The Equal Empowerment Project

From Funmi Abari and Ava Ansari x

We each have a fundraising target of £1000.

Since December last year, we have been working hard with a charity called The Vessel to develop a very special initiative - The Equal Empowerment Project.

This is not a western intervention project.
This is not a 'gap yah' expedition.
we are not going to save lives.

We am carrying out a very strategic and honest volunteer project that is credible and specific.

"I am utilising my skills and knowledge in the best ways I know, to best serve people as the most effective helper God has blessed me to be." - Funmi

*note we're out here to support 'people'. Not 'the most vulnerable people' or 'the most impoverished people' etc. Whist these factors may be true, my priority is to serve communities - which are made of people and that's that.

We'll be travelling to Gambia this December to deliver the two week Equal EmpowermentProgramme to 20 young boys and 20 young girls.

The aim is to work towards dismantling attitudes and behaviours that put women and girls at risk of ill health (specifically maternal mortality) and sexual abuse in the Gambia.

Read more about our journey and our mission below.

About me (Funmi Abari, 24)

I am committed, passionate and fully invested in supporting the personal development of people from small underlooked communities, whether that be Tottenham in London or Banjul in Gambia. 

Ultimately, I just want to be useful and I continue to seek ways to do so. 

I hope my biography below deomstrates my commitment. 

Funmi is a first class chemistry graduate (Hons) from Queen Mary University. She is currently in her third year studying medicine as a second degree at the University of Leeds. She aspires to pursue a career in Global Health working within communities and in politics to create initiatives which seek to dismantle health inequalities in West Africa. She is a public speaker, private tutor, spoken word artist (occasionally) and lover of all things which manifest the existence of excellence.

For her commitment to supporting the personal development of young people and communities, Funmi has been recognised for various awards. Most recently the prestigious magazine, Future Leaders by Powerful Media recognised Funmi as one of the Top 3 Most Influential Black Students in the UK, 2016/17.

Miss Abari's plight towards a career in medicine has always been a childhood dream. However, after many hurdles and a few rejection letters she is excelling in her journey and excited to embark on a mission that enables her to serve others in the ways she has always wanted to - with integrity, with credibility and with care.

A small fraction of her journey over the last 8 years is described below.

At the age of just 16, Funmi made history in Hansard as the first non-elected member of the House of Commons to make a speech in the House of Commons.
Her address was powerful and poignant and demanded that Government sought ways to increase the accessibility of Higher education. Her passion and confidence in the delivery of her speech led to national papers such as The Times and The Guardian predicting that Miss Abari would serve as the UK's first black Prime Minister.

"For a brief moment yesterday the Prime Minister of Britain appeared to be young, black and female. And, you know what, if I shut my eyes and suspended real life, it was almost believable. Her name was Funmi Abari and she is 16 and from Haringey."
Wrote Ann Treneman for The Times Newspaper, 2009.

It was an exciting time for Funmi as the elected youth MP for Haringey. She was invited to various TV opportunities and radio shows to offer her opinion and insight into the world of issues affecting young people.

She wasn't always this confident, in fact serving in this role and saying 'yes' to various opportunities were very much intentional. Funmi was keen to make positive contributions in her community and was also well aware that in order to give effectively, it was integral for her to gain too. And with that in mind, she was on a mission to learn and grow.

"When the water begins to boil, it is foolish to turn off the heat."
Nelson Mandela,

The water was boiling.

Whilst upholding academic excellence throughout her studies, Funmi began to identify her strengths and sought opportunities to give and gain.
A few of her key achievements have been listed below.

2011 - Founded The Institute of Mad Science, supporting over 300 children and young people in the UK and Gambia in it's first year alone to explore science.

2013 - Formed a community group called I Know I Can Dream Believe Achieve - through which, various community events were hosted including Haringey's First Family Easter Fiesta

2014 - Graduated from QMUL with a First Class Hons degree in Chemistry

2014 - Co-created and delivered an international personal development community programme in Banjul, Gambia for children, young people and communities

2015 - As the Curriculum Associate at The Challenge - co-designed a summer long youth programme for up to 400,000 young people

2016 - Recognised as one of the Top 3 Most Influential Students of Black, African and Caribbean descent in the UK

2016 - Appointed as an Education Scholar at Medic Mentor

2017 - Co-founded The Race Against Medicine

2017 - Designed (and will be delivering) The Equal Empowerment Programme - an international initiative to work towards establishing gender equitable norms amongst youth - in collaboration with The Vessel Programme.

How your donation contributes:

Your donation will allow us to carry out the Equal Empowerment Programme this December. 

Despite being a student, I have managed to cover the cost of flights for this project.

If I reach my fundraising target, I will be able to reimburse myself the incurred flight costs (£570). 

Your donation will go towards:

Project core costs - resources, stationary, printing, surcharges for additonal resources suitcases, arts and crafts material, medical materials, books, equipment. 

On the grounds delivery - lunch and refreshments for young people (40 + 8 members of staff and leaders), transport costs for both staff and young people.

Donations - we hope to be able to provide donations to some of the families and organisations that we work with whilst out in Gambia, if you have a specific request please let us know (e.g. Sadaqah/Zakat). 


Thank you so much for taking the time to read! JZK