Sheikha has no idea where or when she was born, though it was about 60 years ago. Her Bedouin family roamed across vast areas of the Middle East. Today, her tribe is forced to live in a fixed location because their nomadic ways are unwelcome by landowners and considered a security threat by governments.

Sheikha's life fell short of the noble designs her parents had for her. Where she lives is not really part of any country. There is barely a government. Fierce fighting flares between Jews and Arabs only a few miles away. On top of all that, the husband with whom she had 6 children abandoned her, leaving Sheikha to fend for herself and a severely disabled daughter.

Though uneducated, Sheikha is resourceful nonetheless. She scraped together all the cash she could, bought a couple of junkyard buses, and had them towed to her village of 1,500 people. Sheikha and her daughter live in one old bus. She wanted to open a little convenience market in the shell of the other. What made her plan work was a loan from a Christian organization called HOPE.

She borrowed the money she needed to fill her shop with practical, small items like soap, school supplies, and basic medicines. It is a great service to the village that didn't have a store, and a great way for Sheikha to make a living. The fact that HOPE is reaching out to her Muslim village makes a big impression. Sheikha said, "I prefer to be with Christians because they feel for the poor who need help. The others didn't look after me, not even my husband."