A storyteller and an agent of happiness
How often are we grateful for all the facilities, health and happiness God has blessed us with? Even when life is far from perfect, it’s important to keep things in perspective, believes 32-year-old Dubai-based filmmaker Jihad M’nsari, who has lived in seven different countries and been a philanthropist since she was only 15. She is an American with Tunisian roots and has been residing in Dubai for the last 17 years.
“I’ve always wanted to help others, and my purpose has always been to make others happy or giving a hand whether it was friends, strangers or people in need of any support and help.”
Jihad started her path in philanthropy from the year 2000 by way of taking part in any community events and initiating activities in school or with friends and neighbours.
In her university years, from 2004 to 2008, she continued taking part in community events. “I was heavily involved with the community service department of the university (AUS). In many times, I was given the opportunity to handle community-related events and activities.”
But it was in 2010–2014 that she co-founded Flea 4 Charity, a local initiative, with her university colleague/friend Luz Villamil. “Primarily we used to collect secondhand items, sell them in the flea market and whatever money came was donated to different causes through the Red Crescent UAE. Throughout the years, several donation drives supporting regional and international disasters took place in collaboration with the Red Crescent and we would have people from all over the UAE take part and donate through our initiative.”
From 2015–2017, Jihad founded the Play for Smiles foundation abroad which is dedicated to helping and supporting orphan and abandoned children. Under this initiative, Jihad and her friends build playgrounds for underprivileged communities around the world to enhance the quality of life of children, primarily orphans, through play, education, development and edutainment. “Work took place in Egypt, Kenya, Nepal, Somalia and the UAE. Primary focus is Kenya at the moment where the foundation is looking after four orphanages in four different slums with a total of 600 children,” Jihad said, adding that in the past 17 years, around 500,000 people have benefited from the initiatives she has undertaken.
With millions of children struck with disease, poverty and disabilities on a daily basis, the only thing that gives Jihad peace is drawing smiles on the faces of underprivileged children.
“It is not only the money, but the time being spend playing with the kids, providing good clothes and shoes to them, some of who had never ever worn shoes or rather new shoes before, particularly in Kenya. I believe that every child deserves to be happy and deserves to smile,” Jihad told Khaleej Times.
Talking about her current project, which she describes as one of the hardest and heaviest projects she has ever been involved with, Jihad said she is working with a group in Kenya called Passion Meets Purpose — a group of ten ladies who are into prostitution from really young ages. “They were pushed into prostitution from the tender age of eight as they were orphans and required to take care of themselves, their siblings and their children now.
“This project kept me sobbing for days, I get insomnia on other nights thinking about them, their kids, their life and how we can help. I’m grateful we took immediate action since the day we met them. We are currently running a rehab programme and are planning to introduce them to various vocational trainings once the programme is due so we can have them shift their career and start living a better life,” Jihad said.
Talking about her partners in these different initiatives, she said: “Play for Smiles foundation has been founded in partnership with 12 Days KE, a Kenyan trust founded by Nduta Waidhima who looks after orphan and abandoned children in Kenya. Life From Water, a foundation functioning in Egypt, Kenya and Germany, supported us with various solutions and we are working on several upcoming projects related to water solutions and social tourism. Dubai Daily Fitness, a Dubai-based group helps and supports us in raising awareness about the issues tackled by Play for Smiles. Eat The Sun, another Dubai-based project, provides health coaching and have been involved in consulting us on how to take care of the children’s healthcare in Kenya as all the children suffer from severe malnutrition, many are HIV positive and they suffer from all sorts of different deficiencies.”
Defining herself as a wanderer, a storyteller and an agent of joy and happiness, Jihad describes what giving means to her through a parable. “I once met an old man who was 80+ in the US, the founder of an initiative called Muffin Man in the USA. He looked like he was 60 and was full of energy and power. When asked about the secret behind his looks and energy, he said: “Giving... giving is the fountain of eternal youth” and since then I’ve been living by that quote.”