You can find this beautiful lady, Anita, lighting up the room with her smile at various vendor fairs with Chai Wallah. Chai Wallah is a social enterprise which employs women who have experienced homelessness to produce and sell chai in the Nashville area. Anita is one of Chai Wallah’s passionate employees.
If you met Anita today, you would never guess she was a former business owner who lost everything due to an alcohol addiction. She was living in a domestic violence shelter when she heard about a church in Nashville who was willing the help members of the homeless community get identification. When Anita went to the church to get her I.D., she noticed a few people wearing Contributor apparel, curiously, she inquired about The Contributor. She learned that The Contributor is a newspaper in the Nashville area which employs and fosters creativity from members of the homeless population. In 2009 Anita was able to get connected with The Contributor and met Tasha, founder of The Contributor and co-founder of Chai Wallah.
After creating a strong friendship, Tasha’s belief in Anita gave Anita even more motivation to succeed. She respected Tasha and did not want to let her down. Anita felt that The Contributor was God creating an escape and giving her a new opportunity in life. When Tasha parted ways from The Contributor in 2014 to start her new social enterprise, Chai Wallah, Tasha wanted to bring hardworking Anita with her. Today Anita continues to work for The Contributor, Chai Wallah, and shares her journey through motivational speaking.
Anita is grateful for Tasha’s friendship she stated, “A friend is someone who has seen you at your worst, but stuck by you. Tasha is a visionary, she put everything into it and has love and respect for everyone.” Anita even had the honor of singing at the wedding of Chai Wallah’s founders, Tasha and Mark.
Anita’s positive attitude is contagious; she is sure to brighten up your day! She is very personable and a wonderful sales person for Chai Wallah. If you are local to the Nashville area I recommend meeting Anita. My kind words are not able to do loving lady justice.
Similar to the friendship of Tasha and Anita, I encourage you to get to know somebody who comes from a different background, it just may lead to a newfound friendship!