Khatija,
married Fazal Nasser Shariff (1906-1992) at the age of
15 cementing a very close relationship between the Habib
Samji and Nasser Shariff families. Khatija gave birth
to Shamshudin (Shuly) the following year. Seven other children
followed in quick succession. The second born, Sadrudin,
died of cancer at the early age of 24; the rest of the
family is well settled in North America. Khatija and
Fazal had a "romantic" attitude to life, quite, playful
and a smile was never far away. The children made a special
point of going to their house at ldd; you were assured
of getting a shilling and some "mithai", and
if you were armed with a special hug and smile you could
end up with two shillings. At the same time, they were
strict in making sure that rules were followed. They
were both very active in Jamati activities, serving as
Jamati
Kamadia and Acting Mukhisaheb (1954-1956) and in other
majalases.
She had to make sure that her housework was completed and
meals prepared before she ventured out. Fazalbhai was always
very supportive in her work. When food was cooked for Jamati
functions, the process was never complete until Khatibai
had tasted and approved it. Khatija was a prominent worker
in Social Welfare for all her life. Fazalbhai was also
a member of the Council. He operated a sundry goods store
and later on also had a farm.
Like other Samji's, she had a liking for sweet foods and
suffered from high blood pressure. She died at the age
of 59, and Daressalaam saw one of its biggest funerals
ever. She obviously helped a tremendous number of people
in her lifetime. She had made "Gundpak" for Jamatkhana
on the day she died; the nandi for the pak fetched record
prices being the last serving to the Jamat by Khatibai.
Fazalbhai emigrated to Vancouver where he was very active
in helping the seniors in the Jamat settle to life in
Canada. He helped establish a seniors club, organized
seminars on key issues, and also organized outings and
transportation for them. The wonderful characteristic
about him was that he always provided service with a
smile.
Khatija,
married Fazal Nasser Shariff (1906-1992) at the age of
15 cementing a very close relationship between the Habib
Samji and Nasser Shariff families. Khatija gave birth
to Shamshudin (Shuly) the following year. Seven other children
followed in quick succession. The second born, Sadrudin,
died of cancer at the early age of 24; the rest of the
family is well settled in North America. Khatija and
Fazal had a "romantic" attitude to life, quite, playful
and a smile was never far away. The children made a special
point of going to their house at ldd; you were assured
of getting a shilling and some "mithai", and
if you were armed with a special hug and smile you could
end up with two shillings. At the same time, they were
strict in making sure that rules were followed. They
were both very active in Jamati activities, serving as
Jamati
Kamadia and Acting Mukhisaheb (1954-1956) and in other
majalases.