UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 18 SEPTEMBER
A BCU alumnus working alongside his sister to help curb racism within their local communities has been recognised by the Mayor of Worcester.
Eltayeb Bashar, a BCU Law graduate who moved to the West Midlands in 2015 after growing up in Ireland, has worked tirelessly alongside his sister Khadija to set up their own charity, ‘The Anti-Racism Initiative’, after living in Worcester and realising that more can be done to raise awareness within their local community.
The Anti-Racism Initiative is a registered charity dedicated to the promotion of racial harmony in Worcestershire and its surrounding areas. The siblings found their inspiration after realising their local community in Worcester could be more diverse, and they wanted to work towards campaigning for multicultural acceptance.
He said: “My sister and I immigrated to Worcester in 2015. We were fortunate to move to such a beautiful city, but we also recognised the significant lack of multicultural representation and wanted to improve this, so that people from different backgrounds could feel more represented and at home in Worcester. This idea eventually led us to form the charity.”
After establishing an idea for their charity, Eltayeb went on to research various non-profit organisations to better understand how they operated.
Eltayeb said: “I had no previous experience with it before. I looked through different charity models and worked on drafting and creating a successful CIC application for the charity commission.”
The alumnus and his sister now co-lead the charity as CEO and Executive Director. Through their work, Eltayeb and Khadija’s charity quickly garnered local recognition, whilst also attracting the attention of the Mayor of Worcester for their efforts.
Eltayeb said: “Our mission is to champion historically underrepresented racial minorities and to bring different communities together. We work to accomplish this through our educational and representational programmes.
“Our educational programmes, which consist of lectures, workshops, and other educational activities, are designed to promote understanding of different cultures and to raise awareness of different racial groups.
“Our representational programmes consist of the hosting of cultural events like Windrush Day and Black History Month. They are designed to promote intercultural cohesion and racial harmony in the community.
“We helped introduce, organise, and co-lead Worcester’s first Black History Month, International Remembrance of the Abolition of the slave trade, Windrush Day, and now the ‘Our Cultural Heritage Event’.
“We’ve also delivered presentations to hundreds of trainee teachers and students at schools and universities. This has been really rewarding and seeing the change the initiative has inspired is amazing.”
The graduate has worked tirelessly to ensure that his charity would serve its function well and has dedicated a huge amount of his time in growing it.
He said: “Although it’s very important work, it’s also very demanding work, and I’ll have entire weeks with no time for anything except for planning events. It’s all worth it though, and it’s humbling to see our plans come into fruition as our work continues.”
The duo were celebrated recently at The Guildhall in Worcester during the annual Volunteer Celebration.
He said: “Being recognised by the Mayor and the city council, in recognition of voluntary contribution to the local community, was humbling.”
Eltayeb has come a long way since graduating, but he has not forgotten his time at BCU, and the opportunities that were available to him.
He said: “I chose to study at BCU because of its big city vibe, diverse student body, and focus on providing students with career-relevant opportunities.
“I chose to study Law because I really wanted to represent the marginalised, and I think that a law degree is one of the most effective tools for achieving long-lasting positive change for people.
“My degree skills have helped me to analyse social issues, conduct research, and promote anti-racism initiatives in my charity work. I had two incredible lecturers, Lamin Daffeh and Jon Yorke, who were both human rights lawyers in the UN. They both helped inspire me to pursue a career in human rights law and to more intently focus on my human rights work”.
As a graduate, Eltayeb understands the challenges that can arise when starting a career and pursuing your interests, and shared top advice to current students.
He said: “Be meaningfully proactive. Find something that you are truly passionate about and dedicate yourself to it.
“University is a great training ground; you are surrounded by experts and peers who can inspire you to become your best self, create a network of supportive and hardworking people, and use every opportunity available to your success.”