I’m taking part in the Thames Path Challenge! I’ll be walking 22km to raise money for 50 Million Voices (https://www.50millionvoices.org/).

As many of you will know, I do stutter and have stuttered since I was 6 years old. It can be a very painful experience. When I meet new people, the hardest thing is always introducing myself. When someone asks me my name, I get stuck on ‘I-i-i-man’. A common response is an awkward laugh and a ‘did you forget your name?’. No, I didn’t, I obviously know my own name (having had it since I was born), I just have a stutter.

Stuttering is often misunderstood. Many people mistake it for being a nervous tic or a symptom of anxiety. In the past, it was seen as a lack of intelligence. No one knows how it’s caused. Some people believe it’s genetic or completely random.

While stuttering can be physically taxing on the body, it can also be extremely emotionally challenging, particularly as society often rewards fluent speakers in the workplace.

It can feel very lonely being a person who stutters. It’s estimated that 1 in 50 adults stutter, with 3 in 4 of those being men. There are high rates of depression and unemployment among people who stutter (PWS). Many isolate themselves as they don’t feel accepted, many don’t want to interact with others for fear of being judged.

I’ve volunteered for 50MV for the last 18 months or so and it’s been incredibly eye-opening for me. At 50MV, the main aim is to empower people who stutter in the world of work and to help inform employers about stuttering, and what a PWS can offer the workplace.

We run a few events every year, with the main one being our global Practice Interview events. This is a programme where we pair employers with people who stutter, and give them a safe space to have a practice interview. The event is open for people all around the world to take part, and so far we’ve helped nearly 600 participants from over 30 countries and 5 continents to improve their interview skills, confidence and success. Demand for more events is high and we're trying to raise money to deliver them later this year and next.

This is an incredibly important cause that's close to my heart. I'd be very grateful if you could donate anything you can to help other people like me feel less alone, and empower them in the workplace.

Much love,

Iman

x