The Seniors Advisory Board (SAB) of the World Federation is pleased to launch this bi-monthly feature known as SENIOR OF THE MONTH. Each second month, the SAB will feature a senior who has made a particularly outstanding contribution in her/his community and recognize the individual’s efforts, accomplishments and services. Through this, the SAB aims to draw attention to the importance of our elders as the pillars of our community and as a source of strength and inspiration to us all. For more information or to nominate a senior, please contact
SAB@world-federation.org
, or visit
www.world-federation.org/sab
 |
If there was anyone so committed to using his gift of languages to benefit the people, it is SAB’s third Senior of the Month, Al-Hajj Mohamedtaki M. Dewji. Born in Mombasa, Kenya Takibhai now resides in Vancouver, Canada with his family. A father of three, and grandfather of two, Takibhai has set a wonderful example of how one can live his life by taking the blessings of Allah (SWT) and using it to help the people around him. |
Education and seeking knowledge has always been important to Takibhai. In 1962, he received a degree in Fellow of Science from Lahore, Pakistan. Later, he received various certificates in Preparation of Income Tax Returns, Basic Accounting and Banking and Host Program. Over the past few years, he has spent and continues to spend a great deal of his time volunteering at the Parkinson’s Society of British Columbia.
One of Takibhai’s most unique achievements is that he is a fully qualified interpreter. He has obtained a diploma in Interpretations in 7 languages, namely English, Panjabi, Hindi, Gujarati, Kacchi, Urdu and Kiswahili. With this gift of language, he has dedicated his time to helping others by providing interpretation services mainly at clinics, hospitals, human resource centres and various other organizations.
Takibhai’s recent contributions to the Shia Ithna Asheri Muslim community include guiding individuals personally in religious matters by writing articles, recording audio cassettes and one-to-one dialogue. About 7 years ago, he guided a Muslim convert who was living in Colorado. He did this by inviting her into his home and introducing her to the Muslim community. This experience not only strengthened her faith, but inspired many members of the local Jamaat through her talks whenever she visited Vancouver.
Takibhai’s advice to the youth of our community is to “learn from the experiences of the elders and apply them”. The most promising change he has seen occur within our communities is that in spite of hurdles such as obtaining halaal meat and observing hijaab, our societies in the West have adhered to many principles of our religion. One thing he would still like to see change within our community is to find more Muslims supporting one another in business.
Today, the Shia Ithna Asheri Muslim community is fortunate to have an individual such as Takibhai amongst them who is well versed in so many languages and provides interpretive services. Given the remarkable multicultural society we live in, communication is paramount to understanding the needs and concerns of one another and indeed Takibhai has succeeded in his aim to benefit the masses with the knowledge of languages he has attained.