Tag Archives: dubai
Women who inspire
Women who inspire Staff Reporter / 19 May 2013 DUBAI – Shopping out on a winter day in Kuwait was what changed American national Sheryll Maizra’s life. Founder of mercy mission Operation Hope, Maizra said she failed to recognise the needs of people around her in the initial years of her life in Kuwait, to where she moved after her marriage. “It was perhaps one of the coldest days in Kuwait and I was out shopping, irritated at not being able to find what I was looking for. My eyes fell upon a pair of sock-less feet in a pair of much worn shoes, which were clearly two sizes too large for their owner. I looked up and what I saw broke my heart,” elaborates Maizra. Overcome by guilt and “ashamed of her ugly determination”, Maizra fled the shopping mall. A year later, instead of celebrating Christmas with the usual festivities, Maizra and her family decided to serve Kuwait’s neediest population on Christmas Eve. “Within three weeks of me sending out requests, approximately 1,150 male and female labourers in Kuwait were outfitted with brand new, rain-resistant coats, hats, gloves and thick socks. Families, students and businessmen joined hands to purchase, pack and hand-deliver ‘winter warmth’ to each worker. And from there, Operation Hope was born,” she said. Operation Hope-Kuwait partners with schools and local outreach programmes by providing clothing and toiletries when needed to women and babies in the Illegal Pregnancy Ward, as well as men and women at Kuwait’s deportation centres. The organisation operated from a humble tent office in the first six years of serving Kuwait’s neediest, but has recently moved to a more permanent home. Maizra was labelled this year’s Most Inspiring Woman for the extraordinary contributions to her community, as part of awards set up by Mondelçz International, the company that owns the Philadelphia cream cheese brand. “I applied for the award twice since its inception. Every woman who has applied is a winner. Each story is inspirational in an incredible way,” said Maizra. Operating for the fourth year, the Most Inspiring Woman of the Year (GCC) award is bestowed upon women who have made extraordinary contributions to their community. Winners, including first and second runners up, were announced through a combination of judges voting for short listing and public online voting process. “The response for the awards has been truly tremendous. This year we had 500 entries from across the GCC and each story was really moving. The process of picking out just three was not an easy task,” said Mondelçz International area director Vishal Tikku. The judges were Shaikha Hend Faisal Al Qassemi, an Emirati artist, entrepreneur and philanthropist; Dr Rana A. Al Fares, Director at Kuwait University Construction Programme; Lina Khalid Al Maeena, Director of Jeddah United Sports Company in Saudi Arabia, an organisation which channels women’s aspirations in sports. Maizra received $10,000 from Philadelphia, which she has pledged to support her cause further. First runner up Mina Liccione from the UAE and second runner up, Mona Qumquimji from Saudi Arabia were rewarded with $5,000. Liccione is the founder of Clowns Who Care project, a volunteer initiative whose sole purpose is to bring joy, love, light, awareness and support to centres for children and adults with special needs, senior centres, charity organisations and hospitals. The group also provides free professional entertainment, produces events and works with other charities, and produced Funny Girls Go Pink — an all-female stand-up comedy show, in support of breast cancer awareness, held last October. “It’s not about being famous or coming on TV. It’s an attempt to make the world a better place,” Liccione said. Qumquimji is a philanthropist who dabbles in all areas of community service. She began her community work in 1987, when she joined women’s charity organisations to spend time with less privileged children, and her journey continues. dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
‘I got my family in my hands’
Family Reunion…‘I got my family in my hands’ Amanda Fisher / 19 May 2013 DUBAI – Three months should barely make up for 38 years, but for Mohammed Omar Disombo, who has been searching for his family for nearly four decades, it is as though no time has passed at all. Sixty-four-year-old Mohammed Disomba, second from left, had the experience of a lifetime — 38 years in the making — when he went to the US to meet his daughter, Nina, left, granddaughter Nasheba, 20, second from right, and grandson Allen, 15, as well to reunite with his wife, Lucille, after almost four decades. “I found them and went there and got my family, my final journey, I got my family in my hands,” he said. The 64-year-old Tanzanian national, who has spent almost 40 years in the UAE, recently got back from a three-month trip of a lifetime to Texas, to meet for the first time his 38-year-old daughter Nina and three grandchildren, and reconnect with his estranged wife of nearly 40 years. “It was amazing … this question (about how I felt) I cannot answer. After a long time, seeing them after so long, it’s like you’re born again.” 37-year painful wait for family reunion Disombo’s long separation began six months after he married wife Lucille in Texas in 1974, when his American employer transferred him to Sharjah. Four years later, the ship he was working on sank off the Indian coast, taking his important documentation with it — effectively locking him out of America, he said. While he sent letters, and money, to his wife and young daughter, eventually they came back with ‘Return to sender’, after his wife moved towns. The quest to reconnect began in 1995, though the first breakthrough came online only 13 years later, when colleague Mohammed Fasiuddin spent hours trying to track the family down. Six months later, Nina was traced through a parking ticket. Disombo first made contact with his daughter three years ago, though it took from them till late last year for his US visa to finally come through, as a result of complications from an American conviction decades ago, and weighty paperwork the US authorities requested, he said. “I was fighting very hard to get it…‘Bring this, bring this, bring this’.” However, he says he now has permanent residency, thanks to support from his family, particularly his daughter’s half-brother — his wife’s son — who put up thousands of dollars in security. There were eight family members to greet him at the airport, with many breaking down in tears when they saw him. “(Lucille) couldn’t walk.” Seeing his wife and daughter was very natural, Disombo said, though it was sadness for him to find Lucille in bad health with diabetes and weighing over 300 kilograms after years of poor diet. “I didn’t try to get another women (after I left America), I never married, I always tried to see my wife.” Daughter Nina, who now works for a retirement home, said her life was now “complete”. “I was so nervous, balling my eyes out (but when I met him) I gave him a big hug. I was so excited, I have been waiting so long to do that. I had faith. I knew it would happen.” Disombo said he does not know what he will do next, as he has almost two years left on his Dubai visa — courtesy of his long-time employer Dubai Airports’ executive senior vice-president Jamal Al Hai. Al Hai had twice extended Disombo’s visa as an airport employee, in order to not disrupt the American visa process — if he had not, Disombo would have been forced out of the country, adding further setbacks. Al Hai was now sponsoring Disombo to look after one of his buildings, and while Disombo said he wanted to repay his employer’s kindness, he was hoping to get a good job opportunity in Texas and eventually move to be with his family. And when Hollywood finally creates an adaptation of Disombo’s story, he knows just the actor to play him: “Will Smith”. amanda@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Raha puts Saudi, UAE on top of the world
Raha puts Saudi, UAE on top of the world Suresh Pattali / 19 May 2013 DUBAI – The UAE’s fame has reached new heights with a Dubai-based Saudi woman scaling Mount Everest on Saturday and three other Arabs, with links to the country, inching to reach the top of the world. Mountaineering officials in Nepal said the 25-year-old graphic design graduate from the American University of Sharjah was among 64 climbers who successfully scaled Everest from Nepal’s side of the mountain, during a charity expedition. Raha Moharrak, the only female in the four-member ‘Arabs with Altitude’ group, has become the first ever Saudi woman to climb to the top of Mount Everest. “I really don’t care about being the first … so long as it inspires someone else to be the second,” Moharrak said ahead of her expedition. The past ascents of Moharrak, who is originally from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, include Kilimanjaro, Mount Vinson, Mount Elbrus, Aconcagua, Kala Pattar, Pico de Orizaba and Iztaccihuatl. The ‘Arabs with Altitude’ group also includes Sharjah-born Mohammed Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s royal family; Raed Zidan, 41-year-old Palestinian real-estate businessman who is a United States citizen residing in Indianapolis and Dubai; and Masoud Kalafchi, an Iranian living in Dubai. According to media reports, Kalafchi owns an ice-cream franchise here. Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International, the expedition company leading the group, told Khaleej Times that all members of the team are safe. “While Moharrak, who was in the first group, has retreated to high camp after spending an hour at the peak, the other members of the group will make their summit attempt either on Saturday night or on Sunday morning,” an Alpine spokesman told KT. An Alpine Ascents webcast said its first team arrived at the 8,850-metre peak by 8am on Saturday, climbing all night from the highest camp on South Col. “They were led to the top of the world by Alpine Ascents expedition leader Garrett Madison and his team of expert guides — Lakpa Rita Sherpa, Ben Jones, and Brien Sheedy,” it said. “The team has now started their descent back to the South Col. Let’s wish the team a safe trip down the mountain,” it added. According to Alpine Ascents, Sherpa’s climbing and guiding achievements include 16 summits of Everest on over 22 expeditions, carrying a record 227 climbers to the top of the world. “We are trying to raise one million dollars for Nepali education projects during our climb to the top,” the mountaineering group said on its website. Al Thani, a successful philanthropist, entrepreneur and a passionate mountaineer, says his mission is to push his limits to reach “the seven highest summits of the seven continents of the world”. He is hoping to become the first Qatari to climb Mount Everest. Zidan, who is married with three children, says he is also looking forward to completing the seven summits. According to Alpine Ascents, Al Thani, born on June 16, 1982, in Sharjah, is climbing as a brand ambassador for Reach Out to Asia, a private non-profit organisation, based in Doha, with a mission to raise awareness that education is a right for everyone. suresh@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
