Rouven Asghar, Director of Operations

Rouven Asghar has been Director of Operations of the GISED Foundation since 2018. Coming from a German-Pakistani family, Asghar grew up with interculturality at an early age. At the age of 18 he left Germany and moved to France. There he was accepted into the ecumenical Brotherhood of Taizé and started his studies of theology.

His pastoral work took him to various European, African and Asian countries including Finland, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Togo, Benin, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia - to name just a few - where he lived among the poorest of the poor. Particularly noteworthy are his pastoral care activities in the "Korogocho" slum in Nairobi, Kenya. The tasks in a Last Residence for handicapped children on the one hand and the work in a rehabilitation centre for young people with drug addiction and prostitution in the focal point of the slum on the other, strengthened the need to stand up for social justice in Asghar.

It is the blend of pastoral experience, interculturality and "ground work" that made Asghar become a Director with integrity, matching the high moral and ethical standards required for this position.