Safia Jama MBE Culture House Oral History Interview | Community, Civic Participation, Advocacy

Safia Jama MBE is the CEO and Co-Founder of Women’s Inclusive Team (WIT), a grassroots charity based in Tower Hamlets, East London. She established WIT in 2003 after noticing a lack of support for young mothers during her school runs. Under her leadership, WIT delivers 12 projects across education, health, domestic abuse support, advice, and food security, supporting Somali, Black heritage, and wider ethnic minority women and their families. She holds a BA (Hons) in Community Development and Public Policy from Birkbeck University and is a qualified Mental Health Trainer. She also serves as an Independent Police Advisor, a Board Director at Tower Hamlets Homes, a Commissioner at the Women’s Commission, and Chair of Poplar Union. Her MBE recognises her work at WIT including mobilising more than 500 volunteers to support residents in Tower Hamlets during the Covid-19 pandemic through a food bank and community kitchen & delivery initiative. TfL also named a DLR train after her. This interview forms part of Culture House’s Oral History Series, which documents the experiences, memories, and contributions of Somali people across generations, ensuring these stories are preserved for future communities, researchers, and audiences.