I had a conversation with Andrews University student, Nilah Mataafa (senior, accounting), about her organization dedicated to ending period poverty in the Middle East, beginning with Lebanon. This is the story of her organization and her journey in her own words.
Hi Nilah, I am so excited to be interviewing you! Could you please introduce yourself to us?
Yeah, my name is Nilah, and I’m an accounting major. Currently, I work in consulting in San Francisco where I’ve gained a lot of experience. Additionally, I am a co-founder of a nonprofit called Phoenicia Finesse, which is focused on social innovation. Outside of my work, I’m super passionate about traveling and exploring new cultures.
Phoenicia Finesse, could you please tell me what this is and who it’s for?
Certainly! Our organization is mainly focused on providing essential menstrual items, and financial support, to refugee women in the Middle East, specifically Lebanon. We’re looking to expand, but right now we’re just working in this area. Hopefully, we will get to touch other bases in the Middle East. For now, we work with local partners who distribute items to these women in the refugee camps, and we also provide opportunities for the women to work for livable wages through our program. Our goal is basically to help women overcome challenges that they face and empower them to build a better future for themselves.
Out of curiosity, where did you get the idea for the name Phoenicia Finesse?
Phoenicia was the ancient area of Lebanon. Whenever you ask [Lebanese people], “Who are your ancestors,” they say, “we are Phoenician.” That started the first part of the name. And then, “Finesse.” Um yeah, we’re working on a rebrand. But, basically, when we first started, we were just trying to gain funds, and we started selling clothes, so we named our store Phoenicia Finesse. It was kind of targeted towards more Gen-Z because we were “thrifting” and selling [the clothes] online just to get some capital, and then buying some of the products for the women [in Lebanon]. Those are the roots of our company, and I think that is a unique thing because it did just start with three college girls just trying to do something.
I understand your website mentions the creation of sustainable jobs for Lebanese women. How has this goal become a fundamental part of this organization?
That’s a really good question. At our organization, we believe providing sustainable jobs for women is a huge factor in empowering them and helping them build a better future for themselves and their families. Because of the situation over there, a lot of women don’t have working rights; a lot of refugees don’t have working rights. So, when we started the organization, we realized that a lot of these refugee women were facing significant financial challenges and were blocked access to job opportunities that could support them and their families. So, we decided to focus on creating a sustainable job opportunity as a core part of our mission. We work with local partners to provide training and job opportunities, like a partner called “Winners.” They’re a Brazilian nonprofit in Lebanon as well. They have a sewing class, so we partnered up with them. Once these women learn how to sew, they “graduate” and then are offered a job with us, Phoenicia Finesse, to make menstrual kits that we then distribute. So, overall, the creation of sustainable jobs is a fundamental part of Phoenicia Finesse because we believe that it will have a lasting impact on these women that we serve, and so we are just committed to continuing this work and expanding our operations in the path to come.
Wow, a little bit off script here, but I wonder, does the Phoenicia Finesse pay the women who graduate, or…
Yeah! We pay them livable wages, which is why we are fundraising a ton. A lot of the money goes towards their wages. We want to create this system and expand it so we can hire more women. That’s our current goal. Currently, we have three women employed, and we want to expand and have even more women be employed!
Could you speak to some of the resilience and willpower of the women in Lebanon?
These women are so strong. A lot of these refugee women who came from Syria literally just had normal lives, just like me. They went to the mall; they went to their day job; they had a family. And then, due to the war, a lot of them just had to leave their homes and had everything taken from them. And so, I imagine how the life I live right now could be taken away from me. All of a sudden, I can’t work, I can’t earn money, I don’t have access to basic essential items for my own health as a woman? That, that’s trauma, and a lot of these women just keep pushing forward. They make it day by day. They try to help their families in whatever capacity they can, and I think that’s amazing, and it takes a lot of resilience just to be able to go through something like that. They inspire me, just hearing their stories and seeing how strong they are. And the way they believe in this cause, which not only means a lot to us but means a lot to them too.
What about you, Nilah? Why did you get involved in this project?
So you know how we often say we “want to be a change,” but we don’t have access to resources? In my experience, if I actually look back and do a self-reflection, I see that everyone has a skill or a talent that they can contribute. My sister and I have access to different resources, and if we can use them for good, why not do that? And, so, I thought this was the most tangible way to actually make a lasting impact, especially for women who are just like me, who have the same problems as me, and who have the same health concerns as me. It is something I am super passionate about because I want to empower other women, and they empower me too, just from hearing their stories. I think it is something every young person can do. They can use any skill or talent to give back. If you ever have the opportunity to do so, I think you should.
Could you please tell us more about your journey, specifically with entrepreneurship?
Yeah, so a lot of the time, I am someone struggling with caring about what everyone thinks. Entrepreneurship is a nice little cure for that because it pushes you to your limits, and you have to put yourself out there; you have to believe in your cause, you have to believe in your mission, and you have to believe in yourself. Sometimes I am such a perfectionist, and the thought of failing or of doing something wrong almost hinders me from even acting, but entrepreneurship teaches you that you have to fail in order to learn. So, it’s kind of built a lot of my confidence, it’s helped me be more bold in my ideas, and I want to see more women in this space do the same. It has been an awesome journey learning to just fail. Fail, but learn from it. Just go for it!
Can we expect to see more projects and organizations coming from you in the future?
I want to work on this one right now. I think another key aspect of entrepreneurship is consistency, so I would like to continue to grow and expand this [organization]. Maybe in the future, I will start something else, but for now, I want to focus and put most of my energy into this.
Phoenicia Finesse truly sounds wonderful. How can anyone interested in it, like myself, give to the organization?
Yeah, so we are trying to raise money and spread awareness for what’s going on, so you can visit our website, www.phoeniciafinesse.org, or you can check out our Instagram page. You can donate through them, or you can share. We share a lot of posts whenever we have a campaign, so we would like to spread awareness through that. That is a huge way that people could get involved. Also, we’re trying to set up a trip for AU students to help out with what is happening in Lebanon! That’s coming up in the near future. So, when that happens, I’ll let people know and they can sign up, help out, and come see what’s happening.
Thank you for speaking with me today, Nilah. Do you have any closing remarks you would like to leave with us?
Thank you so much! I just want to say that if you ever have an idea that you want to share, do it! Your idea could help somebody, so believe in yourself and believe in your dreams.
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