Last year, Islamic Relief’s learning division, the Humanitarian Academy for Development (HAD), kicked off a series of 5 taster workshops both in-person and virtually across several major UK cities.
The sessions aimed to boost the competency of UK mosques and campaign groups in their daily activities and included training on topics such as bid writing, safeguarding, finance for non-finance managers, governance and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The Muslim Council of Britain, East London Mosque, Green Lane Masjid, READ foundation and Human Appeal were among 100 prominent participants that attended the sessions carried out in London, Manchester and Glasgow.
The idea for the sessions came from Islamic Relief’s desire to give back to UK communities by supporting them to build skills and abilities of humanitarians working in deprived communities that can be applied to their own efforts. As part of our policy of inclusive community development, face-to-face trainings were held as well as virtual sessions that continued into 2024, allowing for wider participation.
Feedback from participants emphasised the usefulness of the topics covered by the sessions.
“I must admit, when I first heard about the GDPR training I had the typical preconceived notion of a lengthy, mundane session but I couldn’t have been more wrong!” one participant from Green Lane Masjid says. “This turned out to be the most engaging and enjoyable training session I’ve ever attended – and that’s saying something!”
With the support of HAD, Islamic Relief was able to leave a positive impact on communities in the UK and has even received some interest in our longer form training, which we hope to deliver later this year.
For frontline humanitarians to carry out their vital work, it is essential they are given the correct training. The person helping behind the scenes is as important as the one on the frontlines when it comes to ensuring the needs of vulnerable people are met.
Support HAD this Ramadan to continue providing such training which leaves a legacy of long-term impact on individuals, communities and the whole humanitarian sector. Please give the gift of knowledge by donating your sadaqah today. Donate to our Capacity Building for Humanitarians fund.