The chief executive of a children’s charity has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bolton in recognition of her services to healthcare.
Ghazala Baig, Chief Executive of children’s charity MedEquip4Kids, a charity which improves the health of children in the North West by providing equipment and facilities not available from limited NHS resources, was awarded the doctorate alongside graduating students.
Ghazala joined the charity 23 years ago in a school’s fundraising role, quickly progressing to be the schools team leader, and then corporate fundraising manager, where she used her sales and marketing talents to build relationships with new and existing corporate sponsors.
In 2008 she was promoted to Deputy Trust Director, and then in 2011 she was appointed as Chief Executive Officer.
She now has overall responsibility for the management of the charity, including budgets and strategy, staffing, legal and financial issues, and working with the board of trustees.
Born and bred in Burnage, Ghazala is the daughter of Karim Din, founder of the Victoria Park Mosque, who received an award from the Queen for his achievements during the 1970s in integrating the Muslim community into Manchester.
In her graduation speech, she spoke about his legacy, she said: “My first experience of giving to the community was through my father. My father was one of the first Asian entrepreneurs in Manchester, having travelled over from Pakistan in 1923 aged only 17.
“Even now, he is remembered by those who have benefited from his charitable nature. It was these acts that inspired me to seek a career in the third sector.”
The charity also delivers the Hummingbird Project: a course of mental health workshops in schools.
Last year their work had a positive impact on the health of 120,882 babies, children, and young people.
The Hummingbird Project was developed by MedEquip4Kids in 2017 with support from Professor Jerome Carson and Dr Chathurika Kannangara from the University of Bolton.
Ghazala explained: “The programme has now introduced concepts of positive psychology such as resilience, kindness, character strengths, mindfulness, and gratitude to over 4,500 students across the North West.
“What makes this programme even more special is that our Project Lead, Ian Platt, is also a graduate from the University of Bolton.”
Finally, Ghazala encouraged the Bolton graduands to consider pursuing a career in the charity sector.
She spoke about the importance of giving, concluding that: “Science has proven that the act of giving increases our own happiness as well as that of the recipient, making it one of the most powerful wellbeing activities there is.
“Best of all, it’s something we can all do now. We all have so much to give- not just money, but time, effort, knowledge, patience, and compassion.”
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