Roughiatou Kumba Ngaide Achiever and Overcomer BY KUMBA M. LEBBIE Very early in life, Roughiatou “Rougie” Kumba Ngaide eveloped a desire to help her people, which she credits to her father’s emphasis on loving her neighbors. Her father, her first teacher, reminded her that “Islam is about service — not just praying and mosque, but an obligation to serve God, country and people,” and she vowed to do just that. The name “Roughiatou” holds a strong African meaning connected to humanitarianism. It is attached to those who are attracted to a cause or a movement — who are extremely idealistic, sometimes to the point of being naive. They have great compassion and seek to create a more humane society. They are drawn to those who suffer physically. They right wrongs. Their deepest intention is to transform the world. Her passion drove Rougie toward projects such as Thornwood Commons Community Center, which serves lunches families in need, and My Project USA, a Hilltop-based community initiative for which she serves as Muslim immigrant program director. Rougie has also volunteered with Dress for Success. She recalls the “phenomenal impact” that Dress for Success had on her, to the point that she joined the organization. She now serves as an international ambassador. Last year, she attended the worldwide legacy summer in the Bahamas, and this year, she’s running a community action project meant to serve women who have been uprooted from their home. Her services have extended beyond her Muslim religion to the Christian ministry, for which she has helped deliver food boxes to over 160 families a week. Her middle name, “Kumba,” is also a strong African name, strongly tied to serving community. Kumbas are known for their need to be independent and to direct their own lives according to their beliefs. That’s why it was an internal struggle when her husband wanted to move to the United States. She felt it was her duty as his wife to go, though, in so doing, she left behind all that was familiar to her, along with her passion for advocating for the Mauritanian people and serving her family. From her first day in the U.S., Rougie recalls feeling homesick. “I had a terrible longing to be back home. Anxiety, depression, helplessness,” she says. Though she was fluent in six languages, English was not among them. Her struggle to communicate disqualified her for she leadership roles she was accustomed to holding in her motherland. In Africa, she was a lawyer, activist, human rights educator and employee of a nonprofit focused on gender issues and youth empowerment. In the U.S., she could only find jobs well short of her qualifications. Still, her name told her that she held the courage and the confidence to lead others. ENVISIONPROVENSUCCESS.COM | 37
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