Staff Feature: Yusra Qadir

We are excited to welcome a new member to our staff at the Mothers Matter Centre: Yusra Qadir, Project Manager for IRCC Program Innovations. We asked Yusra some questions to get to know her better, and introduce her personally and professionally to our network. Read her thoughtful answers below, and help us welcome Yusra to the team!

Q&A with Yusra Qadir

1. Where did you work prior to joining the Mothers Matter Centre?

I worked with United Nations Development Programme as their Youth Engagement and Social Inclusion Specialist with my key responsibilities being piloting innovative work to engage vulnerable/marginalized communities in active civic life and support communities especially women to be economically empowered.

2. What drew you to the Mothers Matter Centre?

My work has always been focused on a rights-based approach and has had communities at the heart of it. I believe that interventions which are designed, led, and participated in by the communities they are targeted at are the most sustainable ones. I saw the Mothers Matter Centre’s focus on mothers and the organization’s belief in mothers as agents of change. Empowering women and viewing them as change makers and leaders matched my theory of change as a feminist and drew me to the Mothers Matter Centre.

3. What is the most exciting project you’re working on right now?

All of them are interesting as all of them are innovations. I appreciate the flexibility of Reviving Hope and Home (RHH) while I see how the structured learning in Early Language Learning (ELL) benefits families.

4. How would you describe your work style?

I am highly motivated; a team player who loves to take on challenges as I believe that is how we learn and grow. My eyes are always on the prize which is contributing to or creating change that can help support communities claim their rights.

5. What are you most looking forward to about your work at the Mothers Matter Centre?

I look forward to enhancing the communications and visibility of the Mothers Matter Centre’s work through more effective documentation and to use story telling to highlight the changes that the Mothers Matter Centre has contributed to. I also hope to link the work of the Mothers Matter Centre to a more global perspective, i.e., how it links to the Social Development Goals (SDGs) and global discourse on migration, refugees and women empowerment.

6. Who inspires you?

My mom – always. Her diversity, her strength, her character, her conviction, her courage, and her morals. I would be lucky if I could reflect a fraction of her qualities in me.

7. What is your favourite place or travel destination in the world?

London, UK; it grew on me while I was too busy complaining about its weather!

8. What are you passionate about?

Being human, being a mom, and doing my bit to help someone else claim their rights. This is why I love what I do.

9. What is your favourite movie?

The Notebook.

10. Do you have a favourite quote?

I had a favourite quote in college:

“Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge.” – Khalil Gibran

11. What is your favourite type of food/cuisine?

Local cuisine from Pakistan.

12. What was the last (or favourite) book you have read?

Favourite book I’ve read: The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak.

Last book I read: 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak.

13. How do you like to spend your days off?

Gardening and spending time with my kids.

14. Where is your home town?

Pakistan.

15. Do you have any special talents or unique hobbies you’d like to share?

I knit, crochet, and am very good with kids.

Meet more Mothers Matter Centre Staff

To meet the other staff at the Mothers Matter Centre, be sure to check out the ‘Who We Are‘ page.