Farheen Khan, born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, is the South Asian Development Co-coordinator for the United Way Organization. In an interview with her, she explained that United Way is a charitable Organization that raises funds to further assist various local community organizations and agencies. The United Way mainly seeks assistance from corporate organizations and encourages the employees of corporate companies to donate for the causes supported by United Way.
In the Peel region, they are supporting 40 agencies of various strength and size. United Way is successful in raising 12 to 15 million dollars per year to fund various institutions such as organizations working for mental health, food banks, shelters etc. Farheen proudly explains that it is not a government organization and people in the community are actively involved. She further recounts that recession has not much affected their cause, but the main purpose of United Way is to maintain relationships with its donors. People are currently not giving as much, not because they don’t support this cause but because they can’t afford to give right now.
Considering the demographics of Peel region, the United Way decided to reach out to the community for involvement on a more culturally sensitive foundation. They are seeking active involvement of three main communities namely the South Asian, Chinese and the Black population. The South Asian Advisory Council was formed in 2009.
To attract more South Asian donors, the South Asian Advisory Council in United Way, is working towards bringing the people from all walks of life to get involved in a more active form as there are different communities within South Asian community because of its unique diversity. The idea is that people like doctors, lawyers, bank managers, social workers; teachers, etc. can help develop the relationships that are needed within their own subsequent communities to actually build a network. Also, United Way takes it as its duty to make sure that the agencies that are being funded are culturally sensitive and really helping the South Asian community.
United Way recognized that the majority of newcomers in Peel region are South Asians; hence, they pay close attention to help the community. United Way supports diversity and works to include people of different backgrounds. People in south Asian community share values, like respecting our elders, hospitality to new people and guests, honor, etc. so, United Way look for the commonalities within all of these so that we can relate to one another.
To further strengthen their network, they have also branded themselves with APNA Peel. Farheen thinks that South Asians give back to the community in various ways, which can be different from the conventional sense in the mainstream. APNA peel is developing the sense that it is important to give to your religious institutions as well as to help people in South Asia, but it is also important to have our responsibility as Canadians to give back to our own local communities.
Farheen is also the president of CAMP Toronto (The Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals) that has been in existence for 6 years. It is a social networking organization to provide an outlet to Muslim professionals to network socially and professionally and to provide them an opportunity to develop themselves in order to advance in their careers. CAMP held a leadership summit last year to provide people with the mentorship and networking opportunities to connect with other people. The underlying theme is to give back to the community be it in a monetary form or simply using your own skills to better your own community. CAMP organizes workshops such as Breaking the Glass Ceiling where they introduced a panel of seven successful Muslim professionals to share their struggle stories.
Farheen then went ahead and with the help of few other women, she formed another organization called the Way to Inner Peace. The idea is to build awareness and to support women who are dealing with depression or trauma of any sort but the main emphasis is to help people who are experiencing some kind of abuse or violence in their way.
Apart from her involvement in various organizations Farheen Khan is also pursuing her degree in Business Administration from York University. Recently, she also wrote a book entitled ‘From Behind a Veil, A Hijabi’s Journey to Happiness’ that would be published in March 2010. She explains that it is her personal story of her experience of growing up in Mississauga, as there was a very small Muslim population. The basis of the book is 9/11 and how that tragedy impacted her as a person. She narrates that at that point in her life, she realized what it means to be persecuted or to be looked upon as a person who is in wrong. Also, it discusses the emergence of the concept of Islamophobia and how it affected her life as a South Asian Muslim. She further clarifies that the book is not about hijab per se but it is about her because she is hijabi. It is an attempt to educate people on the reason that she sees to wear it, as a part of her identity.
Author: Staff Reporter
