25 under 25 - Projectrise.thedawoodibohras

Education

Husain Wangrelwala

19 • Mumbai, India

↗

Husain Wangrelwala

19 • Mumbai, India

Project Initiative

"Through volunteering, I came to appreciate how the things we sometimes take for granted can be a blessing for someone”

Roles & Responsibilities

Husain is actively involved with HSB, an alumni organisation based in Mumbai, and regularly participates in its activities across the city. A visit to a tribal village in Mokhada left a lasting impression on him. As they distributed books and stationery to the children, their genuine joy and excitement at receiving these simple essentials offered him a deeply grounding perspective and reminded him of the profound impact of small acts of giving.

Mariyah Sardharwala

19 • Collin County, USA

USA

↗

Mariyah Sardharwala

19 • Collin County, USA

USA

Project Initiative

“It could give them the confidence to walk into school feeling prepared, ease a family’s financial burden, and help them start the school year on the right foot.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Mariyah’s service spans school-supply drives, meal preparation for people experiencing homelessness, health and wellness drives, screenings and interfaith programmes. During an annual backpack drive, she began to understand what a simple school item could represent to a child and their family.

Zainab Jodhpurwala

18 • Milton Keynes, UK

↗

Zainab Jodhpurwala

18 • Milton Keynes, UK

Project Initiative

“We should never feel as though others owe us for the favour we offer. Instead, the true honour lies in their willingness to accept it. Through volunteering, I’ve seen this teaching come to life.”

Roles & Responsibilities

For Zainab, volunteering has shaped how she understands the relationship between giving and receiving. She does not see service as a favour for which someone else should feel indebted. Instead, she considers the opportunity to help another person an honour in itself.

Environment

Al-aqmar Partapur

16 • Bradford, UK

↗

Al-aqmar Partapur

16 • Bradford, UK

Project Initiative

“To me, service means making the world a better and cleaner place.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Al-aqmar has participated in tree planting, river and beach clean-ups and litter collection. He has also helped improve outdoor areas by creating spaces for walking, picnicking and birdwatching. Seeing litter accumulate near his masjid motivated him to help make the surrounding area cleaner for everyone.

Burhanuddin Shams

18 • Chicago, USA

USA

↗

Burhanuddin Shams

18 • Chicago, USA

USA

Project Initiative

“To me, service means using your time and abilities to improve something beyond yourself, even when no one is watching.”

Roles & Responsibilities

At the end of one clean-up, Burhanuddin tangibly noticed how the entire space felt cared for again.

That moment captured what first drew him to volunteering: the desire to create visible change rather than merely talk about it. Over four years, Burhanuddin has completed hours of community service through Project Rise. He has helped organise and participate in beach clean-ups, packed meals through the community’s partnership with the food security initiative, Feed My Starving Children, and supported other NGOs.

For Burhanuddin, leadership within those projects has meant working beside others, noticing what is needed and helping the group remain focused.

Hassan Londonwala

20 • Ajman, UAE

Middle East

↗

Hassan Londonwala

20 • Ajman, UAE

Middle East

Project Initiative

“The most important thing is to start and then, be consistent.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Hassan’s service has included sorting and packing donated clothes, distributing meals to those in need, collecting e-waste and cleaning the area surrounding his community. Working both directly with people and behind-the-scenes has shown him how individual contributions become more powerful when a community works together.

Husain Khandwala

20 • Auckland, New Zealand

AUS/NZ

↗

Husain Khandwala

20 • Auckland, New Zealand

AUS/NZ

Project Initiative

“Seeing the work that I put in actually affects the environment directly also keeps me motivated to keep coming back and make a difference.”

Roles & Responsibilities

For Husain, the difference made through volunteering is something he can return to and see. Through volunteering for planting at the Matuku Link Forest Reserve, he has watched the plants he helped put into the ground grow and gradually provide a habitat for local wildlife.

Reflection

Describe one experience or moment that showed you the difference your service was making.

“Planting at the Matuku Link Forest Reserve on a fixed period bases allows me to see the plants I put in grow and allow various fauna to be supported as well, going back to this place again and again and seeing the work that I put in actually affect the environment directly also keeps me motivated to keep coming back and make a difference.”

Maria Poonawala

21 • Abu Dhabi, UAE

UAE

↗

Maria Poonawala

21 • Abu Dhabi, UAE

UAE

Project Initiative

“To me service means using my time, opportunities and skills to contribute to something bigger than myself. It's about learning, contributing and taking action, even in small ways.”

Roles & Responsibilities

A mangrove sapling is small enough to be planted by one person. Restoring a coastal ecosystem, however, requires many people to act.

Since 2023, Maria has contributed to project-based environmental initiatives by planting mangrove saplings, supporting the restoration of local mangrove ecosystems and participating in community clean-ups and educational programmes. Through these efforts, she has seen how individual actions can become part of something much larger—protecting shared natural spaces while building greater environmental awareness within the community.

Ruqaiya Shafiq

19 • Manama, Bahrain

↗

Ruqaiya Shafiq

19 • Manama, Bahrain

Project Initiative

“Pollution is something that always bothered me, but for a long time I didn't know what to actually do about it. Project Rise was what made helping feel possible—it gave me a clear starting point.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Environmental action does not always happen on a beach or beside a newly planted tree. Sometimes, it begins on a screen.

Ruqaiya initially cared about pollution but did not know how to act on that concern. Project Rise gave her a place to begin. Over the next three years, small acts developed into sustained involvement in beach clean-ups and tree-planting drives across Bahrain. Her work later extended into the digital environment when she supported regional coordination for the Middle East-wide Digital Cleanup Drive.

Across Bahrain, the UAE, Oman and Kuwait, the campaign mobilised more than 560 participants in seven cities to remove over 15.6 terabytes of unnecessary digital data.

Saifuddin Khandwala

12 • Lohr am Main, Germany

India

↗

Saifuddin Khandwala

12 • Lohr am Main, Germany

India

Project Initiative

“You do not have to wait until you are an adult to care for your community. If everyone gives a little time and works together, the places we share can become cleaner and better for all of us.”

Roles & Responsibilities

How old do you have to be before you can make a place better? Saifuddin is 12, and he does not think the answer should be “older.”

Joining local NGO volunteers to clean a public park, he learned about the value of benefiting communities in and around Main-Taunus-Kreis. Volunteering offers a lesson larger than the task itself: communities are shaped not only by major projects, but by everyday decisions to care for the places people share.

Taha Basrai

25 • Singapore

↗

Taha Basrai

25 • Singapore

Project Initiative

“Food waste is one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges, but it also holds the potential to become something valuable. Drawing on my environmental-engineering background, I hope to continue to bring environmental solutions that can help the world.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Food waste is usually treated as the end of a process. Taha saw the potential for it to become the beginning of something useful.

Motivated by the scale of the global food-waste challenge, he drew on his environmental-engineering background to develop an on-site system that uses a specialised microbial process to convert fruit peels, vegetable scraps and other organic matter into nutrient-rich compost. This can then be further upcycled using black soldier fly larvae to produce organic fertiliser.

During Ramadan 2026, BugBoom was successfully used at his community’s masjid complex in Singapore to upcycle more than 120 kilograms of food waste. Taha now hopes to adapt the system for communities around the world.

Food Security

Abdeali Shakir

25 • Chittagong, Bangladesh

↗

Abdeali Shakir

25 • Chittagong, Bangladesh

Project Initiative

“That smile was etched into my memory. It awakened a desire in me to make people feel seen and loved. It reminded me that the Creator often helps people through the kindness of others, even strangers.”

Roles & Responsibilities

It was one smile that changed the meaning of service for Abdeali.

During Eid al-Adha, he prepared food packets and distributed them to people in need. Among those he met was a single mother holding her child. When she accepted a packet and smiled, Abdeali understood that the gesture represented more than food: it made someone facing difficult circumstances feel seen and cared for.

That moment has stayed with him as he has continued supporting scheduled initiatives through organisation, rural distribution and fieldwork. Contributing between 30 and 50 hours, he has helped reach rural villages, hill-tract communities and underserved urban populations.

Aliasghar Dohadwala

18 • Alirajpur, India

India

↗

Aliasghar Dohadwala

18 • Alirajpur, India

India

Project Initiative

“What motivates me is the happiness and enthusiasm of the people whom I volunteer to help. Seeing their joy and excitement gives me even more motivation to continue serving them.”

Roles & Responsibilities

For Aliasgar, the motivation to serve comes from three places: his faith, the encouragement of his parents and the happiness he witnesses among the people he helps. While studying commerce, digital marketing and computer applications, he supports Project Rise food-distribution initiatives in his local community.

His parents taught him that helping another person carries its own reward and blessings. That lesson takes on visible meaning whenever he distributes food and sees the enthusiasm of those receiving it—turning their happiness into further motivation to continue.

Ammar Kapasi

20 • Orange County, USA

USA

↗

Ammar Kapasi

20 • Orange County, USA

USA

Project Initiative

“Even a few hours of your time can make a real impact on someone’s life and inspire you to keep giving back.”

Roles & Responsibilities

At food distribution initiatives in Orange County, Ammar has packed apples and other food, sorted supplies and prepared donations for local individuals and families. His experience has taught him that young people do not need specialised skills before they begin helping.

Burhanuddin Kharodawala

23 • Mississauga, Canada

Canada

↗

Burhanuddin Kharodawala

23 • Mississauga, Canada

Canada

Project Initiative

“To me, service is about recognizing the privileges you have and using them to help others in the community rise with you.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Burhanuddin volunteers at a food bank in Mississauga, where he unloads grocery-store donations, checks expiry dates, organises food and packs boxes containing essential items. During one shift, he saw how a team of 10 volunteers could help prepare food for more than 500 families in only a few hours.

Danial Ganijee

18 • Chicago, USA

USA

↗

Danial Ganijee

18 • Chicago, USA

USA

Project Initiative

“Perspective. You never understand what others are truly going through until you help and serve your community. Without volunteering, I wouldn’t have the perspective to see the day-to-day lives of others.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Living in a community is not the same as truly seeing it. Danial says it took volunteering for him to look beyond his own routine and better understand the day-to-day realities of the people around him.

That perspective has developed over four years and 100 hours of service—from packing meals through the community’s partnership with Feed My Starving Children, to cleaning local beaches and supporting Outreach House.

Dungarwalla Brothers

London, UK

↗

Dungarwalla Brothers

London, UK

Project Initiative

“Growing up, I always saw my mum, dad and other members of the community volunteering and giving their time without expecting anything in return.”

Roles & Responsibilities

For brothers Juzer, Mohamed and Taher, volunteering is a family tradition. Inspired by their parents’ example, they support food-distribution initiatives and assist elderly community members and families during community events. Whether serving meals, offering directions or helping someone carry their belongings, the brothers have learned that even simple acts of service can ease another person’s day.

Ebrahim Murtaza Rashid

20 • Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

East Africa

↗

Ebrahim Murtaza Rashid

20 • Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

East Africa

Project Initiative

“Knowing that even a small effort can positively impact someone’s life inspires me to keep serving. Volunteering has become a meaningful way for me to give back while growing as a person.”

Roles & Responsibilities

While studying for his ACCA qualification, Ebrahim sets aside two hours every week to coordinate food and environmental initiatives for students at Jangwani Girls’ Secondary School. Over 24 weeks, his service has been shaped by consistency: not simply taking part once, but continuing to return week after week.

For Ebrahim, that commitment has also revealed how service can change both the person receiving support and the person offering it.

Beneficiaries

Students of Jangwani Girls’ Secondary School.

Reflection

What motivated you to begin volunteering in this area?

What motivated me to begin volunteering was realizing that helping others and contributing to a good cause gave me a genuine sense of happiness and fulfillment. Knowing that even a small effort can positively impact someone's life inspires me to keep serving. Volunteering has become a meaningful way for me to give back while growing as a person.

Mohammed Kapasi

20 • Arusha, Tanzania

East Africa

↗

Mohammed Kapasi

20 • Arusha, Tanzania

East Africa

Project Initiative

“I felt it was time to give back to those in need.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Mohammed’s service began with food that might otherwise have gone to waste. While serving on the community’s dana committee, he started distributing surplus meals near Arusha’s bus stand.
Visits to orphanages then revealed needs beyond hunger, so he began collecting used clothes, toys and books to distribute alongside the food.

Reflection

it started when i started khidmat in dana comitee - i used to go distrribute left over food to street boys and doa they gave i was actually seeing the progress i was making in life and the barakat at home. So then decided to cook for these less fortunate and serve them every week.

since everyday there was no jaman left over at masjid so then we started collecting from hotels and other community temples as well mainly from sikh temple and then go and distribute.

then when we go orphanage we saw they had other requiremnts as well so then i also started collecting used clothes, toys, books so then when we go to orphanage take food we can also give other items.

as it went on i have been doing this for almost more then 12 years now as the barakat i see in life so also feel like its time to give back to the needy.

Healthcare

Johar Nourbhay

18 • Antsiranana, Madagascar

Indian Ocean

↗

Johar Nourbhay

18 • Antsiranana, Madagascar

Indian Ocean

Project Initiative

“Service has always been meaningful for me. To help others in my community and beyond is something I love.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Johar has supported Project Rise medical and hospital initiatives by assisting at reception, participating in a medical camp and serving within a hospital. Through these roles, he has supported patients and the people responsible for their care.

Murtaza Rashid

23 • Mombasa, Kenya

Kenya

↗

Murtaza Rashid

23 • Mombasa, Kenya

Kenya

Project Initiative

“Do not think twice. With full confidence, ask people who are already volunteering to help you enrol. To me, service means love and compassion.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Murtaza had always wanted to take part in volunteering, but he did not know how to ask or where to begin. When the opportunity finally came, he joined every Project Rise activity that he could.

During His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin’s travels to East Africa, Murtaza helped register 441 people at a free medical camp in Malindi. In the months that followed, he joined local residents in planting 1,500 mangroves and supported a multifaceted initiative at Shimo La Tewa Prison, where volunteers planted 1,000 trees, distributed food to prisoners and neighbouring residents, and handed over a borehole providing free water to the prison and surrounding community.

Having once hesitated to put himself forward, Murtaza now encourages other young people to take the first step he had found difficult:

Mustafa Ghadiali

17 • Chicago, USA

USA

↗

Mustafa Ghadiali

17 • Chicago, USA

USA

Project Initiative

“To me, service means giving your time to make someone else's life a little better without expecting anything in return. It is about showing up when you can and knowing that even a small contribution can matter to someone.”

Roles & Responsibilities

A diabetes screening can take only a few minutes. For someone who knows little about their blood-sugar levels, however, those minutes can provide information they did not have before.

Mustafa saw this while assisting with diabetes screenings through the community’s health initiatives. People arrived uncertain about their blood-sugar levels or the risks they might be facing; after being screened, they received information that could help them pay closer attention to their health. It was the kind of visible difference that had first drawn Mustafa to healthcare volunteering.

Over four years, the high-school senior has contributed approximately 400 hours to service, supporting Project Rise healthcare groups, patients and community screening initiatives. The experience has taught him that meaningful service is often less about a single dramatic act than the discipline of continuing to show up.

Mental Health

Mufaddal Baquari

22 • Sydney, Australia

AUS/NZ

↗

Mufaddal Baquari

22 • Sydney, Australia

AUS/NZ

Project Initiative

“I found these physical challenges have helped open conversations with young people to get them speaking about how to take care of your mental health.”

Roles & Responsibilities

What does a physical challenge have to do with mental health? For Mufaddal, it can create an opening for a conversation that might otherwise never begin.

His advocacy grew from personal experience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he felt firsthand the effects of lockdown and social isolation. Since then, the University of Sydney architecture student has used physical challenges to raise awareness and encourage young people—particularly young men—to speak more openly about their mental health.

Sustainability

Burhanuddin Yamani

20 • Edmonton, Canada

Canada

↗

Burhanuddin Yamani

20 • Edmonton, Canada

Canada

Project Initiative

“I decided that I can still be a civil engineer that builds both communities and futures.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Burhanuddin has wanted to build things for as long as he can remember. What began with wooden-block castles eventually led him towards civil engineering and the idea that building can mean strengthening communities as well as constructing physical spaces.

As president and co-founder of a sustainable-design student club, he has led projects that secured $10,000 in funding and helped 20 young people obtain job placements. He has also supported women’s shelters, planted trees and promoted sustainable solutions through a national youth-mentorship programme.

Sustainable Cities and Communities

Mufaddal Bohri

18 • Fremont, USA

USA

↗

Mufaddal Bohri

18 • Fremont, USA

USA

Project Initiative

“You always gain more than you give, no matter the situation. For me, volunteering helped me travel the world without ever buying a plane ticket.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Mufaddal first signed up to cook at a soup kitchen alongside a friend. There, conversations with residents facing unstable living conditions transformed homelessness from a distant social issue into something immediate and personal—and one volunteering experience into a three-year commitment.

He has since worked with Abode Services, an initiative to help end homelessness, to procure, assemble and deliver hundreds of food and hygiene packets, prepared fresh meals for shelter residents and joined Habitat for Humanity projects constructing affordable housing and play spaces. When a shelter staff member explained how funding cuts were placing essential services under strain, his gratitude showed Mufaddal how much these donations could matter to hundreds of people living through uncertainty.

Project Rise 25 Under 25

The Young Volunteers Who Want To Change The World

Education

Husain Wangrelwala

Husain Wangrelwala

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Mariyah Sardharwala

Mariyah Sardharwala

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Zainab Jodhpurwala

Zainab Jodhpurwala

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Environment

Al-aqmar Partapur

Al-aqmar Partapur

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Burhanuddin Shams

Burhanuddin Shams

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Hassan Londonwala

Hassan Londonwala

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Husain Khandwala

Husain Khandwala

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Reflection

Maria Poonawala

Maria Poonawala

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Ruqaiya Shafiq

Ruqaiya Shafiq

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Saifuddin Khandwala

Saifuddin Khandwala

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Taha Basrai

Taha Basrai

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Food Security

Abdeali Shakir

Abdeali Shakir

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Aliasghar Dohadwala

Aliasghar Dohadwala

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Ammar Kapasi

Ammar Kapasi

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Burhanuddin Kharodawala

Burhanuddin Kharodawala

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Danial Ganijee

Danial Ganijee

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Dungarwalla Brothers

Dungarwalla Brothers

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Ebrahim Murtaza Rashid

Ebrahim Murtaza Rashid

Project Initiative

Roles & Responsibilities

Beneficiaries

Reflection