Manju Mandal, Sales executive and board member at SmartLife
One of four brothers born to a farming family on the outskirts of Kolkata, India, Manju Mandal left school at 14 to help supplement the family’s income. In 2011, he moved to Dubai with a dream to start fresh, working as a cleaner in a restaurant while living in a labor camp, where he was photographed for this story. A chance encounter introduced him to the NGO SmartLife, which works to empower and better the lives of people in labor camps. Mandal started to learn English and soon after found work as a deliveryman for a bank. He quickly rose through the ranks and today is employed as a sales executive at Emirates NBD. Even though his circumstances have improved, Mandal still contributes to SmartLife, organizing food distribution programs and teaching meditation to laborers.
Luz Villamil, Deputy director of Cinema Akil and breast cancer activist
Born to a Palestinian father and Colombian mother, Luz Villamil had a rough childhood in Colombia, where gang violence was commonplace. In 1998, her father was kidnapped by guerilla outfit FARC and only returned three months later. Shortly after that, her brother went missing while on vacation, never to be heard from again. Grappling with the profound loss and to escape a life of uncertainty, the Villamil family moved to the UAE in 2002. Her true “new beginning” happened at 31, when she went through a divorce, got diagnosed with breast cancer, and lost her father – all in one year. Navigating this extraordinary time in her life has been an enlightening road to self-discovery, she says. “I finally got to know myself through my illness.
Cheryl Nankoo, Account manager
From a young age, Cheryl Nankoo always wanted a family through adoption. Over the years, she worked in many initiatives to help children in the UK, India, and Laos. In 2016, after volunteering in an orphanage in a Dalit village (the lowest caste) in India, she decided to adopt as a single mother. Nankoo was faced with many challenges, but she continued to research ways in which she could adopt. Two years later, and at the age of 42, Nankoo met and married her husband. After a miscarriage, a gynecologist tried to persuade Nankoo to try infertility treatment before adopting – advice that made Nankoo feel as if adoption is the “lesser choice.” The process made her and her husband realize how much they wanted to adopt. Finally, in 2020, they brought home Alpha from Sierra Leone. Daughter Aliyah followed in July this year. “That day, September 20, 2020, was the best day of my life, because I met my son Alpha for the first time. It was overwhelming, but as soon as we brought him home, I knew I wanted more children. People tend to focus on what adoptive parents miss through not giving birth, but they fail to see what parents miss out on by not adopting. There is no right or wrong way of starting a family – it’s all about love. Since adopting my kids, I am no longer trying to define my purpose. I now know my future dreams are related to my children and their home countries. My children have shown me the way.”
Fevie Laurilla, Waiter turned Businesswoman
Originally from Rizal, Philippines, Fevie Laurilla came to Dubai more than two decades ago to work as a waiter in a fast-food chain. Over the years she was promoted twice – first to restaurant supervisor and then to manager of multiple kiosks across Dubai. When forced to look for jobs during the 2008 recession, Laurilla took the opportunity to pursue a lifelong interest in event management. What began with modest means (her first event was a birthday party), eventually morphed into Laurilla strategizing and planning major events for corporates. When the pandemic hit the Filipino community (many of whom work in hospitality) especially hard, Laurilla took a leap of faith and launched her first business venture, Filpreneurs General Trading – an online trading platform for people from her community to sell their products under an umbrella license. In less than a year, hundreds of people signed up, using its services to supplement their incomes. “This became a starting point for us to survive and continue to fight, to live and dream,” Laurilla says. “And this is my new beginning.”