What defines an ambassador?
For us, an ambassador is an individual who has exhibited an extraordinary passion for the cause of helping orphans. She or he has done something beyond just writing a check or volunteering from time to time. Someone who has taken an initiative to raise awareness, champion our work at companies and generate engagement in a very personal way.
We are blessed that in our beautiful journey of giving light, we met many such individuals whose passion for the cause has helped our work flourish. We are grateful and proud of their contributions.
Meet our Ambassadors
A catalyst is our trained spokesperson who can articulate our mission and philosophy well and who are invested in the growth of GiveLight.
Salman Azhar
I grew up poor without a father so I can empathize with the orphans who lost everything in Aceh’s tsunami. My wife’s mother lost her mother when she was a child and she and her 7 siblings grew up during World War II in extreme hardship. We feel that we have a responsibility for taking care of those orphans as they are just like any of our children.
GiveLight enables us to have an impact on children without parents. It is truly a privilege to be useful to so many people so easily that we feel that we are the ones who should be grateful for the opportunity to easily donate our money and support.
We couldn’t think of a better way to enable our friends and family to help so many people in so many places. We are truly blessed that GiveLight has facilitated us helping others and we want to provide the same opportunity for our friends and family. We can feel the love and prayers of GiveLight’s orphans and God’s guardianship in our daily lives.
Raafia Gheewala
My name is Raafia Gheewala and I am from Seattle, WA. I am a pharmacist by profession, but my passion is helping those less fortunate, especially children. I have been blessed with the opportunities to provide medical support at a few humanitarian missions across the world. I first heard about GiveLight in 2016 after I got back from helping refugees cross the border into Greece and wanted to see what I could do to help the helpless children across the world. Dian shared her touching story and vision with me and I knew that I wanted to make this my mission. I first met Dian in February 2019 and heard her story again and decided that I would help start the Seattle chapter of GiveLight along with a few others. I am excited to be a part of a mission that will put smiles on children faces across the world and will hopefully provide a brighter future.
Arjumand Farhan
My name is Arjumand Farhan and I am among 5 sisters. I was born and raised in the middle east. It was fun growing up with my sisters all very close to each other in bond and age. My hard working and committed parents managed to not only raise 5 girls with the right values but also got all of them to study engineering. They instilled in us the importance of prayer and love of Almighty Allah SWT by taking us to Umrah every month. The sight of the Kabaah never ceased to bring inexplicable peace along with the truth to my heart that life eventually ends and I will return to the Almighty.
I believe empathy is a God given given gift. Growing up it pained me to see any kid in pain wether that kid was in my class or in the news. So I would take the time out for that kid in class. After becoming an extremely busy mom and yearning to help other less fortunate kids it was my husband that motivated and supported me to get in action as he is someone who doesn’t like to procrastinate but gets the work done. Spending time with the Givelight team members and Dian Alyan inspired me to join Givelight foundation. I didn’t just want to volunteer but also help financially. So givelight became partly the reason for me to start working again and donate what I can even though my husband donated.
Givelight foundation is based on committed and hardworking team that gets its inspiration from the story of Dian Alyan and her huge accomplishments in supporting the less fortunate kids. Givelight is not only a dream that came true in bringing hope and strength to these kids but works to bring better facilities to raise these kids into successful, independent and strong individuals. Being part of such an incredible purpose is an honour and a blessing from Allah SWT.
Saana Subhani
My name is Sanaa Subhani. I live in California and I graduated with a Masters in Social Work. I currently work as a Clinical Case Manager and have experience in the mental health field for 10 years in various roles. I am a single mother to 4 daughters and have a passion for helping wherever I can.
I have been following Givelight since they were created and have always wanted to work and help in anyway I can with Dian. Over the years I continued to support from afar until I got an opportunity to meet Dian herself and was excited to after 10 years of following GiveLight, I finally got to meet the person I always wanted to talk to. As a mother myself, children are a blessing and my heart gravitates towards all children in need. My overall dream for GiveLight children is for them to feel the love and support from everyone around the world and I want “no child left behind” policy in place for these beautiful souls inshaAllah. From a mental health perspective and social work outlook, I want these children to benefit holistically from all avenues. I ask that all of you dig deep and find the Rahma and connection to these children as they represent what our Beloved Prophet (sallallahu alayhi sallam) was, an orphan. And they deserve nothing but the best, InshaAllah.
Find Out More
If you are interested in learning more about our work, inviting a catalyst to your community and/or organization, or becoming a catalyst yourself, please contact us at info@givelight.org . We look forward to hearing from you.
