Team Spotlight: Hani Bashir, NeedsBot Manager
NeedsList co-founders Natasha Freidus and Amanda Levinson knew that in order to truly understand the complexity and potential of our solution, our team needed to represent the breadth of the communities in which we work. There are ten members on staff now, and they come from all over the world.
“Our team brings their background to our strategy and implementation, but perhaps most of all, they offer me their faith,” said Natasha. “They have a deep belief in the potential of this technology based on their own lived experiences of displacement.”
This will be the first in a series of blog posts highlighting our diverse team! One of our team members is a Sudanese medical doctor, Hani Bashir, who was brought on to run a groundbreaking pilot project in Uganda, South Sudan, and Kenya to test chatbot technology.
“With a strong passion to help, support, and advocate for humanitarian work, I joined the NeedsList team because we share the same values and beliefs in their work!”
— Hani Bashir
Leaving Home as a Refugee
Originally from Sudan in Northeast Africa, Hani Bashir grew up in Darfur (the western part of the country) in a small village called Ellait Jar Alnabi. He’s one of 70.8 million people who have been forcibly displaced and experienced leaving the place where they grew up, seeking life as a refugee — not to a nearby village or city, but to a new country in a different continent. Luckily, for Hani, that turned out to be Toronto, Ontario, in Canada.
“As winter is approaching,” Hani said, “I recall the memory of my first days in Canada two years ago. It was a unique experience, being in the city during the wintertime, seeing and touching the snow for the first time in my life, feeling the true warmth and welcome of the Canadians.”
Inspired to Become a Humanitarian
As a child growing up in Sudan-Darfur, Hani witnessed people in his community having to travel for hours — sometimes days — to seek medical health care services and information. This inspired and made him determined to become a medical, healthcare, research, and humanitarian professional.
“I took that path and with the support and prayers of my family, friends and community members so I got a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and a Master’s degree in Public Health from Shendi and Alzaiem Alazhari Universities in Sudan, and aim for more,” said Hani.
Prior to moving to Canada, Hani worked and volunteered as a Medical Doctor and Child & Reproductive Health Project and Program Coordinator for many international and national organizations in Sudan and many other countries, in different projects with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Merciful Hands, Elbadrain Charity Organization, World Health Organization, and UNICEF. In Toronto, he is now serving as a member of the MSF-Canada Association, and Steering Committee member at Together Project, which is a project of Tides Canada.
He also co-founded Immigrants Healthcare Support Network (IHSN) in order to mobilize health care professionals, equip and strengthen communities for better health services and awareness in the GTA and all over Canada.
Life Goals…and Enjoying Life
Growing in a region with ongoing conflicts, Hani saw firsthand the importance of medical and healthcare in rural and remote areas. This has given him the motivation to pursue a career in Medicine and Primary Health Care so that he can help communities in his country and around the world. On the other hand, being a refugee in a country like Canada, full of opportunities, has also pushed him toward achieving other goals, such as his dream of creating a healthy environment for women, children, and our communities.
When Hani isn’t working and giving back to his community, he enjoys hiking through Canadian outdoor parks as a Parkbus Community Ambassador, trying to mix spices when he cooks, and playing and watching Real Madrid soccer games.
