lasting change. We are providing the safe space for these conversations to happen and for learning to take place.

Our Be the Change Empowering You project is one that is very close to my heart as I have lived experience of domestic abuse. I understand how important help, support and education is to those trying to break the cycles of abuse. Many courses to help you understand and recover from that abuse are available after you are no longer with the abuser. Those courses are indeed life changing and I can testify to that. However, that knowledge would have made such a difference if it had been received earlier and I believe that sharing life skills to empower women to understand abuse behaviours, to see that those behaviours are not ‘normal’, to seek protection much earlier and to know that they are not alone are absolutely critical.

Please know that you are not alone and we are here with you.