S2 Ep26. Mariam Janahi's Ripple Effect: One Woman’s Impact Across Continents

In this heartwarming episode of ABWilson's Heart of the Matter, Aderonke Bademosi Wilson sits down with Mariam Janahi to explore her transformative journey and the personal growth that has shaped who she is today. Mariam warmly describes herself as caring, close to people and deeply kindhearted, qualities she believes blossomed over time, especially after retiring from a demanding career in human resources at Batelco, Bahrain’s telecommunications giant.

Reflecting on how she defines herself, Mariam opens up about her early years in HR, where she adopted a goal-oriented, sometimes tough approach. However, as her career evolved, so did her passion for connecting with people. She recounts how her natural ease in engaging with strangers, such as during her very first meeting with Aderonke in Nepal, speaks to this personal transformation. Her generosity and compassion, whether through emotional support or financial help, are values deeply rooted in the lessons passed down by her late father.

Mariam shares three particularly meaningful aspects of her life. First, she discusses the challenges she faced as a woman navigating a male-dominated workplace at Batelco. Although informal networking often came easier to her male counterparts, Mariam rose to a prominent position and became a champion for equal opportunity, paving the way for other women to succeed.

Second, her love for people and her dedication to empowerment shine through. Mariam finds deep fulfillment in lifting others up, often driven by her own lived experiences. Her belief in the potential of others is a recurring theme throughout her story.

Third, her passion for travel has played a pivotal role in shaping her worldview. Many of her journeys, often work-related, exposed her to diverse cultures and perspectives, helping her cultivate an open mind and a rich appreciation for human connection.

Among her more recent accomplishments, Mariam recounts the complex yet rewarding process of selling her house in Lebanon. Prompted by the pandemic and ongoing political instability, the decision took time and effort, especially given the banking challenges in the country. Yet, with perseverance, the sale concluded successfully. Aderonke fondly recalls visiting the home and learning more about Lebanon, especially a surprising geographical lesson about Tripoli and a memorable visit to the home of renowned writer Kahlil Gibran.

Mariam’s desire to make a difference is perhaps most evident in her long-standing commitment to charitable work. Since 2002, she has supported children’s education through an orphanage in Bahrain. Her giving spirit extended during a 2020 trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar, where she was moved to help a safari driver and a single mother working as a waitress. Guided by Islamic principles of zakat and sadaqa, she helped the driver build a house and supported the waitress by funding her children's education and investing in her small business.

At the core of Mariam’s impact are two qualities she holds dear: empathy and being a good listener. She believes these traits allow her to truly connect with others and offer meaningful support. What motivates her most is seeing the people she helps take ownership of their lives and strive for self-reliance. It is this reciprocal energy that fuels her continued kindness and generosity, making Mariam Janahi not only an inspiring guest, but also a shining example of what it means to lead with heart.

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Transcript

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:01.598)
Welcome to another edition of A.B. Wilson's Heart of the Matter, a podcast that uses overwhelmingly positive questions to learn about our guests, where every episode uncovers extraordinary stories of triumph, growth, and empowerment. Hi, I'm Aderonke Bademosi Wilson, and my guest on today's show is Mariam Janahi. Mariam is caring, close to people, kindhearted. Mariam, welcome to the show.

Mariam Janahi (00:45.013)
Thank you, Aderonke. Great to be here. Great to see you.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:48.704)
It's wonderful to see you as well. And I want to get started with your descriptors. You say that you're caring. Tell me about that. What does that look like for you?

Mariam Janahi (01:01.205)
I think, you see, I worked in HR for such a long time, and I think that work has turned me into the person that I became, you know, gradually. Although thinking about it, when I was at work, I was known to be a very tough person, very goal-oriented.
I wanted to get things done, you know, on the specific timeline that we agreed upon. So I was very much like the person who was always running after achieving goals and what have you. But I think I discovered that, you know, my passion and my love for being with people, talking to them, making friends, doing things for them or with them became part of my life. I realized that after retirement.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (02:10.534)
And close to people, what does that look like for you?

Mariam Janahi (02:17.067)
I could walk into a room full of people I don't know and I can have conversations with everybody. You know, I don't feel shy to go in and just be one of very many. I don't know any of them, but I could end up knowing half of them. It's that kind of person.
I used to dread, you know, when I was—I hear some people say, I don't want to go to this wedding because I don't know anybody, or I don't want to go to this conference or whatever, because I don't. You and I met in Nepal, remember? I mean, how fantastic is that?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (02:43.927)
And.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (02:59.051)
I remember.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (03:05.598)
And I remember clearly meeting you and I remember I was sitting down eating, I think, and you came up to me and said, "Hi, I'm Mariam." And I think you also said, "Barbara and I are going shopping, would you like to go?" And I was like, "I'm not sure who Barbara is, but yes, let's do it."
And that's how you and I met. You just came up to me and started talking. And I remember thinking, wow, that is so cool. Let's go. And we went shopping. We were in Nepal, Kathmandu, and I discovered Kathmandu with you. It was a real treat. And that was in 2009, I think.

Mariam Janahi (03:44.617)
Yes. Yes.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (03:58.708)
And we were at the Appreciative Inquiry World Conference and we both learned a lot and we both did a lot. We ended up hanging out together and wandering around Kathmandu, but also enjoying the conference.

Mariam Janahi (03:59.712)
Yeah, thank you.
Yes.

Mariam Janahi (04:19.967)
Yes, correct, correct, correct. And since then we've been, you know, always sort of communicating with each other. It was good, yes.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (04:22.542)
You—

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (04:30.282)
Absolutely, absolutely. And I came to see you in Bahrain, you came to see me in Bermuda. And so we've maintained our friendship over the years. So thank you so much. And I want you to speak to being kindhearted.

Mariam Janahi (04:37.440)
Yes.

Mariam Janahi (04:49.931)
You—

Mariam Janahi (04:54.857)
I can't, maybe, I don't know, kindhearted. How do I explain being kindhearted? If I find somebody in any kind of difficult situation and I know that I am in a position to help, I would go out of my way to help, whether financially or otherwise.
I think that's probably one of the things that I do here at home. And also on my travels, if I see anybody in such a situation and I find myself that I'm capable, able to help, I do help. So I think that probably also I have a lot of empathy, I think, for people who have difficulties in their jobs or in their lives.
You know, I try to help. I try to help and extend a hand, you know. And it doesn't cost much to just be kind to people and say a nice word.

Mariam Janahi (06:26.943)
I don't know if I explained it well.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (06:31.598)
You did. It doesn't cost much to be kind to people. That is a great sentiment.

Mariam Janahi (06:43.061)
Yes, and I think I learned that from my father, from my late father. He was the eldest member of his siblings. And because he was the eldest, he had to work at a very young age. Perhaps he was a child. And because his father died, he was expected to work and earn money
to support his sisters and brothers. And I think all his life, he was kind to his brothers and sisters. And they all loved him for that. But I think I got that from him.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (07:27.566)
Thank you. And so Mariam, please share three interesting things about yourself that our listeners may not know and your friends will be surprised to learn.

Mariam Janahi (07:42.508)
As I said, I think my experience with Batelco, you know, with the HR work that I did in Batelco, which is the Bahrain Telecoms company, has, you know, it taught me how to connect with people. But some of the lessons that I learned there as I was
growing in the organization was when I was competing, for example, for a senior job. I discovered that it was not enough just to have the technical know-how, but it was necessary to have social skills, to have, you know,
thinking outside the box kind of capabilities. And when it came to competing for the senior jobs, I discovered some of the shortcomings that were there only for me as a woman. For example, I couldn't do networking in an informal manner. My networking was always
done within the work area, within the company. But my friends were able to meet inside and outside of work to carry out their discussion and conversations. So I would say that Batelco taught me
the challenges of being a woman, how to handle challenges of being a woman working in a sort of a male-dominated organization. Bahrain was always very well known for openness, for open-minded people, men and women.

Mariam Janahi (10:09.107)
Education started earlier than anywhere else within the Gulf. And people were educated and, you know, a lot of support was there. However, there was always, there is always a preference when it comes to, for example, occupying position A or position B. Should we select a man or—
The norm is, and the network, you know, always works in the favor of men rather than women. But I am glad to say that, you know, despite these difficulties, I was fine. I managed to reach a very high position within the company and...
And I think I made a lot of good decisions when it came to ensuring equal opportunities existed.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (11:14.669)
Hmm.

Mariam Janahi (11:17.727)
Yeah, competition, then networking, as I said. The three things that I would say is my love for people and being connected with people. Through Bahrain Telecoms, I used to do a lot of traveling, and I think that also taught me the value of traveling, because traveling always keeps your mind open to new cultures and new
perspectives and so your connection with people, your commitment to empowering people because you've been through certain things yourself so you always want to give it to others. Empowering people, connecting with people and love for travel. I would say these are the three things about me.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (12:12.024)
Thank you for sharing. Can you tell us about a recent accomplishment or success that you're particularly proud of?

Mariam Janahi (12:21.429)
Yeah, do you remember I wondered about this question. See, not working. I don't work to objectives now. The objectives are very short span objectives. But you remember the house in Lebanon. It's a beautiful house and I loved it immensely, but I sold it. I sold it and I think that—

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (12:39.212)
Yes, I do...

Mariam Janahi (12:50.239)
That was the best decision I made in years as concerning this house because, you know, the decision to sell it or not to sell it was like a roller coaster in my life for many years. But the last five years, I think, drove me very much closer to making this decision, the COVID-19,
the political instability left the house in a very bad shape and it required a lot of maintenance. So I managed to get that done by end of 2023 or spring of 2024 and by June 2024 it was sold to a great couple.
But the fantastic thing is, you see, I was thrilled that the house went because to me it was practical to sell it. It wasn't about sentiment anymore. It was practical. The brilliant thing was that the couple who bought the house were able to secure the money, transfer the money to me from outside of the Lebanese banking system, which was a bit challenging.
So that was the other big achievement for me. So I sold the house and I got the money transferred to me, every bit of it, through an outside bank, which was great. That was a great, great objective, I think. I was very happy about it.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (14:29.760)
And I will say that during my visit with you in Bahrain, we did have the opportunity to go to Lebanon. And that was my only time that I've been to Lebanon and visiting Beirut and the outside, the outskirts of the city. And I learned so much. I learned so much from that trip. One of them—

Mariam Janahi (14:48.861)
Yes.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (14:54.958)
—which is a geography lesson for me, well, actually several of them, was that there's a Tripoli in Lebanon. I remember seeing the sign and I'm thinking, how close are we to Libya? Do you remember me asking you that question? My geography was terrible.

Mariam Janahi (15:12.959)
Do it, Lydia.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (15:21.006)
And I'm thinking, are we close to Libya? But I learned that there's a Tripoli in Lebanon and we went to the home of Kahlil Gibran. And that was a highlight for me because I admire his work. I've read his work and to be able to go and see—yes, that was incredible.

Mariam Janahi (15:24.669)
Yeah.

Mariam Janahi (15:34.899)
Yes.
Guess.

Mariam Janahi (15:45.461)
To his birthplace. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (15:50.920)
I absolutely remember our time in Lebanon and the beautiful home that you had there. So thank you for opening my eyes to a country that I had—both Bahrain and Lebanon, two countries that I had never visited up until your kind invitation.

Mariam Janahi (16:14.517)
You're welcome. I was thrilled to have you there. We had some great times there. Fantastic. Fantastic. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (16:19.158)
We did, we had a lot of fun together. And so Mariam, please tell me about a time when you made a difference in another's life. What were the circumstances? Paint a picture for me.

Mariam Janahi (16:34.443)
I help children's education. I help support—financially support—children's education through an orphanage in Bahrain. I give some help to the family children as well, but no, the orphanage, the orphans are my main
targets always and I do that through a formal organization that handles the affairs of orphans. And I've been doing that since 2002. So a standing order goes from the bank to the orphanage for children's education.
And then occasionally during special occasions, they contact me for other things and I help out there as well. But that—
You know, those children, they send me the class reports, the transcripts of those kids as they grow because they support them until a certain age. And then another organization takes care of them. So my concern is always with the younger ones. And they send me their report cards just to see their performance.
It really fills me with joy to see that, you know, they are getting from one place to another. I really love it. I don't know who these kids are. And, you know, it just fills me with joy. Now, in 2020, during the COVID, I went with a friend to Tanzania.

Mariam Janahi (18:41.941)
Tanzania and Zanzibar. And there I met people whose stories really touched me. Our safari driver, a waitress who was a single mother of two. I learned about their unstable jobs, their seasonal work with low pay. And I felt that—I felt that I was compelled, was pushed somehow by my own feelings to help them. So I decided to help them through something that is called zakat and sadaqa. These are Islamic principles of charity. Now the zakat is an annual obligatory charity that is given to eligible Muslims only
and it is calculated on the basis of 2.5% of one's surplus wealth. Whereas, sadaqa is given to anybody, regardless of faith, at any time and as many times as you want. Now, because I pay both of those things, I contribute to both those things anyway.
You know, I calculate how much zakat I owe every year, and I calculate how much sadaqa I am able to give. So when I met the safari driver and the lady who was a waitress and single mother of two, I decided to help them through these principles. And thank God, since then,
We managed to complete the man's house. He's now living in his house. He had the land, but couldn't build the house. So I helped him build his house. I used to look forward to receiving videos of him and his children and wife helping, you know, to finish to get the house done. They've been in the house for, I think, one year now.

Mariam Janahi (21:08.627)
Last year, last Christmas, they were in the house. So this Christmas when I contacted them, they were very happy sitting around the table and praying, praying for me as well, which was nice. And the lady, I'm glad I put her children through to school and one of them through boarding school. The younger one is with her.
And he's doing very well. She also managed to do a small home business for herself, which is really fantastic. So this will give her some additional income for her to depend on when the season is low. It's sensible. So these are the kind of things that, you know, like
I think I made a bit of a difference in their lives, in the lives of the woman and the man.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (22:15.692)
What were the key strengths and qualities you relied on to make a difference, not just for the man and the woman, but for the children as well, the children that you support?

Mariam Janahi (22:29.033)
I think, you know, empathy, as I said, is the main feeling or characteristic that one can say is—I feel, I feel, I don't want to say I feel sorry for them, but I support them in their difficult situation.
So I support them in their difficult situation by giving them a little bit of help. I think so—qualities like empathy, being a good listener and seeing that, you know, my actions are also reciprocal, like they are also respecting their part of the bargain, that they are also trying to help themselves, not only depending on
me to send them handouts. When you see that giving is paired with action that, you know, encourages their own, themselves also to become self-reliant and independent, that encourages me also to be kinder and to give more. Did I explain myself well? Yeah, okay.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (23:56.930)
Yes, indeed. Indeed you did. Thank you. Thank you very much. And can you recall a situation where you overcame a challenge that led to personal growth? What did you learn from that experience?

Mariam Janahi (24:12.395)
And yeah, that this experience I will never forget.