Hana Alireza: A Focus on Health and Empowerment

Hana Alireza is a woman of many talents, passions and pursuits. Hana recognizes that living healthy and well is a very important component of her busy lifestyle, so along with her friend Leila Fakih Nashabe, she created Qi Juice Cleanse.  Qi Juice Cleanse is a remarkable, first-of-its-kind company in Lebanon, which delivers fresh-pressed organic juices and juice cleanses. Qi cleanses are known for helping people recover naturally from health problems that ail them.

The Qi Juice Cleanse is a three-day program that consists of fresh-pressed organic vegetable and fruit juices. They’re made in such a way to give the digestive system a rest while boosting the body and the immune system.

Alireza is more than just an entrepreneur with fresh ideas. She’s also an accomplished writer and producer and is very active in several causes. One of Alireza’s claims to fame is the film Seeds, which she produced after raising the entire budget in only five weeks.

The documentary focuses on the stories and experiences of teenagers who attended the tenth annual Seeds of Peace Camp in 2002. The teens strived to improve their home countries for the future by correcting some of the largest societal issues.

Their stories are particularly riveting in that they were unwilling to leave the turmoil at home in the Middle East and preferred instead to focus on affecting positive change there. It’s clear from the film that all of the teens have the skills and smarts to do anything they want, including obtaining a scholarship to attend school in the U.S.

“When I met the directors of the film, I liked them so much as people I knew I wanted to be a part of it. We didn’t really know which of the kids’ stories would rise to the surface during filming, but we knew that their experiences would certainly be worth telling,” noted Alireza.

Alireza also co-founded Bayt.com, the Middle East’s top online recruitment company. Later she sold her share in the business to a hedge fund based in the U.S. and worked on a freelance basis while rearing her three children. She wrote for a number of magazines and consulted on the AUB Archaeological Museum’s $2 million renovation.

Hana Alireza is also a champion for women and children, having helped found the Brave Heart Fund. The organization raised money to pay for life-saving surgeries for 1,300 children suffering from heart disease. Alireza also believes in empowering women throughout the Arab world.

“It’s not an easy task for any Arab woman to balance the important values we have as a culture and still push forward in the workforce, but more and more we’re finding ways to do so.” Alireza continued, “I feel that we are seeing now, more than ever, many positive role models of Arab women who are doing just that, and doing it well. ”

She brought inspirational speaker KC Baker from the U.S. to Lebanon to offer a three-day intensive retreat. CEOs, teachers, philanthropists, psychologists, designers and businesswomen from the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia attended the event, which was a huge success. The focus was on overcoming fears in an environment that was safe and supportive, which the women who attended found to be very empowering.