Malaysian woman philanthropist leads by standing with the people


Umayal (in white cap) bringing her game to the field with students at a secondary school in Kuala Lumpur during the Foundation's Jaguh RF programme in Aug 2025. Photo: Rythm Foundation

For Rythm Foundation chairperson Datin Seri Umayal Eswaran, giving is neither seasonal nor symbolic. It's a lifelong philosophy shaped by displacement, motherhood and more than two decades of community work across Malaysia and beyond. She describes it as "a quiet commitment to show up, especially when no one is watching".

At the #WINLounge by Women Inspiring Network during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, she posed a question that has followed her throughout her work in philanthropy: "In an age where everyone is trying to tell stories about impact, whose stories are actually being heard?"

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