“Children should always be our priority and not just as parents,'' says entrepreneur Thouraya Kambar Al Awadhi, whom I met at the recent Women's Exhibition, which she organised at the Dubai Ladies Club.
Married at the tender age of 16, Thouraya educated not only herself but raised a family of seven children and groomed them to hold high positions in various industries.
Her eldest daughter Najla is a member of the UAE Federal National Council and Deputy CEO of Dubai Media.
Focus on family
“Even when I was running between my children's school, university classes and cooking at home in the US, my focus never shifted from my family,'' Thouraya says.
“I started working after 20 years of marriage only because I've never believed in nannies and raised each of my children with help from my husband and elder children,'' she adds.
The entrepreneur says they “had a bare social life when the children were growing up and even if we had to go out, my older children babysitted the younger ones. This is one of the reasons they are so close today.''
“About seven years ago, when my youngest one, Yasmine, started kindergarten, I felt I needed to do something for myself,'' Thouraya continues.
“I started my business from my kitchen, dealing in real estate.
“Today I have my own office, run a luxury yacht for VIPs at Dubai Port and also have an interior design company and a cleaning company.''
“Now I am venturing into event management too. I've always believed that the key to success is time management. That's it.''
The next event she is involved in is a gala dinner and fashion show for the Al Noor Training Centre for Special Needs on June 12.
Keeping the faith
“As I said earlier, children should always be our main focus, for they are our future, the country's future. And now that my own have grown up and are doing well for themselves, I feel the need to create awareness regarding the less fortunate,'' Thouraya says.
“The school has excellent premises, which our leader His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President adn Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, has helped build.
"The school feels that the facilities are being underutilised because the school runs only until 1pm. So they wish to create a club for special children, where they can come and enjoy themselves after school hours.''
As an active member of the Dubai Businesswomen's and the UAE Businesswomen's councils, Thouraya wishes to bring out the immense talent the Emirati women hold.
“Our main aim is to bring forward women working from home, so they can display their talent, as you see here today,'' she said, pointing to the exhibition hall.
“Inshallah, we will do it again soon and take this talent to other countries, such as Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and even Africa,'' Thouraya promises.
Even today, most Emirati women are shy to step out of their house, I said.
“No,'' she says. “It's changing now. Under the patronage of leaders such as President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Shaikh Mohammad, who not only encourage them but are actually providing various facilities to train and support their businesses, women are no longer bound to the house.
Untiring dedication
“Of course, many women get caught up in home and family life, but there are ways to manage time and pay attention to ourselves too.
“In the United States, I used to be on the highway at 7 in the morning to drop my children to school, attend university and return at 3 in the afternoon to pick them up from school and come home to cook,'' she says.
And where did she gather the strength and inspiration to achieve all this?
“Well, God created us all and we need to keep faith in Him; the more faith we have in Him, the harder we work; the harder we work, the more we have; and the more we have, the more responsible we are for the world. And I'm just doing my bit.''
