Meet the Team

The Volunteers

The largest and most important part of the A HOPE team is its volunteers. They are too many to list here! We wish to acknowledge their dedication and sacrifice in giving hope to those in need.

Umer Akbar

Co-founder and President, A HOPE

Umer has been active in social and humanitarian efforts since high school. After relocating to RI in 2014, he has remained an active participant in social outreach and interfaith activities. In collaboration with other members of this team, he co-founded A HOPE to facilitate resettlement of refugees, who are the most vulnerable members of society. He is a (busy) father of 4, a physician by profession and a wanna-be basketball player.

Faissal Elansari

Vice President, A HOPE

Faissal Elansari is a dedicated software engineer passionate about serving his community. Originally from Morocco, he’s an active volunteer in Rhode Island, particularly at Masjid Al Kareem and MCC-RI. With a strong commitment to fostering unity and understanding, Faissal actively participates in community events and initiatives that promote interfaith dialogue and inclusivity. His genuine care for the well-being of others drives him to contribute his skills and expertise toward uplifting others around him and positively impacting its members' lives.

Mayss Bajbouj-Kinjawi, Ph.D.

Secretary, A HOPE Co-team Leader, Setup and Welcome Team

Mayss is a professor of French and Arabic, and has been teaching since 2006 in different universities in Syria and in the USA, most recently at Boston College. She lived in different places since her childhood and her love for languages has exposed her to other cultures and she uses this passion to acquaint new migrant families to the American culture and make them feel at-home.

Samir Soulaimani

Co-founder and Treasurer, A HOPE

Samir has been living in Rhode Island since 1988 and has been active in social and humanitarian efforts for the last 20 years. He has worked in the prison system as a chaplain for 18 years. His observation that youth are a large portion of the incarcerated population has led him to be a strong advocate and mentor for youth of all ages and backgrounds. This passion has overflown into helping empower the most vulnerable among us: women and children. Thus, assisting families become healthy and successful comes naturally to him.

Saleh Farba D Sarr

Team Leader, A HOPE Logistics team

Saleh has been a member of the RI muslim community for over 12 years, and currently works as the Operations and financial analysts manager for a US corporation. He volunteers in many programs for the various mosques around the community and also is active with mentoring local youth. He is of Senegalese origin and believes in peace and unity of all religions under the command of one God. Saleh is 40 years old and father to 2 beautiful daughters and husband to an outstanding woman.

What People Say About Us

Mayss Bajbouj-Kinjawi, Ph.D.

Secretary, A HOPE Co-team Leader, Setup and Welcome Team

Mayss is a professor of French and Arabic, and has been teaching since 2006 in different universities in Syria and in the USA, most recently at Boston College. She lived in different places since her childhood and her love for languages has exposed her to other cultures and she uses this passion to acquaint new migrant families to the American culture and make them feel at-home.

A HOPE has given her the chance to express herself and be helpful in different areas, such as the Setup and Welcome teams. She facilitates and arranges furniture pick-up from local donors. She’s infamous (or famous) for being super-organized. She recently started to participate in interfaith activities. She is a mother of a daughter and a son that they have been the youngest volunteers since A Hope started.

Samir Soulaimani

Co-founder and Treasurer, A HOPE

Samir has been living in Rhode Island since 1988 and has been active in social and humanitarian efforts for the last 20 years. He has worked in the prison system as a chaplain for 18 years. His observation that youth are a large portion of the incarcerated population has led him to be a strong advocate and mentor for youth of all ages and backgrounds. This passion has overflown into helping empower the most vulnerable among us: women and children. Thus, assisting families become healthy and successful comes naturally to him.

Samir has always been a helping hand in the community and given his Syrian background, he feels a special connection with refugees from that area. He plays a critical role on several AHOPE teams, including the Setup team (moving furniture) and mentoring (giving advice, teaching driving, assisting with shopping).

He’s a father of four children (2&2) and a grandfather of two beautiful grandsons (yet he’s not that old) .