Badea Abu Al-Naja
Saudi Gazette
THE “Made in Makkah” Exhibition, organized by the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has shed light on some of the talented women. Saudi Gazette met several women and listened to their stories and how they started their at-home business.
Afrah Fatani has been running at-home catering service for more than 10 years. She convinced her three sisters to join and they did. She taught them how to cook and organize food events. Today, Fatani provides catering services to several girls’ schools and is preparing to start her own small business establishment.
Another successful story is that of Taybah Rajab, who has had a passion for making jam, pickles and Indian spices since she was a teenager. Her daughter’s suffering played a role in her practice what she wanted. After being diagnosed with cancer, her daughter had to leave her job and undergo chemotherapy. As a result, her daughter’s psychological and health state deteriorated.
“The psychiatrist advised me to keep my daughter busy all the time and help her forget about cancer. I taught her how to make jams and pickles and she learned it quickly. Her condition improved immensely. This is how I started my business.”
Areej Jastaniya went through a difficult financial crisis and lost her business few years ago. She did not give up; she started again a small business from home mixing perfumes oils. Today, she is one of the most famous women who mix perfumes with different ingredients.
Perhaps the hardest challenge Areej faced was the way people used to look down upon her. At one time, she was a well-known businesswoman, the chairwoman of the productive families committee at Makkah Chamber, and an executive member of the national committee supervised by the Council of Chambers. She was at the top and then lost everything and had to start right from the scratch.
Alanoud Iskandar, who is a teacher, loves handicrafts and has worked a lot to hone and polish her skills. The products she showcased at the exhibition received a lot of praise from visitors.
Maha Aljoufi, a college student, is a plastic artist. She has fallen in love with this art since she was a little child. She started taking it seriously when she turned 14 years old, right after her bone fracture healed. During her recuperation, which took two months, she spent most of her time drawing. Her family encouraged her to hone her skills after seeing her works. She showcased several works of hers at the exhibition.
Jama Al-Dawsari was not fortunate enough to finish her elementary education. She led a hard-knock life but never gave up. She took a course in making frames for pictures using palm leaves.
After displaying her works, five hotels signed agreements with her whereby she will decorate paintings with palm-frond frames.
