Taufika Hafiz Sakhawat is the founder and executive director of Connect Get Up and Go, Inc. Taufika’s passion for helping socially, economically, physically/mentally vulnerable women and children in need has led her to become a strong advocate of eliminating child labor and trafficking. Taufika believes that knowledge sharing is the key to overcome the stigma of mental illness among diversified population. Through her various research and studies, Taufika has come to understand that cultural information exchange, awareness building and acceptance are very important in addressing the challenges faced by the vulnerable women and children in our society. Taufika, from her personal experiences, strongly believe that “growth mindset” helps overcome many challenges that are faced by the vulnerable people. Taufika states, “Our brain can learn and unlearn things. We need to acknowledge and find a way to embrace our struggles and have access to resources and necessary support to continue to seek out a meaningful life.”
Taufika has Masters of Commerce (Honors) in Economics from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and Masters in Social Work from Rutgers University, USA. Taufika was a member of Girl Guides Association and was involved with many volunteer activities since the age of ten, and has served as a fundraiser and educational coordinator in Bangladesh, New Zealand, and USA. Her research experiences focused on children’s and women’s health related issues in Bangladesh and USA.