Social Impact & Our Giving Back Pledge
“One of our biggest passions is giving back, especially in the areas of women’s empowerment and girl’s education.” Farah Azirar.
Farah was one of the leaders for Sony Europe’s Gender Diversity program, and had a similar leadership role in EY’s UK initiative. Currently Farah is working on a project whose mission is the empowerment of women and girls in Africa with educational, health and economic opportunities in order to promote gender equality, peace and a sustainable economic landscape.
Farah is part Moroccan, and this heritage and upbringing have fuelled her passion for the empowerment of the women of this country and the wider continent.
In addition, Farah is the co-founder of “Circle of Fire”: a European movement established in 2016 with the aim of empowering female doctors of chiropractic. The proceeds of the leadership programs delivered by this movement are donated to NGOs focused on women’s empowerment and girls’ education. This movement has already raised over 30.000 € for NGO projects in Asia, Middle East and Africa. Thanks to their efforts the following was achieved:
- 1.000 Syrian Refugees had breakfast for a week at Lesbos Refugee camp, and a team of volunteers from “Circle of Fire” prepared the breakfasts for them.
- Contributed financially to the build of dormitories for children in the remote Himalayan region of Ladakh. This particular NGO, Lille Fro is helping destitute and marginalised children from remote villages go to school as well as teaching valuable skills relevant to the kids everyday lives. The aim is to help break the cycle of generational poverty for the lowest income groups living in extreme conditions in some of the remotest parts of the world through education.
- Support with the start-up of a “Mother and Child clinic” in Uganda. In this clinic mainly teen moms and children come for chiropractic care, healthcare advice and support regarding breastfeeding.
- 1.000 school uniforms were donated via NALU for children who needed one in India, in order to be able to attend school.
Glenn on giving back
I feel very grateful to be in the position I am in my profession. My day to day work is about being in service to those who trust us to help them find real health and wellness.
But there are literally billions of people worldwide who have no access to Chiropractic care, and one of my missions is to help those who could otherwise not afford it. I try to attend one humanitarian aid trip per year, in India.
There, I am one of 60 Chiropractors in a camp working to help 1,5Million people who are staying in a Charitable Mission, one near Delhi and the other near Mumbai.
It is the most tiring, dramatic, inspiring and fulfilling event that one could imagine. It is not uncommon to have queues of over 1,000 people waiting for us, so the pressure is always on. It is pure chaos, and through that chaos we see people’s lives transformed- we see miraculous changes which sound impossible until you witness them first-hand.
Although it is the toughest trip imaginable, I always feel like I get more than I gave. I return exhausted, but with a sense of love and gratitude which is unequalled. With clarity around how to use the Chiropractic Adjustment in the most effective and powerful way to liberate a person’s own power to heal. Drained by the experience, but inspired by the service of all of the 120,000 volunteers who run the camp. And just a few weeks later, I cannot wait to set the dates for my next trip.
The other charitable work which I do is far more strategic. In every country there are leaders in health who are fighting for better access to natural, less invasive alternatives to drugs and surgery. Their struggle to improve the health of their communities is tiring and takes its toll, and so they need to be at their strongest, and most values-centred, in order to continue with this work.
A friend and I run a charity which hosts two Nature-Immersion courses for qualified health leaders every year. Over three days in nature, we work on core values and personal strength so that our Leaders are ready to confront the challenges of a world driven by budgets and political agendas. In many communities they are the only voice for natural health, and so their work is profound.
This role involves year-round organisational and logistical work, but it is a privilege to work with such high level Doctors from around the world, in such a deep and meaningful way. Like anything we nourish well, it is growing rapidly and every year the results become more and more impactful.
