Category Archives: Chicago

Chicago Dawoodi Bohras Host Women Entrepreneurs Expo

Attendees at a seminar during the Women Entrepreneurs Expo

Earlier this month, the Dawoodi Bohra community of Chicago hosted Mashtal, a women entrepreneur’s expo, at their masjid complex in Willowbrook, Illinois. The word “mashtal” means “nursery” and “bohra” is the Gujarati word for “traders.”  The expo was designed to nurture  the business ventures of Dawoodi Bohra women, enabling them to market and grow their…

Chicago Project Rise Volunteers Lend a Helping Hand to Habitat for Humanity

Project Rise volunteers from Chicago partnered with Habitat for Humanity in Hanover Park, Illinois, to landscape a pre-constructed 3-bedroom house, while seeding the lawn, laying a bed of mulch, and planting flowers and bushes.  Habitat for Humanity provides decent, affordable homes for low-income families throughout the world.  They also  invite volunteers to invest in their…

Chicago Bohras Donate Food During Ramadan for 4th Year

During the month of Ramadan, Dawoodi Bohras all over the world come together to show compassion and generosity to those in need, while giving thanks for their many blessings. Under the umbrella of the Bohras’ global Project Rise initiative, Chicago community members donated food throughout Ramadan, continuing an annual tradition stretching back more than a decade.

Project Rise volunteers support Diaper Drive in Chicago

Project Rise volunteers from the Chicago Dawoodi Bohra community organized a drive to provide over 400 pounds of diapers and wipes to assist vulnerable families that live in the vicinity of their masjid. Volunteers collected funds from local community members, as well as a donation from Ann and Lurie Children’s Hospital.  The diapers and wipes…

Chicago Bohras Partner with Gower Schools to Support Students This Spring Break

Parents and Project Rise volunteers from the Dawoodi Bohra community of Chicago partnered with Gower Cares Closet, an initiative of Gower School District, to pack snack bags for local students and families in need this Spring Break. Around 60 to-go snack bags were packed and distributed to children at Gower West elementary school and Gower…

On International Women’s Day, aerospace engineer Alifiya Arastu of Chicago tells us about succeeding in an industry in which women have traditionally been underrepresented

The Dawoodi Bohras place significant emphasis on equal access to education for males and females, as well as female empowerment. To mark International Women’s Day 2022, the Dawoodi Bohras of Chicago talked to Alifiya Arastu, an aerospace engineer at Collins Aerospace in Rockford.  Arastu discussed her background and her experiences as an engineer in a…

Chicago Bohras Brave Freezing Temperatures to Support Homeless People on Wacker Drive

Inspired by Project Rise, the Dawoodi Bohras’ global initiative to raise the conditions of vulnerable members of society in a range of ways, volunteers from the Chicago Bohra community gathered and delivered meals, monetary donations, and warm clothes to the less fortunate on Lower Wacker Drive in the center of the city. Wacker Drive is…

Helping Kids of the Little City Foundation, Illinois

The Dawoodi Bohras of greater Chicago joined other community members to donate, wrap and help deliver over 250 Christmas presents for the children at Little City Foundation of Palatine, Illinois. Helping the less fortunate in society is a priority for the Dawoodi Bohras, and forms part of their global Project Rise initiative.  Little City Foundation…