Asian Business Chamber celebrates Eid

Asian Business Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), part of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) held an event yesterday to celebrate the Eid festival, writes Feron Jayawardene.

Eid Ul Adha signifies the completion of the Hajj pilgrimage during the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah.

Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that all able Muslims are expected to complete at least once in their lives. Around two to three million Muslims every year complete the pilgrimage, which is spread over five days.

The event, held at Moseley Rugby Club was attended by 160 guests and was compered by ABCC committee member Monica Ghai while president Omar Rashid welcomed the guests.

It was sponsored by Staffordshire university with Moseley Rugby Club acting as the venue sponsor.

The guest speaker was Reshma Sheikh who is a chairperson, business leader, lawyer, CEO whisperer, public speaker and consultant born and raised in the Midlands.

She was one of only a few, Muslim female business leaders in the UK within the Security Industry, for an 8-figure turnover business.

Speaking at the event, Reshma said: “I come from a humble background from Leicester and one thing I made sure that I did was continuously study and gain knowledge.

“I studied and trained in law, and I was fortunate enough to create a platform for people to enter the field of law. Later after my children were born, I got pushed back for a partnership opportunity.

“I decided to make a move from law to entrepreneurship and I joined the board of directors for a security firm for FTSE 100 clients. Navigating through difficult times and in a cutthroat environment, I had to use my transparent skills when making decisions, which later paid dividends.

“If you 're not sure about a situation, go for it. I wasn 't afraid to skip from law to entrepreneurship and that has made all the difference. ”

Speeches were also given by Chantell Marler and Anna Smith from Forward Carers, Bobby Hussain from NatWest bank and Jack Richards from Moseley Rugby Club.

Chantel Marler and Anna Smith talked about the role carers pay, with 2.6 million individuals quitting their job to care for a loved one.

They explained: “Forward Carers is an award-winning, not-for profit social enterprise who create Carer Friendly Communities so that unpaid Carers can thrive in all areas of their life and work.

“An unpaid Carer is anyone, including children, who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction, and who cannot cope without their support.

There are around 294,500 unpaid carers in Birmingham alone and one is seven of the people you meet in your workplace go home to caring duties. ”

Bobby Hussain gave the attendees an overview of how Local Enterprise Managers support businesses and the NatWest Accelerator programme while Jack Richards outlined the efforts taken by Mosely Rugby Community Foundation to improve community engagement and to establish a girls junior rugby team.

Pictured from left to right: Chantell Marler and Anna Smith from Forward Carers, Bobby Hussain from NatWest bank, ABCC president Omar Rashid, Director of ABCC Anjum Khan, ABCC executive committee member Monica Ghai, and Guest speaker Reshma Sheikh