From Africa to Nepal: My first week as Executive Director of TGT
By Ruby Glasspool (UK Executive Director)
I’ve never been to Nepal, but that is about to change. Last week I took my first tentative steps as the new executive director for The Glacier Trust. When I read up about the charity and its work, I knew I had a part to play in its future, and was over the moon to be selected as the next strategic leader. Since starting last week, it has become clear that I have a pair of solid, well-trodden trekking boots to follow in Morgan Phillips. I humbly leave behind my role as chief executive officer of Bread and Water for Africa and gratefully take the reins for TGT.
First handing over meeting at Wiper and True brewery in Bristol
During my first week or two, I immersed myself deeply into the heart and culture of Nepal through content and books - something I love to do! It is hugely important to me to work ‘with’ people, side by side, and honour and respect cultural differences. I am no dictator, I prefer to work harmoniously with every individual and group and make room for our nuanced differences. Through my humanitarian work, I value providing a ‘hand up’ not a ‘hand out’, and I passionately believe that if people are empowered, and respected for their uniqueness and talents, we can achieve far more than if we turn up with food trucks and hierarchy. It was strong evidence of all these values, and more, that drew me to TGT.
Personally, I have travelled the world and seen first hand the suffering caused by cultural, political and economic ‘differences’. It sounds cliché to say that ‘there is enough food and supplies for everyone on this planet’ - but it’s not just an ideal - it is an immediate reality that can be achieved if we radically change our inherent, habitual attitudes. Humanitarian aid, especially since the glorious years of Band Aid, has grown into a movement that perpetuates the idea that ‘some poor people need help from us’, and created dependency and status hierarchy like never before. It’s time to change that, and nurture smaller charities who are leading the way in undoing that dependency and empowering our fellow, equal, humans.
This is why I am so proud to have stepped into this role with TGT, a small charity who is most definitely leading the way in a new approach to aid. TGT are poised on the brink of a time where big change can happen globally, and it will be the TGT’s of the world that know exactly how to clean up the mess left behind by so many well intentioned do-gooders. My values in my work are self-empowerment, sustainability, fairness, equality and kindness; and TGT embody all of these principles.
I am still taking one small step at a time as I learn the ropes of this wonderful role, and I am looking forward to getting to know all our supporters, patrons, partners and advocates who have made all this possible. I hope I can do justice to the legacy that all of these people, including you dear reader, have made through the work of the Trust.
I am planning a long trip to our projects in Nepal this year, so that my work going forward is connected not just through my mind, but through my heart too. I look forward to sharing the findings of that trip with you all, and in the meantime - thank you for accepting me so graciously into the TGT family.