Starting March 6th, Sahiyo will be hosting its second annual Women's Day Celebration & Silent Auction with the goal of raising $15,000 in support of our work to end female genital cutting. The auction will open on Wednesday, March 6th and close on Sunday, March 10th. During this five-day fundraising event, we'll celebrate women's voices with comedy, video spotlights, stories, and entertainment.
We’re incredibly grateful to all of our generous sponsors and supporters who have contributed some wonderful auction items. To uplift their work and thank them, we’re highlighting a few and why they support Sahiyo. And if you, too, would like to contribute in some way, click here to donate auction items, money, or sponsor the event.
Today we’re profiling Arefa Cassoobhoy, who served as the chair of the Sahiyo U.S. advisory board in 2021-2023. She is also a board certified internal medicine physician and has held various senior editing and writing roles at the likes of Everyday Health, WebMD, and Medscape.
When and how did your involvement with Sahiyo first begin?
I discovered Sahiyo’s website online when I was researching FGC for my work at WebMD and Medscape back in 2018. There was an excellent media resource guide for reporting on FGC and I decided to reach out to speak with Mariya Taher, the U.S. Executive Director to learn more. She was incredibly helpful with the articles and videos and we stayed connected afterwards. We then met at the American Public Health Association national meeting and by 2019 I had joined Sahiyo’s U.S. Advisory Board.
Why did you decide to donate to Sahiyo’s silent auction? What does the event mean to you?
I’ve worked with Mariya and her team for a few years now, and I have been impressed by how much work they do and also the breadth of their work. From educating healthcare professionals and providing support for survivors, [to] addressing legal issues, planning Activist Retreats and the Voices to End FGM/C workshops, it's a lot for a small organization. They’ve done a great job building on their successes so every year they’re expanding and fine tuning their projects. So I feel like the money is really well spent. The more they’re able to do, the better.
The silent auction and comedy show are a great way to expose more people through a fun event to Sahiyo’s work. I’m looking forward to having people over to my house and sharing with them information about FGC.
What did you donate?
I’m committed to Sahiyo and their work and give a monthly recurring donation. Also this year I’ve bought a VIP watch party ticket for the Women’s Day Celebration comedy show. I’ve catered the meal from a local nonprofit and have invited guests who I hope will take advantage of the many great items listed in the silent auction portion of the celebration! Many have already donated generously.
How would you like to see your donation help Sahiyo grow?
I hope it helps in continuing to grow existing programs at Sahiyo. I really appreciate their multi pronged approach of educating healthcare providers so that appropriate care can be given to survivors in the U.S. And also how Sahiyo encourages conversations that allow people to talk about [FGC], especially the Voices to End FGM/C workshop. I think there's a lot of healing that happens there, and ultimately stopping FGC from happening to more people.
And with Mariya's leadership, and all the other staff members, they really listen to people. So when someone brings up an idea, they remember it, they make notes. and they follow up. They’ll create a project or a program on a small scale, and then refine it before expanding it. That has given me a lot of confidence that the projects and programs that come out of Sahiyo are really thoughtful and scalable. They truly reflect what the audience is asking for and their needs and wants. They don't rush it. So I hope my donation helps Sahiyo as they are expanding.
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