ORIGINS

Al Madad Foundation was established in 2001 as a means of realising our founder's dream of a world where basic education is accessible to all, where young minds are cultivated and where children are given the tools to build positive futures for themselves and those around them.

For three decades AMF has been working to accomplish just that. The Foundation is responsive, dynamic, and flexible. We firmly believe that to be successful we must remain non-political and without religious affiliation, and while we cannot alter the decisions of governments or halt the devastation of war, we can offer children the opportunity to be defined not by their circumstances but by their ambitions. Through healing and education, they are empowered to choose another path- one that will break the cycle of violence and hate and help to change the world for the better.

MISSION

Our mission is to empower some of the world’s most vulnerable children by providing opportunities to heal, learn and grow.

Strategic Priorities

Bridging the educational gap for out-of-school refugee children with alternative programmes to prepare them to successfully reintegrate into mainstream school
Supporting the development of tailored educational settings to empower displaced and refugee children in host communities through the means of education
Effecting change in the lives of displaced and refugee children through the means of artistic expression and specialist artistic intervention
Promoting understanding of heritage and cultural activities to help displaced and refugee children preserve the connection with their communities
Supporting holistic approaches to wellbeing to help emancipate the most vulnerable and eliminate as many of their immediate needs as possible
Acting to emergency situations to provide targeted support and relief for children and their caregivers

LEADERSHIP

Angie Garvich, Managing Director

Angie Garvich joined Al Madad Foundation in 2017 as the organisation’s first Managing Director and works in conjunction with the AMF Board to support and enhance the Foundation’s mission. Over the past three decades she has worked in diverse leadership roles across the not-for-profit sector both in the US and the UK and has held senior positions in organisations such as King’s College London, The American Cancer Society and Westminster School. She received a BA (hons) in History from the University of Montevallo and gained an MA in Cultural Heritage Studies from University College London, as well as a certification in Foundations Administration from NYU. She serves on the boards of several non-profits and is a governor of a primary school in West London.

Grace Ghaleb, Education Programme Director

Grace is our Education Programme Director. This role has overall responsibility for a portfolio of international educational projects, including the development of new projects and ensuring the delivery, implementation and monitoring of funded programmes. She holds an MA in Peace and Reconciliation Studies from Coventry University.

Before moving to London in 2015, Grace was based in Beirut where she accumulated around 10 years' experience in the fields of peacebuilding, conflict prevention, youth participation rights, youth empowerment and peace education. She was also involved in several outreach and advocacy efforts to state actors, regional intergovernmental organisations and UN by liaising civil society actors from across the Middle East and North Africa around topics of arms control, human rights, rights of the child, gender equality, the implementation of unscr 1325, stopping the use of child soldiers, and the responsibility to protect.

Katharine Robinson, Director of Operations

Katharine received a BA (hons) in History from the University of Durham, and has worked in the charity sector in London since 2006. A role at disability charity Livability was the start of an interest in communications and event management that led to PR Consultancy Shiny Red and thereafter to Goodenough College (for international postgraduate students). At the College she oversaw events and fundraising including several international 'Director's Tours' and two overseas trips for alumni. After Goodenough was Westminster School where events management, communications and database management ignited a passion for effective data collection, management and communication which continues to this day. At Al Madad Foundation she aims to ensure that every single penny can be accounted for through proper stewardship and collection of results.

Board
Faiza Meyassar Alireza (Chair)

Basma Alireza

Yasmin Alireza