Geneviève Kyle-Lefebvre & Cathy Cena Earlier this year, the Faces: Tri-Cities Co-Authored Stories book launched in honor of International Women’s Day. The volume united fifty local women whose stories champion civic participation, especially for voices that have long been underrepresented. In this follow-up interview series, co-authors Cathy Cena and Geneviève Kyle-Lefebvre spoke with Fatema Dewji to explore how her life’s work embodies the project’s civic mission.

A proud Coquitlam resident, entrepreneur, and mother, Fatema joined Faces because she sees storytelling as a catalyst for collective progress. “Every chapter is a call to action,” she said. “When readers hear a neighbor’s experience, they realize they have a seat at the civic table too.” Fatema chose a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to frame her narrative: “Increase my knowledge from the cradle to the grave.” For her, learning is not limited to classrooms; it is a daily commitment to grow personally, spiritually, and civically. She credits adversity, including difficult family moments, for strengthening her empathy and resilience. “Challenges refine our character,” she noted. “They prepare us to serve with compassion.” As a personal coach and Mary Kay director, she mentors women to identify their talents and claim leadership roles in schools, associations, and neighborhood groups.

“Many people overlook their own potential. I mirror it back until they see it clearly,” she explained. That approach has produced new block-watch captains, parent-advisory chairs, and charity organizers across the Tri-Cities. Fatema’s civic résumé stretches beyond professional mentoring. She helps lead Mary Kay’s Gifts of Hope drives that deliver care packages to seniors and people experiencing homelessness. She volunteers with voter-registration campaigns at local mosques, participates in city-hosted dialogues on cultural inclusion, and recently completed a civic-leadership certificate focused on collaborative problem-solving. Weekly gatherings with her extended family double as service circles where they plan food-bank deliveries and neighborhood cleanups. Asked what civic engagement means to her, Fatema offered a powerful image: “Your mind is a garden. Positive thoughts are flowers, negative thoughts are weeds. When we tend our own garden, we gain the clarity and confidence to help our city bloom.” Fatema Dewji is not only a co-author of Faces. She is living proof that when reflection meets purposeful action, individual stories can mobilize an entire community toward equity, kindness, and shared leadership.