ASIAN WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2003 - FINALISTS

The Asian Women of Achievement Awards applaud and celebrate the commitment, dedication and determination of Asian women to their professional and personal achievements within the commercial, professional, artistic and humanitarian sectors. This year 37 finalists have been selected across seven different Award categories:

THE SOCIAL & HUMANITARIAN AWARD

For special women involved in social and humanitarian work, whether they are individuals working for non-profit organisations or the corporate world contributing to the voluntary sector.

CAMILA BATMANGHELIDJH
Camila's life aim has been to act as a catalyst for setting up support services for vulnerable children. She founded Kids Company in December 1995, hoping to reach not only vulnerable children in schools but also those excluded and on the margins of society. She persuaded Railtrack to donate six railway arches in Camberwell beneath which there is now a thriving youth centre 'The Arches' that reaches out to some 600 children who self refer for human warmth, housing support, education, food and creative activities. The children have given the project a 95-100% satisfaction rating. In addition to The Arches, the staff of Kids Company (56 full-time and 20 part-time) and some 80 volunteers support 3,000-4,000 children a year across 15 inner city schools in London. Camila's resilience has seen Kids Company through its years of development, and for the last three she has had to raise over £2 million each year to ensure the survival of the organisation. Prior to Kids Company, Camila set up The Place to Be which offered psychotherapy and counselling to children in schools. It is now a national project and serves in excess of 20,000 children a year. Camila used her mortgage repayments to set it up.

DADI JANKI
Dadi Janki, at 82 years, is the woman whose inspiration and name is given to The Janki Foundation - a global initiative that aims to establish a holistic and reflective approach to modern day health care. The Foundation, which launched in the UK in 1997, is collaborating with other organisations and individuals around the world in developing a model of health care that emphasises spiritual dimensions while utilising the benefits offered by 21st Century science and technology. She is one of 10 'Keepers of Wisdom', an eminent group of spiritual and religious leaders, convened at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, to advise political leaders in the spiritual dilemmas underpinning current worldwide issues such as the environment and human settlement. A woman who refuses to set limits and boundaries as to what is achievable, Dadi Janki inspires through her words of wisdom and is recognised worldwide for the depth and insight of her lectures.

INDIRA PATEL
Indira has been involved in voluntary work for 28 years, both in the UK and internationally, and has made a major contribution to the mutual understanding between women from Asian cultures and British women and communities. For the past 12 years she has run an annual conference for Asian women to enable them to network and share experiences, and has organised 11 workshops encouraging Asian women to apply for public appointments. She has served for some years on the Women's National Commission and is their representative to the World Congress of Non-Governmental Organisations and the UN Commission on the Status of Women. She is regularly consulted by the Home Office on matters affecting Asian women in the UK, and has campaigned against many issues affecting Asian women including female genital mutilation, forced marriages, trafficking and the immigration laws that delayed acceptance of brides entering the UK from abroad.

NUREEN BABAR
Nureen has worked as a Medical Secretary in her community for many years but, in addition to this, she set up the charity Child Care International in 1993 that provides surgical care and corrective surgery for children in under developed regions of the world born with a cleft lip or palate. The charity is small and Nureen is involved in every aspect including fund raising and the day-to-day administration as well as logistically planning for the surgical camps overseas and taking an active part in the missions. There are one or two surgical missions a year, the majority having been to urban and remote areas of Pakistan, with a dedicated team of volunteer medical staff, plastic surgeons, doctors and nurses. During a 10-day visit they can operate on 70 children who would otherwise not have the opportunity of undergoing treatment. Nureen runs the charity in her spare time and her efforts are tireless, effective and always with a smile.

RITA PATEL
Rita has been involved with The Belgrave Baheno Women's Organisation since 1983, and under her leadership it has become one of the most respected voluntary organisations in the country with leading initiatives such as The Manushi Project supporting victims of domestic violence in Asian communities. In 1996 Rita and her team embarked on the most exciting community empowered urban regeneration project in the country - The Peepul Centre in Leicester. This flagship centre will be a gateway to opportunity providing health, leisure, education, arts and cultural facilities under one roof. Under her leadership the team developing the Centre has raised £12 million funding and has also received £7 million from The Millennium Commission. Rita has over 20 years experience in the voluntary sector and has contributed to numerous initiatives on black community development. She is currently Vice Chair of Eastern Leicester Primary Care Trust Board, a Board Member of Leicester Urban Regeneration Company and a member of East Midlands Development Agency's Urban Partnership Group.

SHAHWAR SADEQUE
Shahwar is an education and ICT consultant and is a director of two companies. She has a strong public service ethos and has been a member of a number of national public bodies since 1989, believing that if women are not present on them then important decisions will be made which affect everyone but with input from only half of society. She has been a Special Representative of the Secretary of State for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office since 1998 and a member of the Royal College of Physicians' Committee on Ethical Issues in Medicine. Over the years she has contributing her expertise in education, science technology and her personal experience of being an Asian woman in the quest to attract more women into public appointment, latterly working with the DTI's Women and Equality Unit.

THE JUDGES

The judging of the Asian Women of Achievement Awards took place on 24th March 2003. The judging panel, headed up by Chairman Baroness Helena Kennedy QC included Angela Lane, director, 3i; Anshu Jain, head of global markets, Deutsche Bank AG London; Professor Azim Nanji, director, Institute of Ismaili Studies; Professor Brian Gazzard, consultant physician, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital; Sir Gulam Noon, chairman, Noon Products; Jonathan Grun, editor, Press Association; John Ormerod, senior partner, Deloitte & Touche; Judith Grahame, chief executive, M & R Saatchi Arts; Baroness Margaret Jay; Marjorie Wallace, chief executive, SANE; Sir Nicholas Montagu, chairman, Inland Revenue; Sir Nicholas Young, chief executive, Red Cross; Sarah Sands, deputy editor, Daily Telegraph; and Stuart Rock, editorial director, Caspian Publishing.

ABOUT THE ASIAN WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Now in their fourth year the Awards, founded in 1999, were set up by Pinky Lilani and Munir Samji to recognise all levels of achievement made by Asian women in the UK. They acknowledge and celebrate the individual efforts of Asian women from all over the country and from all walks of life - reflecting the wealth of talent amongst women in the Asian community, most of which goes unrecognised and is not in the public arena.

There are eight Award categories: The Arts & Culture Award, The Social & Humanitarian Award, Business Woman of the Year - Corporate, Entrepreneur of the Year, Media Professional of the Year, Professional of the Year, Young Achiever of the Year and The Chairman's Award.

Click here for finalists in the Arts & Culture category.
Click here for finalists in the Business category.
Click here for finalists in Media & Professional Categories.

Click here to visit the AWA website.