Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of the Kids Company charity and a campaigner for social justice, passed away on her 61st birthday. Her charity provided support for up to 36,000 disadvantaged and vulnerable inner-city children and young people in South London. Born in Iran, Batmanghelidjh arrived in England when she was 12 years old and gained a first-class degree from Warwick University. She attended Sherborne Girls school in Dorset during the Iranian revolution, where her father was presumed dead for three years before they were reunited. He passed away in 2006.
After training as a psychotherapist, Batmanghelidjh founded Kids Company in 1996 and was CEO for 19 years. The charity grew from a drop-in center in South London to 11 centers across London, Bristol, and Liverpool. The charity provided support to deprived children from low-income families. Batmanghelidjh rubbed shoulders with politicians, including former prime minister David Cameron, and had celebrity supporters, including Coldplay, artist Damien Hirst, and comedian Michael McIntyre.
Batmanghelidjh resigned from Kids Company in August 2015 after financial problems, and the charity shut down after allegations of sexual assault arose. Last year, she won the right to take legal appeal against a decree that disqualified her and six others from being directors of other organizations. Ill health prevented her from pursuing this right.
Former BBC creative director Alan Yentob, who was the chairman of Kids Company, hailed Batmanghelidjh as “an extraordinary woman,” and said that everyone who worked with her was “devastated by her death.” Harriet Harman, a veteran Labor MP, paid tribute to Batmanghelidjh and said that countless children and young people had benefitted from her big heart. Steve Chalke, the Baptist minister, television presenter, and founder of Oasis Charitable Trust, also praised Batmanghelidjh for her contributions to his understanding as well as Oasis since the unjust closure of Kids Company in 2015
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