A COMMUNITY stalwart from East Morton who strives to boost the lives of those in need – both locally and internationally – has won a fundraiser of the year award.

Fundraising is something that Saliha Sadiq – a social worker, mental health practitioner and counsellor – has done with her parents since childhood, meaning that recognition came as something of a surprise.

Saliha helps voluntary groups in Bradford and through volunteering has raised £290,000 in total for a number of charities.

Causes include the Kashmir Education Foundation – an organisation which provides free education to disadvantaged children in Pakistan – and Indus Hospital Charities, which offers free healthcare to those in need across 52 districts of Pakistan.

All the while Saliha works for the NHS full-time, completing voluntary and charity work in the evenings and at weekends.

This also includes her own charity, Madat Project UK, that ships clothing to those with mental health struggles – and abandoned children – in Karachi.

And Saliha runs mental wellbeing projects at Manningham’s Millan Centre.

Saliha said: “I feel humbled and proud as I did not expect any recognition. Fundraising is something I have done from being a child and therefore this comes naturally to me.

“I feel everyone who does voluntary, charity and fundraising work are all winners in their own right.

“My work in the community and internationally has made a huge difference to people’s lives.

“I know this through feedback from the children, women and families who receive the support.

“At the Millan Centre I get positive feedback from the service users.

“I like to make a positive difference to people’s lives by enabling them to access services and support, to empower them to take control of their own lives.

“I have been involved in fundraising from a very young age, by helping my parents to raise funds for the local community centre and mosque.

“My parents were Urdu teachers and they also gave children free tuition at home; I used to assist them with this. My desire to help people grew from being inspired by my parents.”

The fundraiser of the year accolade was presented as part of the Community Stars Awards.

In a message of thanks to those who voted, Saliha said: “I am grateful to the community who have appreciated the work I have undertaken. I feel honoured to see how far my work has reached. A special thank-you goes to Elizabeth Hellmich for nominating me.”