7 OCT 2024 · In this episode, Dr. Ro interviews Tawfiq Rangwala, an attorney and former board member of the WE charity, a major Canadian children's charity that faced a scandal. Tawfiq shares his insider perspective on the rise and fall of the organization, drawing from his experience as a pro bono litigator. He discusses the lessons learned from the charity scandal and how he navigated the challenges as a board member. The WE charity, was a global youth empowerment organization that provided sustainable development projects and opportunities for young people. However, in 2020, the charity became embroiled in a political scandal in Canada, where the government had asked WE Charity to administer a COVID-19 relief program. This decision was criticized as cronyism, leading to a major controversy that ultimately resulted in the downfall of the charity.Tawfiq provides insight into the complexity surrounding the scandal, describing it as an attempt by opposition politicians to undermine the Trudeau government and create an ethics scandal, despite the charity not standing to gain financially. He believes the media did a poor job of reporting the facts, leading to a toxic atmosphere that forced the charity to close down in Canada, a huge loss for millions of beneficiaries. Tawfiq wrote a book, "What We Lost," to tell the story of the charity's rise and fall, and to give voice to the unheard stories of its beneficiaries and supporters. He secured the support of civil rights activist Martin Luther King III to narrate the audiobook, and believes the book has helped shed light on the true impact of the charity's important mission.