Yabiladi features LIFE

Yabiladi and Sahafati.com have published an inspiring profile of the president of our NGO, LIFE, in an article titled “Tarek El Kahodi: when vision wins over sight”. It looks at his journey, what drives him and what he hopes to achieve.

Here's a taste of what they wrote.

Tarek El Kahodi was born with a severe visual impairment, but he refused to let it hold him back. When he was a child, doctors predicted he would struggle to get through mainstream schooling, let alone succeed in the field of his choice. Yet it was this very adversity that drove him to defy expectations and pursue a career as a software engineer, proving to everyone that he could reach his goals.

After passing his baccalauréat in 1998, he went on to a BTS (a two-year higher diploma) in software development and quickly became an engineer, an achievement he owed to his determination and to teaching himself. He worked for major companies such as Orange and for prestigious French institutions, including the Ministries of Defence and the Interior. But for all his professional success, he was looking for deeper meaning in his life. That search led him to join LIFE in 2009, when it was still just a local initiative.

Under his leadership, the organisation, which at first focused on handing out essential goods to people in need, grew rapidly. Now an international NGO, it works in more than 25 countries. Its projects include drilling wells to provide clean drinking water, distributing school kits and promoting education, food aid and protecting the environment. With a team of 40 staff and the support of 180,000 donors, it has already completed 4,000 projects around the world. Tarek, now president of LIFE, stresses how important this growth is in meeting the ever more urgent needs of vulnerable communities.

One striking example of Tarek's and LIFE's commitment is their response to the 2023 Al Haouz earthquake in Morocco.
Within hours of the disaster, the NGO launched a fundraising appeal that raised one million euros. The money provided emergency aid in the form of food, blankets and essential supplies. But LIFE didn't stop there: within a month, it had built 12 wooden schools in the affected areas so that children could get back to learning quickly. Choosing eco-friendly materials reflected a wish to respect the environment while meeting the needs of those affected.

As well as the schools, LIFE also built 1,800 prefabricated homes for teachers and residents of the affected rural areas. This project was carried out with local partners, including the Ouled El Kheir association. For Tarek, this work is far more than a response to a disaster: it is about giving these communities a future and restoring their dignity and hope.

Today, at 47, Tarek El Kahodi devotes his life to LIFE, having left engineering to commit himself fully to charitable work. His commitment is as personal as it is selfless. He remembers the words of an old man who, when Tarek was a child, told his mother that her son would become someone important.

Tarek admits with a smile that the prediction came true, not through material success but through his ability to change lives with his humanitarian work. For him, helping others has become his life's mission and the thing that gives his journey meaning.