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Bahraini businessman and humanitarian Yaqoob Yusuf Ahmed Mubarak plans to open a Bahrain-themed restaurant in Peru, to supplement his humanitarian efforts to help those in need in the South American country.
The 32-year-old from Isa Town, who stepped up to make a difference after being touched by the viral CCTV video of Victor Cordova, welcomed his friend and philanthropic partner Gilberto Rosas Landa to the kingdom in February as they were both honoured by Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty the King’s Representative for Charity Work and Youth Affairs, National Security Adviser and chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport (SCYS).
Yaqoob noted in an exclusive follow-up interview: “Our meeting with Shaikh Nasser was amazing since it felt great to be honoured by a leader of his calibre and to have him say that he supports and endorses our work was incredible. He told us to keep going and inspire people beyond Peru and around the world.
“He also encouraged us to wear our traditional thobe and carry the Arab identity proudly as we continued to help those in need.”
In July last year, GulfWeekly had interviewed and reported on the donating duo, who started their work after Yaqoob met Gilberto in Mexico and started learning Spanish from him. A few months later, after seeing Victor studying under a streetlight in Trujillo, Peru because he didn’t have electricity at home, Yaqoob flew out with Gilberto, paid for Victor’s electricity at home, renovated the house, built a classroom and started a computer class at Victor’s school.
Gilberto said: “Jacob is a non-stop machine. He just can’t stop helping people. We are always getting requests from people and we have tried to help as many as possible. Sometimes, we help them financially. Other times, it’s just a matter of connecting them with the right social infrastructure. And just as importantly, we want to inspire others to do the same, especially with their time.”
