Sarrah Hussain is currently a senior undergraduate student at Stanford University studying human biology and computer science. Her relationship with Sahiyo began with the Development Team, first as a Development Intern, then transitioning to Development Assistant, and finally, becoming Development Coordinator. For her undergraduate honors thesis, Sarrah is partnering with Sahiyo and Asian’s Women’s Shelter (AWS) to better understand support services for survivors of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).
Why did you decide to donate to Sahiyo and what does it mean to you? I decided to donate to Sahiyo because I believe in their work! As a previous member of the Development Team at Sahiyo, I understand how impactful my donation can be to make Sahiyo’s work possible — I know my donation is truly making a difference to ensure the Sahiyo team can more actively work towards eliminating FGM/C. While an employee of Sahiyo, I feel like I was able to grow as a person and an activist, and I am thrilled that I am able to contribute back to the organization through my donation and my research (you can read more about it here).
How did you first become involved with Sahiyo and how has your involvement evolved over time? I first heard about Sahiyo because I was actively looking to get involved with organizations working to eliminate FGM/C. I joined Sahiyo as a Development intern and over the course of about 2 years, I moved into the role of Development Assistant to Development Coordinator. Due to other commitments, I decided to move into a volunteer role over the past year, and am now excited to be working again with Sahiyo in a more active role as an undergraduate researcher working on my honors thesis.
Why should others donate to Sahiyo? Others should donate to Sahiyo because their donation will be directly allocated towards efforts to eliminate FGM/C and will make a tangible impact in Sahiyo’s work. Sahiyo and the entire team leading the organization are amazing people—they are the reason I believe in the organization’s work and keep wanting to work with them over and over again!
