Rola Hallam

Consultant anaesthesist/ life coach/ International speaker/Meditation teacher/ TED fellow 2018/ Mum /Campaigner:Founder of Cando

Rola was born a doctor. She just didn't know that her home country of Syria would shatter into a million pieces, killing over 30 members of her family and that she would wield her voice, stethoscope and humanity as weapons greater than bullets and bombs. Dr Rola is an award-winning physician, humanitarian, campaigner, speaker, social entrepreneur and coach. She's the first Syrian TED Fellow and the founder of CanDo - a humanitarian organisation supporting frontline health and aid workers to save children’s lives in their war-devastated communities. She has helped build 7 hospitals in Syria, including the first-ever crowdfunded hospital, altogether serving over 4 million people. As a global advocate for health and human rights in conflict, she has shared the stages with presidents, celebrities and grassroots activists. She is a TED and Google speaker, and her work has been featured in most media from the New York Times to The Daily Show including two BBC documentaries. Her online talks have been seen over 11 million times, inspiring thousands to become change-makers. Rola believes the world needs more visionaries, idealists, rebels and troublemakers- people who stand up, speak out and lead for change. She is on a mission to make this a reality, to support people facing illness, injustice and indifference and not just survive but thrive. After recovering from burnout and trauma, Dr Rola emerged a warrior embodying the power of Rumi’s poetry “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I Am changing myself”