Continue to be your authentic self.
Camilia Majette is the CEO and founder of Nailah’s Shea and the 2018 minority business person of the year. She is a compassionate and determined woman who overcame personal and familial challenges, as well as social and societal expectations. Kassim Mbwana is a program evaluation and management consultant, a resilient individual who persisted through his own sets of difficulties, including the pressures of his Kenyan, Muslim African descent and his belonging in a western world that sometimes feels alienating.
Their story begins with Camilia and Kassim crossing paths through mutual friends, falling in love, and combining their lives, building a foundation of trust. Despite their different childhood upbringings, they discovered common ground in their shared experiences of the religion of Islam and East-African heritage. It enhanced their mutual desire for understanding and acceptance.
Through their journey, they explore themes of resilience, empathy, kindness, and the transformative power of community. Kassim, a youth coordinator, takes children out to go camping for 2 nights during the summer and Camilia helps out at the Masjid, she works with people becoming Muslim, teaching a class about Islamic culture.