Dr Krish Kandiah, an active community champion within the British Indian diaspora, has made a significant impact through his work with the UK-based charity Sanctuary Foundation.
As the founder and driving force behind this innovative organisation, Dr Kandiah has earned a reputation for championing equality, fostering inclusivity, and promoting positive change on a global scale. He was recently awarded an OBE for his unwavering commitment to changing the lives of vulnerable individuals and communities.
"I felt like the OBE somehow was a way of communicating to me that I did belong here, that even though I was an immigrant, I was still welcome here, and it felt very significant to me.
"I've always felt a little bit like an outsider ever since I was a child. So it felt like a vote of welcome to me, and that's interesting, isn't it? Because it was given to me for helping to welcome other people! It was a tremendous honour, and I'm really inspired by it," Dr Kandiah said.
During a recent visit to the UK, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted the critical issue of refugees and asylum seekers. War-torn Sudan, Syria and Afghanistan are other reminders of the need for compassion and selfless service worldwide. And as the world grapples with the challenges faced by those fleeing their homes, Dr Kandia has been working relentlessly to help displaced individuals find solace and rebuild their lives.
"I was born in Britain, but my mother was from India, and my father is from Malaysia and Sri Lanka. I grew up in a multi-racial family, and when I got married, my wife and I were very passionate about helping children. Still, somehow, we managed to have three children before we remembered that we were interested in fostering and adoption. And then we became foster parents and adoptive parents!
"We currently have six children – three birth children, and three fostered and adopted children. And it was through our fostering experience that we became aware of the huge needs for vulnerable children here in the UK," Dr Kandiah said.
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And as he got more involved in helping children in the UK and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children worldwide, he opened his first charity organisation.
"I no longer run the fostering and adoption care I initially founded. I've been advising the government on adoption and kinship care. And now I run a charity called the Sanctuary Foundation, which works with refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan and asylum seekers," he said.
Dr Kandiah highlights the several challenging issues surrounding fostering system in the UK.
He added: "Foster carers, and so children are being separated from their siblings. Many are being placed several miles away from their wider family networks, schools, and kinship carers. The next-of -kins – aunties, uncles and grandparents taking care of children are being pushed into poverty. And then, on top of that, we've got refugee children and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
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“And our government is making life more complicated for asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children. So, I've been working to try and advise the Home Office on more humane ways of caring for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, trying to dissuade the use of hotels, as those are not safe places for children and lots of crimes are happening like abduction or exploitation of children."
