TavanYab Magazine
Issue 54, Winter 2014 (1393 in the Iranian calendar)
The Raad Charity Educational Complex has, over its thirty years of activity, witnessed the presence of many CEOs, each of whom has played valuable roles in advancing the center’s activities during their management period. The current CEO of the complex is Sedigheh Akbari. She has been in this position for five years and is among the first people who, twenty years ago, began collaborating with the Raad Complex through the Women’s Cooperation Group. The current CEO of Raad is an interior architect and painter, but she has focused most of her activities on serving people with disabilities at the Raad Complex.
Ms. Akbari, please introduce yourself more at the beginning of the interview.
Sediqeh Akbari, I am the CEO of Raad Educational Charity Complex and have been in this position for 5 years. I studied English language in Iran and Interior Architecture in London. Additionally, I am a painter and have a great passion for it. Although I never worked professionally in my field of study, about twenty years ago, through a friend, I became acquainted with Raad Center and started my collaboration by joining the Women’s Support Group. At that time, this group was a small number of charitable women who came together to work towards the goals of Raad Complex. Back then, the Women’s Group was formed by Mrs. Toohidi Razieh, Rosolian, Omrani Mansourian, myself, and my sister. Mr. Mansourian was managing the center, and his wife, Fatemeh Farhangkhah, was responsible for the Women’s Group. After a while, Mr. Mansourian asked me to take over the responsibility of the Women’s Group, and even though I had no experience, I accepted. The day I came here, I never imagined that this center would grow to such an extent and that I would become its CEO. At that time, we only had one room with a curtain separating it; on one side we worked, and behind the curtain, motor winding classes (motor rewinding and household appliance repair) were held. Anyway, the center started this way and gradually expanded with the help of the Women’s Group, then the Youth Group, and the support of donors.
Please provide more details about the Raad Women’s Support Group.
As I mentioned, the Women’s Group started with just a handful of charitable women and at a time when we only had one room on the first floor. The Women’s Group held the first bazaar right there on that floor. By organizing bazaars, festivals, and participating in exhibitions, public donations gradually began to flow toward Raad, and these contributions played a vital role in completing the current building.
The people involved in building this center were engineers who were either board members of Raad or their friends. When construction began, everything from the design and architecture to providing various building materials and equipment was donated free of charge by generous individuals seeking spiritual reward.
Almost each floor of the building was completed in a year, and with every bazaar we held, either a new room was added, the floors were tiled, or parts of the building were painted. At that time, the Women’s Group’s activity was very effective and crucial.
The model for this group was the Kahrizak Elderly Care Complex, as one of the people who helped establish the group at Raad had previous experience with such activities there. He taught us how to generate income for the center.
All the women involved in the group are very compassionate and capable, playing a motherly role for Raad. Each of them acts as a manager in some way, planning everything carefully and making sure nothing is wasted.
I was the group’s manager for ten years and always tried to strengthen teamwork, because the charity that comes from collective effort, unity, and a shared goal is much more fruitful and blessed.
The Raad Youth Group is also one of the key pillars of Raad. Please tell us more about this group.
The Youth Group started one year after the Women’s Group began. This group was initially small, mostly consisting of children of board members and women’s group members. In the early years, the youth group wasn’t sure what activities they could undertake, but over time, their membership and activities increased, progressing even faster than the women’s group.
At first, Mahmoud Toosli was responsible for the youth group, when their numbers were around ten to twelve members. Later, Ms. Najafizadeh took over the leadership, and after that, my son, Rahman Alagmand, who grew up with Raad and had a strong attachment to the center, became the group’s leader.
Gradually, more young people joined the group, and as the number of members grew, new and ambitious ideas were introduced. One of their successful initiatives was an art auction, which brought good results.
A great strength of this group is their bold and daring approach to thinking and action. Unlike the women’s group, money does not hold as much meaning for them — they spend money easily but also manage to generate even greater returns. Meanwhile, the women’s group is very careful and meticulous about expenses and always tries to save wherever possible, much like any mother or housekeeper guarding against waste.
The youth group plans carefully and manages their activities in a specialized and professional way. They have created a professional structure within the group, dividing responsibilities among themselves, which may be the key to their success.
For example, the first food festivals were organized by the women’s group on a small scale. At that time, each woman would prepare a dish and sell it at the food festival. Although this activity was very effective, the income and profitability were low. After gaining experience, the group decided it would be better to cook the food at Raad’s premises, which resulted in better income, but the amounts were still not significant.
When the youth group collaborated with the women’s group, they suggested that instead of all the food being prepared by the women, some of it could be purchased from restaurants and offered at the festival. They also proposed attracting sponsors. Until then, the women’s group had little experience in securing sponsors, but the youth group approached various factories and companies and successfully attracted very good sponsors. These sponsors now play a major role in the food festivals.
Currently, the food festival is held on a much larger scale and generates good income. Another example is that previously, the food festivals did not charge admission fees because it was thought that people would not participate if they had to pay. However, the youth group believed that admission fees should be charged, arguing that those attending to support Raad would not hesitate to pay. This was implemented, and significant income was generated this way.
It should be said that the differences between these two groups reflect the differences between two generations. I accept the youth group’s ideas and often consult with them, seeing how innovative and wonderful their ideas are.
Another example is that during special occasions such as festivals and bazaars, the youth group assigns several members specifically to recruit new participants. The women’s group also dedicates a table and a person to registration, signing up interested individuals, but the youth group’s approach of moving among the crowd to recruit members is more effective.
Of course, over the years, the main source of Raad’s income has come from the women’s group activities, but in the last year and a half, the youth group’s income has increased, which I believe is due to their precise planning. In any case, these two groups have a very good relationship and each acts as a strong arm supporting the Raad institution.
Tell us about the Education Unit of the Raad Institute.
The original purpose of establishing the Raad Complex was to teach skills to war-disabled individuals so that they could learn a profession and become employed. This educational activity initially began in smaller environments, but as activities expanded, a larger and more suitable space was needed. The current land was provided by the Department of Education, and the training started in a single room. Gradually, with the help of benefactors and the women’s and youth groups, the first floor and the basement of this building were completed. At that time, the first floor was dedicated to education. Whenever we had bazaars or festivals, they were also held on the first floor in the corridors and rooms. When the second floor was completed by several philanthropic engineers, the first floor was officially assigned to the Education Unit. Alongside it, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychology, and social work units were also established. The second floor of this building, after completion, was dedicated to administrative activities, including the management office of the women’s group, the youth group, public relations, and the entrepreneurship and employment office.
One of Raad’s primary goals was skill training leading to employment, but for many years, job creation progressed in a traditional way. Recently, however, with the establishment of the Entrepreneurship and Employment Office, this activity has become more professional. Is this statement correct?
Yes, exactly. The Entrepreneurship and Employment Office at Raad Center started its activity about a year ago. This office is the first entrepreneurship and employment center dedicated specifically to people with disabilities.
A major gap in our work was that we trained people with disabilities, but only a small number of them actually found employment. Some trainees had expectations that employers could not meet, and some had not reached the professional skill level needed to enter the workplace. There were also individuals who, despite having professional skills, faced personal issues because of the way they were treated in their families, which left them unprepared to work alongside able-bodied people.
We claim to have trained over 5,000 people, but only about 10 to 15 percent of them have been employed, which shows a significant shortcoming. Therefore, establishing a dedicated Entrepreneurship and Employment Office for people with disabilities was necessary.
As its first step, this office created a database of trainees, other people with disabilities, and even students studying at the Raad University Center who are seeking jobs. The staff of this office, in cooperation with the center’s psychologist, interview those registered on the entrepreneurship site and who have submitted resumes to identify their abilities and talents, then introduce them to employers and volunteer entrepreneurs.
Recently, a conference titled “Social Entrepreneurship in the Field of Disability” was organized in cooperation…
This office held a conference at the Raad Center, which attracted significant attention and was very well received. We hope that in the future, this office will be successful in the employment of people with disabilities.
Raad Complex also has centers in other cities across Iran. How is the connection between these centers and the main Raad center maintained?
In Raad Complex, there is an office called the Centers Office. When people want to establish a center similar to Raad in another location, they refer to this office. Representatives from this office visit the location, assess it, and meet with interested individuals who want to establish the center. Through these interactions, philanthropists are identified, and then a Board of Trustees and subsequently a Board of Directors are formed for that center.
In this way, a center is established in that city with a solid and reliable foundation from the start. This approach is better than first collecting funds and starting a center that later cannot cover its annual expenses. Once the Board of Trustees and Board of Directors are formed, they find philanthropists themselves and launch the center with their help.
Starting such centers requires significant costs, and if not planned properly, many problems may arise during the operation. The goal of the Centers Office at Raad is to provide initial support and necessary advice when a center is about to be established in a city or location.
Currently, about 15 centers have been established, and several more are in the process of being founded, such as centers in Amol, Babol, Gilan, and Kermanshah. Recently, a woman expressed interest in establishing such a center in Urmia. All these proposals are referred to the Centers Office, and the process proceeds according to the principles and guidelines.
What challenges has Raad faced over the years?
Sometimes, certain issues arise that Raad gets involved in unintentionally. For example, whenever a natural disaster such as a flood or earthquake occurs, even without Raad issuing a call for help or declaring readiness, public donations flood into the center. This happens because of the trust people have in Raad. Everything we have comes from the trust of the people.
After the Bam and Azerbaijan earthquakes, once the necessary items were announced via national media, large quantities of goods were sent by the public to the center. The hallways and rooms were so full that there was no place to walk. Faced with this volume of aid, we had no choice but to announce that we were ready to collect and deliver these goods to the affected areas.
We had to sort the donated items, and with the help of the women’s group, youth group, and Raad’s public relations officer, we transferred these goods to the earthquake-stricken regions. In the Azerbaijan earthquake, some funds were also collected from people and other charities. These funds were pooled, and with the presence of representatives from other charities, a crisis management committee was formed. The money was invested in rebuilding houses in the affected areas—about thirty homes were built.
The Imam Khomeini Relief Committee also awarded Raad a certificate of appreciation. The government realized how much centers like Raad can help in such situations. However, we insisted that no name of Raad be omitted in all these activities because these efforts were the result of public donations and support from various charity centers.
In any case, these kinds of activities are not part of Raad’s primary duties and represent an additional burden placed on the center during crises, which happens due to the public’s trust and favorable view of Raad.
As the CEO of Raad, what is the future plan for the institute?
We have focused most of our attention on entrepreneurship and employment for people with disabilities. On the other hand, we have the Raad Applied Scientific Educational Center upstairs, which has been established for several years to promote the academic advancement of people with disabilities. This year, we will have the first group of graduates from this center. Establishing this center has been one of Raad’s positive achievements because many people with disabilities are interested in continuing their education, but many of our universities and academic centers are not adapted for their presence. These individuals can enroll in this center and study in the offered fields. We hope to expand the Raad Applied Scientific Educational Center and have more of these dear individuals in the future.
Your final words, please.
I hope that in the future, there will be a Ra’ad center in every provincial capital, and more people will join us so that we can provide more facilities for individuals with disabilities.