Ummul Choudhury

In Blog posts, Inspiration

From the refugee camps of Palestine to the mats of ‘Cheer’ – why sport is a game changer for children’s mental health

Whether we're talking about the children of Arroub Refugee Camp, Palestine or the young people in the Navarro College cheer team, sport can have a transformative effect on the mental health and life trajectories of the individuals involved.

February 7, 2022

In Blog posts, Innovation, Inspiration, International development, Localisation, Running a start-up, United nonsense

5 practical ways we can transform and localise international aid

The current system for delivering international aid has spun out of control. It's bureaucratic, inefficient and broken. So I've worked with colleagues to rethink, redesign and transform things.

January 31, 2022

In Blog posts, International development, Localisation, Race, Women

“In terms of my gender, class and race I am in every way a minority”: interrogating the charity and international aid sectors

I’ve worked in the charity sector for more than 12 years, and something that’s become clear to me is how startlingly it mirrors UK race dynamics. Here’s a snapshot of some of my key observations.

January 24, 2022

In Blog posts, Sex and gender, Women

How to prepare for a live TV interview on zoom/skype online

TV interview on-line. How to get it right, clothes, make-up, content, language, desk set-up.

July 10, 2020

In Blog posts

What are the differences between WEIRD vs Local thinking? #localisation

Two parallel conversations run when it comes to donors. The points donors raise time and again and the alternative answers playing out unsaid. These conversations do not meet in any middle because of the power discrepancy between donor and local organisation. Donors mainly being white, Western

June 5, 2020

In Blog posts, Race

Covid-19: Leadership doors need to open for Asian doctors shoring up NHS

The statistics clearly show that non-white people are not wanted at senior management level. I find a lot of parallels in the situation with the NHS and what is happening in international aid. Except, in the case of the NHS, clear, and transparent statistics are available

April 21, 2020

In Banking and finance, Running a start-up

Getting start-up funding in cold Damascus

Setting up a start-up requires money. Here are some of my tips for getting start-up funding (and surviving the process).

October 10, 2019

In Running a start-up, Working mum

The five things I wish I’d known when I founded a charity in the Middle East

I founded a charity in 2010. My aim at the time was to ‘give something back’. Here are the five things I wish I’d known at the very beginning.

August 22, 2019

In International development, Running a start-up, Women

Speaking in public: telling a memorable story

A few years ago I was asked to speak at a conference. The talk I gave went down so well that people quoted it back to me. How do you tell a memorable story?

June 25, 2019