July 2017 Video Blog Newsletter Summary
FROM DUBAI TO BASKINTA
At the beginning of July and during the final days of Ramadan I boarded a flight to Beirut to attend my first ever fair trade towns conference in Baskinta, Lebanon.
Bruce Crowther MBE and the Fair Trade Lebanon team had asked me to present a fairtrade puppet show featuring Fairis the Frog, Chalaak the Monkey, Chu Maya and Ram Kali.
I also co presented a workshop with Movement Sociale titled ''Building Bridges with the Youth in Dubai the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.''
Fair Trade Lebanon
In this month recap I've talked about my Ramadan reflections and participating in my first ever International Fair Trade Towns Conference 2016, Baskinta, Lebanon.
After a brave four year struggle with metastatic breast cancer my beloved mother Meshar Mumtaz Bano passed away this month.
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and I was blessed to be with her during her final hours.
I have been campaigning for fairtrade and ethical producers and ethical consumerism in my beloved home city of Manchester, London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the past 14 years.
One of greatest accomplishments is converting my mother to fairtrade products before she returned to her maker.
As the only fair trade campaigner, educator and modest retailer in the United Arab Emirates I have struggled to create a niche market for fair trade products.
Nevertheless, I have never lost heart and am more determined than ever to dispel the myth about fair trade being ''charity.''
It was a wonderful experience to meet Professor Mohammad Yunus at Salford University.
A privilege to discuss fair trade with Dr Jamil Sherif and Mrs Naseema Begum at the Muslim Council of Britain November 2016.
Thank you World Pulse for your compassion and love and for your support in raising my voice as a Muslim Female Social Entrepreneur.
I continue to educate people about fair trade artisans and groups by promoting the principles of a living wage, self-reliance, empowerment, transparency, environmental sustainability and dignity and self respect for all.
Fair trade Banana Lesson Plan
I was invited to teach fairtrade to a group of 25 children at the Star International School, Mirdif, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The children were enthusiastic and eager to learn about fairtrade.
I decided to introduce the banana supply chain and used role play cards for them to understand and emphasise with the difficulties and challenges faced by farmers and banana workers.
My Visit to Traidcraft
I recently visited Alistair Menzies at Traidcraft's head office, Gateshead, UK and was invited to provide input for a video the Traidcraft team is producing for FairtradeUAE.
This was my second visit to Gateshead and I was interested to learn about Traidcraft's new initiatives and fair trade products.