A Year at a Glance
Dear friends & colleagues,
2022 brought a whirlwind of events!
Shab-e-Yalda (also known as Chelleh), a significant Iranian holiday on December 21st, seemed like the perfect occasion to pause and reflect. For those who are not fluent in Farsi, “shab” means night, and “yalda” means birth or light. Millions observe this holiday and gather in celebration of the winter solstice. This custom originated in the pre-Zoroastrian tradition of worship of Mithra, the god of the sun, and was popularized by Zoroastrians. My ancestors believed that evil forces were at their strongest on the longest and darkest night of the year. So, for years, people have stayed up sharing poetry and stories and eating traditional foods while waiting for the sun to rise.
Reflecting on 2022 brings up many mixed emotions! — There is grief, fear, and concern for our planet and people; however, hope remains! As Esther Perell, a Belgian-American psychotherapist shared in her virtual event on the 14th, hope is a discipline.
“Closing ourselves off to the possibility that things will get better doesn’t protect us from getting hurt. Unfortunately, it only ensures that nothing will change. This doesn’t only apply to our relationships but to our worldview. It’s been a tough few years. I know I’m not the only one questioning what good hope is when war rages on, when Iranian protestors are murdered, when extreme weather is now the norm.”
Esther Perell, who grew up amongst Holocaust survivors, shares my admiration for Viktor Frankl, who “recognized that hope is directly tied to meaning. Meaning, as I see it, is not only what keeps us going; it’s how we can help.”
As you know, due to my story, my parents’ path, and many generations before them, I have come full circle and have dedicated my life to supporting others to find meaning. I do this primarily through philanthropic work with the Global Whole Being Fund, a global fund I co-founded in 2016. As of October 2022, the GWBF is now a 501c3. Having been fiscally sponsored to date, we decided to form our own legal entity.
As Esther Perel often references, it’s vital to renew a vow. The same applies to missions, I’d say. So we renewed our commitment to our mission to support people on the move and celebrated our 7th birthday by forming our entity.
We started 2022 with concerns about deteriorating conditions for people on the move at the Belarusian-Polish border, which killed dozens of people at Europe’s doorstep… The challenges continued with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which forced millions of Ukrainians to flee their homes and life as they knew it! Meanwhile, other conflicts, such as in Syria and Afghanistan, have continued to prevail, and the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border has continued to deteriorate.
So how do we not get lost in fear when we witness death and inhumane conditions? Here is where Viktor Frankl comes in! As he states, I have found strength in meaning, identifying and pursuing ways to help, and fostering it as a daily practice. A friend once said that we do not spend enough time celebrating, but when achieving a win, we jump to the next issue we want to address.
That’s why in light of Shab-e-Yalda, I’d like to share three milestones that brought light in moments of darkness and despair.
1# EQUITABLE SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE ON THE MOVE REGARDLESS OF RACE AND GENDER –
First and foremost, 2022 has been pivotal for us in making sure that the global community reckons with the inequities across the global refugee response. The difference in treatment of BIPOC and white Ukrainians early into the invasion surfaced very clearly. The continuous lack of support for BIPOC people on the move at the Belarusion-Polish Border demonstrates that we have a long way to go. However, ensuring equitable treatment is easier once inequities have been brought to light!
2# INVESTING IN PROXIMATE ACTORS FOR HUMANITARIAN AND LONG-TERM SUPPORT –
Throughout 2022 we have been adamant about ensuring that proximate organizations — those closest to the issues, rooted in the communities — are receiving the support they need! Not for altruistic reasons but because they have, time and time again, proven to be very effective. We successfully advocated for a significant influx of funding for proximate actors across the globe, especially for BIPOC-led organizations.
3# HOLISTIC GRANTMAKING — LINKING FUNDING WITH ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT — As an Organizational Development geek and Leadership Coach who has worked on this for more than 13 years, this has been a critical piece of the puzzle for me. We have initiated and started rolling out OD pilots providing the necessary coaching and OD support to proximate actors across more than ten countries — something we are scaling in 2023; stay tuned! Long-standing experience working across more than 30 countries has taught us that the wellbeing of an organization and the quality of its work are intrinsically linked.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE — Practicing hope as a discipline has been an enormous challenge for me professionally and personally this year, especially in light of the conditions in Iran. Our Northstar is to resource proximate actors who are advancing the rights and wellbeing of people on the move equitably and holistically! We will share more concrete examples in 2023!
