After much consideration, I have decided to retire as Chair of PAWA, effective 1st July 2024. It has been a great honour to serve in this role and work alongside such dedicated individuals who are passionate about supporting women and girls in Asia.
I am delighted to announce that Ms Clare Muhiudeen has been appointed as the new Chair of PAWA, effective 1st July 2024. Clare has been a valuable member of the PAWA team for many years and I am confident that she will lead the organisation with grace, compassion, and dedication.
Additionally, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Richard Timmins as the new Treasurer and Finance Trustee, also effective 1st July 2024. Richard brings a wealth of financial expertise to the role and I have full confidence in his ability to ensure the financial stability and growth of PAWA. He will be assisted by Ms Shwe, who will be joining PAWA as the new Assistant Treasurer.
I would also like to take this opportunity to announce the retirement of Ms Mei Sim Lai as Finance Trustee. Mei Sim will be joining the PAWA Honorary Council on 1st July 2024, where her contributions will continue to be valued and appreciated.
Furthermore, I would like to inform you of the retirement of Ms Asmihan Ibrahim as Honorary Secretary in May. We are grateful for Ash’s dedication and service to PAWA. I am pleased to announce that Ms Miriam Earley has been appointed as the new Honorary Secretary and will be taking over the role with effect from May. Last but not least, a heartiest thank you to Ms Jessica Ma – who retired from her role as Co-Treasurer in late April – for all her contributions to PAWA.
The official launch of the PAWA Honorary Council will be announced at the PAWA@15 Open House in October 2024. This council will be comprised of esteemed individuals who have made significant contributions to PAWA and will continue to support our mission in various capacities.
I want to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for your unwavering support of PAWA. Your generosity has enabled us to make a meaningful impact on the lives of women and girls in Asia. I have every confidence that under Clare’s leadership, PAWA will continue to thrive and achieve even greater success.
Thank you once again for your commitment to our cause. I look forward to seeing the positive impact that PAWA will continue to make in the years to come.
Warm regards,
Azlinda Ariffin-Boromand
Chair, PAWA
PAWA is undertaking a major impact evaluation programme to evidence how supporting educational opportunities for disadvantaged girls improves their life chances. It is a complex piece of work which runs across seven countries, several kinds of projects, and remote areas with poor connectivity.
The programme has now reached a significant milestone as it went live this past autumn with three projects. These were Ponheary Ly Foundation in Cambodia, Home of Peace in Malaysia and Aruna Bhawan in Nepal. In addition to these, our projects with Learning for Life in Bangladesh, One Sky Foundation, Thailand and Care Pakistan will come on stream by August. We delivered questionnaires, translated into Bangladeshi, Urdu, and Thai, on an electronic system to log girls’ attitudes and aspirations at the beginning of their learning which will then be followed up with another questionnaire when they leave.
We are very grateful to the project coordinators and to the project leaders and their teams for taking on this extra work and for responding so positively. As with all new processes there are snags and everyone has made considerable efforts to enable the system within the local context. We are currently reviewing the operation to identify possible improvements.
The system is anonymised and voluntary so not all the girls will have responded but this first set of responses show encouraging patterns. It is early days, of course, but the majority of respondents are first in family learners, and there are high levels of confidence, ambition to go to university, interest in STEM subjects, and the desire to be independent, which are all positive signs.
PAWA Impact Team — Phyllis Hatfull, Nina Ariff, Viv Wylie
Learning for Life girls, Bangladesh
Graduating class from Ponheary Ly Dormitory, Cambodia
Mark your calendars! We kick off our 15th anniversary celebrations on October 11th — which is also the International Day of the Girl — with an Open House at Asia House. Do join us as we celebrate the thousands of girls in Asia whose lives have been changed through PAWA’s work and raise a glass to an even more impactful future.
The week of the International Day of the Girl will also be a fundraising week for us so please give generously. Details on how you can donate will follow.
The celebrations continue into 2025 – the Annual Meeting early in the year will be an opportunity to assess where we are after 15 years, followed a couple of months later by the much anticipated PAWA Walk. Watch this space!
The Thai ambassador HE Mr Thongphakdi and Mrs Thongphakdi very generously opened the embassy to host a lunch to say thank you to PAWA’s Patrons and Benefactors.
Most guests in the room were loyal donors who have been supporting PAWA for over a decade. Guests were welcomed with an elegant Thai dance, followed by speeches given by the Ambassador and PAWA’s Chair, Azlinda Ariffin.
A second performance, a Thai folk dance, preceded a sumptuous buffet, especially prepared by the Ambassador’s private chef from the residence.
It was a special occasion for PAWA donors to meet and mingle. The lunch was also attended by Ambassadors’ wives from Nepal, the Philippines, Indonesia and ministers and counsellors from the Thai Embassy.
Wonderful afternoon at the Thai Embassy
St James’s Place hosted a James Bond themed gala at the Iconic Images Gallery and we were delighted they chose PAWA as one of the three beneficiary charities.
