DARPAN SPOTLIGHT
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER
AZRA HUSSAIN & HEBAH HUSSAINA Azra Hussain and Hebah Hussaina are two Surrey community gems honoured as part of the 2021 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 By Naina Grewal
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zra Hussain and Hebah Hussaina are two Surrey community gems honoured as part of the 2021 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100™. In the 19th annual event hosted by Women’s Executive Network, these inspiring ladies made history by becoming the first ever mother-daughter duo to be declared as winners in their respective categories. Both have made the community proud in more than one way, spanning over years of
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NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2021
Reflecting The South-Asian Lifestyle
community service and involvement. Azra Hussain is originally from the Indian city, Madras, now known as Chennai. Having lived what she describes as a relatively comfortable and cocooned life until the age of 17, tides turned upon the sudden passing of her father. Despite the surge of financial difficulties and pressures of legal battles, Azra successfully finished her Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Madras, majoring in Financial Accounting. After marriage, she lived briefly in the United States of America, where she and her husband welcomed their daughter, Hebah, into the world. Hebah Hussaina was under two years old when the family made their move to Canada, not knowing a single soul. “It was very challenging to even find a place to rent because we did not have local references. It was coincidental that I ended up in Surrey. We hopped onto the Skytrain, getting off at every station to look for a place to live. The last station fell in Surrey,” recalls Azra. Thanks to a kind gentleman who agreed to a rental agreement, the family made Surrey
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their home. For lifelong-learner Azra, education has always been at the forefront. It is of no surprise, then, that her next step was to start pursuing her Certified General Accountant (CGA) designation, now known as Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA). Azra’s love for learning also passed on to her daughter. A studious student, Hebah skipped a grade and went on to Grade 2 after completing Kindergarten. She details, “I think that was a formative experience because it definitely was a little isolating, as others saw me as that kid who skipped a grade. I did not have too many friends, so my escapes were the summer camps and art camps I attended at Surrey Arts Center. Here, I could be myself.” At such events, Hebah developed a love for volunteering and working with children. She still remembers being overly elated for her 12th birthday, as she was finally old enough to volunteer! Both for herself and her brother, such day camps turned into positive experiences, a big propellant of why Hebah wants to give back to Surrey so that other children can have the same opportunities. On the other hand, Azra’s current role as Chief Operating Officer of Surrey Hospitals Foundation came to be because of her joining the Foundation in 2009, where her involvement
Giving back is a legacy we can be proud to leave our children.”
Azra Hussain
Chief Operating Officer, Surrey Hospitals Foundation
