Today we’d like to introduce you to Anjum Malik.
Anjum Malik is a long-time Austin, Texas resident and a tireless advocate for improving access to education for all especially vulnerable and at-risk communities. Having immigrated to the United States from India in the 1970s, Anjum remains connected to the global community through her work, the focus of which currently is supporting refugees and immigrants build a new life in the US. Anjum has founded and leads a nonprofit organization – Global Impact Initiative and an NGO, the Alhambra-US Chamber. In addition,along with her husband, she co-founded the HOFT Institute, a multi dimensional corporation serving the international education community in Austin and beyond. The impact of Anjum’s work is immense and we are excited to share her personal journey.
Hi Anjum, I’m so excited to have you on the platform. You have accomplished so much and have touched many people’s lives throughout your career. What has helped you become who you are today?
Education was the cornerstone of my success.
I was born and raised in India, and my first and best teachers were my parents. They made it clear that education was the number one priority for their children. Teaching us was a duty for them but also a great source of joy. That’s how I learned that education offers a pathway to a better life – not only in the sense of material comfort but, more importantly, a life that is morally and ethically sound.
This reverence for education and the joy of learning became the guiding principle for my husband and I as we raised our own children. Today, as they have grown into adulthood, I am proud to see in each of them the flame of respect for education burning brightly.
Education has also become the center of my professional career and mission. In 1980, my husband and I started a family business: the HOFT Institute, which offers educational programming, including ESL training, tutoring and test preparation. Over the past four decades, the Institute has served around 190,000 students from over 60 countries.
In 2009, I took my mission of helping others through education into a new venture: the Alhambra-US Chamber, an NGO dedicated to promoting educational partnerships globally. I am especially pleased with the Chamber’s work in the Middle East, where we found enormous interest from governments to provide their citizens with a better life by modernizing and invigorating their institutions of higher learning.
When COVID-19 turned our world upside down, the vulnerable were impacted the most. Many lost their jobs or had trouble gaining employment, children struggled with access to their schools, which had gone remote. I launched the Global Impact Initiative (Gii) to address these challenges. We began by offering online courses, job skills training, as well as one-on-one mentoring and academic support. The Gii team organized technology donation drives to provide families with computers, phones, and internet access.
Working with underserved communities and refugees has made me realize how privileged I am by comparison. Their resilience and grit are humbling and inspiring, and I remain in awe of how they can find joy and humor despite everything they are going through. I continue to see examples of how making education and other support accessible to this marginalized and vulnerable group elevates people from the humblest of circumstances into masters of their own destiny. This is a continuous source of inspiration and strength for me; this is the reason I am excited to get to work each day.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned in your work?
As a professional woman, I have certainly faced obstacles. While my children were young, life was a constant juggling act between the demands of my career and the needs of my children. Yet, I learned that I have always been fortunate to have a strong support base. First, it was my parents, then my husband, my friends and colleagues, and now also my children. This support has allowed me to live up to my full potential and has shown me what a crucial difference support can make in a person’s life.
As my children grew older and more independent, I took on new challenges of growing our family business and launching the Chamber and Gii. I continue to speak about overcoming these professional challenges at global conferences and other events. There isn’t an instruction manual for building and growing a
new organization or service, so you have to be flexible, creative, and look at your own talents and professional skills as your tools of innovation and problem solving.I have often changed aspects of my life to respond to obstacles and, in doing so, have found a successful, innovative way around them.
Can you tell our readers where you are setting your sights on next? My goal has always been to create generational transformation for the better.
Throughout my career I have seen countless people we have served build stable, engaged and fulfilling lives for themselves and their families.
My current focus is on strengthening and expanding the Global Impact Initiative. Gii has several signature programs addressing the key challenges faced by refugees and new immigrants as they rebuild their lives in the US. There is a lot of need for this work, and sadly, the flow of refugees is not about to stop.
I am actively seeking individuals and organizations whose mission resonates with ours at Gii. I encourage anyone who reads this to learn more about what we do. We are looking for volunteers, tutors, mentors, donors, partners, and supporters. There’s more work to do and together, we can amplify the impact Gii has been making.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.globalimpactinitiative.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/globalimpactinitiativeus
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/69285173/admin/feed/posts/
Picture taken with Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak, UAE’s former minister of higher education and current minister of tolerance, and a nephew of the ruler. Along with her two colleagues, Olga Goddard and Tobias Prestel. The picture was taken by one of the Sheikh’s staff.
United Nations, their official photographer
Photo taken by Gii Volunteer
Photo taken by refugee family member
Photo taken by a Chamber volunteer
Photo taken by a conference volunteer at a panel at the Mexican Senate
