www.bahrainthismonth.com 18 October 2022 You are quite renowned in the Kingdom, but could you kindly give our readers an overview about your distinguished career to-date? How did you get involved with the Royal Humanitarian Foundation? I had a very challenging childhood, I was born into a poor family and my father died when I was just five years old. Two months before his death, our house was burnt in a big fire and thus we lost everything and had to start from zero. Hence, now I feel the requirements and aspiration of poor orphans and children and do my best to help them. Over the years I have also learned of the goodness that people have in them through various situations in my life. For instance, my neighbor who would tell me to go home when it was late at night, or the engineer who saved my life when I was working with high voltage switch gear and pointed out the hazards to me, and people who encouraged me to become a better and successful person. If you genuinely treat people well, with kindness and compassion, I believe you will receive heavenly rewards in return. What inspired your dedication to a life of charitable work? I helped in forming the Bahrain Safety Society in 1979. It was then that I understood the satisfaction of saving lives though informative lectures, writing books and voluntary work. You feel good when you go to bed at night, realising that you have helped others and impacted their lives positively. Seeing smiles on the face of children or appreciation from elderly people made me happy. In fact, I had an interview with an Arabic newspaper in 2005 at the very peak of my professional career as the President of Bapco. At the time, they asked me what my ambition in life would be and I said it was my dream to have a beautiful nursery for orphans. This was in my heart at the time, and today I have not just one nursery, but one in every governorate. The Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF) has been widely recognised for its philanthropic efforts that have had a lasting impact on societies in Bahrain and across the world. This month, we speak to one of the most recognised representatives of RHF with a natural penchant for charity - RHF Secretary General, Dr. Mustafa Al-Sayed. He tells us about what sparked his interest in charity, the foundation’s impact and his inspirational children’s books too. interview By Farah Baig A LIFE OF GIVING
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