Interview with Monidipa Fouzder
Nabila Zulfiqar boasts an impressive CV. It includes nearly two decades at Birmingham City Council and over 10 years as chief adjudicator at the Solicitors Regulation Authority. She is now a trustee for the National League Trust. However, our interview is prompted not by Zulfiqar’s legal career, but the prestigious award she received last month for her work as a King’s Trust volunteer and being congratulated by the King at Buckingham Palace.
Nabila has been volunteering for the King’s Trust Mosaic programme for 14 years, mentoring pupils aged 11-18 in Birmingham’s inner-city schools. Nabila was brought up in Small Heath, which she describes as one of the most deprived inner-city areas of Birmingham. ‘I thought it would be nice to give something back and do a bit of volunteering work, but it has grown into something more meaningful than I thought it would be.’
Mosaic helps pupils who lack confidence or self-esteem through one-hour mentoring sessions during term time. The mentees are chosen by their head of year ‘because they need something to push them and make them more confident, improve their communication and teamwork skills, and introduce them to life outside school and what that might look like for them. It’s about the long game, planning for the future’.
During her time at the SRA, Nabila organised ‘world of work’ visits. Students participated in activities linked to different roles at the regulator. For instance, they might have been an investigator looking into a law firm.
Nabila had no professional role models at school – one reason she wanted to volunteer for Mosaic. ‘I lacked ambition and hope. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor. The careers adviser said I could be a legal secretary. In those days, you did not have anyone relatable or to encourage you, to say “you can do this”.’
Nabila’s mother would regularly take her daughters to the library when they were young. ‘English was not our first language. She wanted us to learn the language and excel at it.’ Her mother ‘played the long game’, not wanting her daughters to be reliant on anyone. ‘Education, education, education. She was right. Her encouragement and support led me to where I am today.’
Someone else who became a role model was Charmaine Murray, head of service at Birmingham City Council, where Nabila qualified. ‘She was so supportive and encouraging. I really wanted to work in her team. I started as a trainee solicitor and ended up as a principal solicitor head of service. She was the catalyst for that. I do not think I would have stayed as long as I did if it weren’t for her.’
Nabila recalls mentoring a group of schoolchildren for Mosaic. ‘There was one child of the same age but the smallest in stature. You could hardly hear her speak; she was timid as a mouse. After eight sessions, we got the children to do a presentation for their families. She stood up and although still quiet, she projected her voice with confidence and you could hear what she said.’
Nabila was appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain in March to discuss Mosaic when, to her surprise, actress Emilia Fox told her she had been named the King’s Trust ‘volunteer of the year’.
Nabila collected the award at a star-studded ceremony hosted by TV presenters Ant and Dec last month. The day before, she attended a Buckingham Palace reception hosted by the King for award-winners. ‘It was really surreal,’ Nabila says. ‘We were driving through the gates and hundreds of tourists were looking. We went in through the main entrance and walked up a grand staircase and there in front of me were George and Amal Clooney. I couldn’t believe it. I thought “What do I do now?”.’
The winners gathered in the picture gallery. ‘The King came up and spoke to everyone. I told him I was doing the mentoring programme and how important it was that I was doing it in inner-city Birmingham. I invited him to come along and see a session.’
The King hasn’t taken up Nabila’s invitation… yet.
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