After speaking with Nafisa Taha, owner and founder of Café de la Paix, it’s not possible to not get inspired to give back to the community. Her desire to serve those, who are less privileged than her, is evident in her speech and mission for life.  The last position Taha held was Operations Manager for Abu Dhabi Distribution Company. During her free time, she is extensively involved with charity organizations as a consultant. She is also one of the founding members of Terry Fox Run in Abu Dhabi, a campaign to raise funds for cancer research, and is proud of how her charity initiatives allow people to be a part of creating change.

Her past involvement with other philanthropies and non-profit organizations, such as UNICEF and Make-A-Wish foundation, puts her in line with CR HOPE’s mission and vision to give back to the world in need. “There are many charities I support, so this became a passion. I decided that a part of my life was going to be dedicated to non-profit organizations and I would try to support them whenever I can”.

She is a firm believer that support is not limited to donating material goods. “It doesn’t always have to be finance; you can help through your expertise, advisory and by giving your time.” When speaking of her first interaction with the CR HOPE team she recalls with admiration: “These were amazing professional people who wanted to do a lot of good”.

Taha, who moved to the UAE in 70s with her family from Sudan, connects her life in this multicultural country with her desire to help and serve others. “Here you are given a great chance to learn and get insight from various people coming from all over the world!”. Seeing how deeply passionate CR HOPE is about their mission, solidified her desire to work with the foundation. “They believe in these kids. No matter what race, what religion, what color. They believe in the future. They just want to reach out and help.” This conviction was proven by actions: Café de la Paix became a host to the first photography exhibition presented by CR HOPE. Taha says that she was hooked the moment she saw pictures of smiling children, considering this to be a great initiative to encourage people to be more invested in education and in the lives of children, who have very limited opportunities otherwise.

Commenting on why education is vital for communities she says: “When you educate people you give them the power to lift themselves up, give them hope to not be dependent on other people and instead build the future of their own.”

What excites her most about her partnership with CR HOPE? “The chance to do a lot of good. These people are coming from different countries and cultural backgrounds, but they went, visited, served and decided they wanted to do something for the society and give something to these kids. They wanted to do good, especially through education, so I decided to partner with them. I will do my best to help them achieve their goal, to make sure the school gets built. I already shared an idea to give young people in the area an opportunity for vocational training, so that they could go and learn a trade and use it for their survival, improve their self-esteem and improve their society.”

She wants the younger generation and people all over the world to be inspired to give out of humility and willingness to help others in need. “People should be inspired to visit Zanzibar, to lend a hand not only there, but also in other countries, wherever the need arises. You should not be asked to give back. It should be an integral part of being human.”