We All Have an Inner Hero

A peak into the life of a hero

11 February, 2017 by Rucha Chamaria

DUBAI, UAE- Ahuti Chug is a hero. She inspires us to look for the hero within us.
Unassuming and bold at the same time, Ahuti is like one of the hundreds of heroes who
never get noticed.

Ahuti was born in the United Kingdom in 1975. She spent most of her childhood in U.K. and
moved to Rwanda, South Africa in 1993 when she was 18 years of age. She then moved to
Dubai, UAE. Now she is a partner in the Mara Group in Dubai.

A Hard Worker with an Honest Attitude

Not born with a silver spoon, Ahuti learnt lifes lessons early. Working with her father in a
ladies fashion retail store from the age of 7 in UK, she did her homework when there were
no customers in the shop. When asked what her most important lesson as a kid was, Ahuti
replied Working hard and understanding that nothing comes without hard work, makes
you appreciate and value things more. As a child, that would be my most valuable
foundation and lesson. She also emphasizes on honesty, and shares with us what her
father taught her as a kid If a big lady came to our store, and asked how she looked in our
clothes, I wouldnt say she looked skinny. Instead, we would say the positives, by telling her
that the color really suited her.

A Fearless Lady

One of the things that make Ahuti a hero is that

she is quite fearless in her approach towards
life. When asked what her greatest fear was, she
replies As a family we were thrown out of
Uganda in 1972, after which I was born in the
UK in 1975. In 1993 when I was 18, we moved
back to Rwanda, and in 6 months the genocide
war broke out. We were lucky that the UN came
and took the expatriates to to a hotel. We were
left with nothing.
Prime minister of Uganda, 'Ruhakana Rugunda'
visited Ahuti in Dubai.

Everything that we had built from 1972 to 1993 was lost overnight. After this roller coaster
ride, there is no fear left. Ahuti urges the young generation to watch the movie Hotel
Rwanda which showcases what she actually experienced during the genocide.
A Brave Heart

Ahuti was married at the age of 20 in Rwanda, and

soon after, she gave birth to her daughter Siya.
Ahuti was then working with her brother in an IT
Company and would look after her daughter while
working in the shop. Ahuti boldly narrates One
day there was as incident, when there was sudden
firing in the shop. As soon as my daughter Siya ran
into the shop, the whole glass of the entrance
shattered. They missed her by a fraction of a
second. This incident shook Ahuti up and they
decided to move to a safer place, which was Dubai.
She started fresh and started her own real estate
business in 2003. In 2012, her husband passed
away. Ahuti still did not lose heart, and stayed
strong, with her 13 year old daughter. Now she is a
partner and executive director in the Mara Group
with her brother, which has a presence in 21
countries of Africa.

Happy times with Ahutis daughter Siya.

Core Values

Ahutis core values also make her a hero.

My spiritual guru is my inspiration and
his core message is truth, love and
compassion, she says with humility.
These are also the core values of her life.
Wanting to give back to Society

I have always thought commercially and of

building value in business, but in the next
few years I would like to work with our
foundation, impact lives, and make a
difference, Ahuti says when asked where
she sees herself in the next 20 years.

President of Rwanda, 'Paul Kagame', visited Ahuti

and her brother in Dubai.

A Positive Frame of Mind

Ahuti doesnt think there is any such

thing such as failures. She looks at
failure as an opportunity to learn.
When she was asked about her
failures, she says Everything is a
learning curve, something to better
yourself by. I like to have a positive
attitude in life. Her advice to students
is, Put in your 100% and try your best
in whatever you do. If there is a
passion and drive, nothing can stop
you from achieving what you want.
Family is Ahutis biggest source of strength, she loves her
siblings.

She tells us that her brother Ashish succeeded in life only because of his passion and
positive attitude. He left studying at a very young age but was driven by a bigger goal to
help his parents in their hard days. Ahuti urges us to read a book written by her brother
Ashish J. Thakkar, called The Lion Awakes. This book has an account of the entire
familys hardships and how they survived their hard times by being together and by being
positive.
A hero is usually conceived as a
symbol, rather than a real person.
In this way they lose their human
touch, and become part of a
legend. Ahuti is a real- life,
everyday hero who can help us to
find the hero within us.