COVERED Special Business Edition | Page 8

Hawa Charfaray CEO & Founder Training Excellence International, Life Coach, NLP Practitioner and International Speaker. Career: It is said that a river cuts through a rock not because of its power but because it is persistent. ―Like a flowing river, I have found that starting a business and pursuing one’s path is not always easy. It calls for focus, hard work and the perseverance to work with the current, even when you find difficulties in your journey. Trusting in yourself and your purpose, will allow you to flow into greatness as you reap the benefits from the river like the fish that swim in its belly. “ It was my husband Rasheed; my now business partner, best friend and confidant, who asked a simple yet profound question, “What are you passionate about?” I knew the answer. I could feel it – literally touch where I saw myself twenty years later. I remember the fear but I also remember the exhilaration of feeling more alive than ever before at the possibility of transforming my life and subsequently the lives of others. So began my own personal experience on a journey that resulted in reflection, self-discovery and growth. One that led to the birth of Training Excellence and subsequently the „Hawa Charfaray‟ brand. Hawa Charfaray completed her schooling in a small town called Lenasia, located south of Johannesburg, South Africa. As the youngest of six children, in a family where money was considered tight, entering the banking industry was an easy way toward economic freedom, as it provided on-the- job training with the blessings of an income. It was fate that landed her in the training department of a large financial institution – a course that led to her business path in training and coaching “My professional journey began, after I left the stable yet uncomfortable work environment at the reputable financial institution to start my own business. While the job at the bank, offered security and comfort that a young mother in her mid- twenties needed, the daily anxiety of going to work was a clear indication that a change was needed. In hindsight I realize now that it was simply and uncomfortably, ‘Just a Job!’ As a first step, I designed and sent out marketing fliers to various corporate companies offering my services, a task taken just before my departure on pilgrimage (Hajj), to the Holy Land of Mecca. It was on return, when the Almighty and the universe fulfilled my wish, as my first client requested training for 10 people – a week after my return.