Photo: Levi Portillo

Cache Community Connections

A Civic and Interfaith Council

The CCC’s Purpose is... to respond to the essential interconnectedness of all Cache Valley’s residents. to dispel myths related to our various faiths and/or ethnicity. to encourage and support community activities that are, by their very nature, religiously and culturally unifying. to engage in educational activities designed to increase community awareness of and respect for religious and cultural diversity. to share our experiences in the CCC with the larger community of children, youth and adults.

About Us

Cache Community Connections (CCC) is composed of a group of interfaith religious and civic leaders….

Events

See what the Logan Tabernacle Interfaith Events Committee is planning.
home page connecting neighbors

Connecting Neighbors

Watch our community interview series.

Origins of CCC

Revisit the founding of CCC with this new interview series.

Connecting Neighbors: Saboor Sahely

Studying mining and geology in Afghanistan and graduating with a degree in business from Utah State University, Saboor Sahely planned to work for a major mining or oil company after graduation. One thing is for sure, he knew he never wanted anything to do with the restaurant business. You just never know where life will take you.
While attending Utah State, Saboor worked as a dishwasher at Sambo’s Restaurant in Logan. After hoping to land a job in the fields he had studied, things took a different turn. To make a long story short, he eventually bought the place where he had worked as a dishwasher. It became Angie’s Restaurant in Logan. That was 1983 and Angie’s Restaurant is still going strong with Saboor at the helm. As people say, “Angie’s is where the locals eat,” with good food and fast, courteous service. As the new owner, Saboor paid attention to all the details, which meant connecting with his customers. Saboor proved himself wrong—he should be in the restaurant business! His decision has resulted in a very successful business that has become a true gift to Cache Valley.
Saboor and Cherise

Saboor with Cherise Phillips, who’s been a server at Angie’s for twenty years.

Saboor shares his story of coming to the United States from his homeland of Afghanistan as a young college student. With determination and drive he arrived here with basically just the shirt on his back. The summer he arrived, he worked three jobs before school started and began moving forward in life, but it was not easy. He and his young family knew what it was like to ‘live on a shoestring.” Saboor has never forgotten what that was like. Through those growing pains, he learned compassion and appreciation for those who stood behind him—first and foremost, his wife Kristine and the ongoing support of the community. In turn he continues to give back in how he treats his customers, his employees, and by serving the community in many ways. Over the years, he has hired several second-generation employees to keep things running smoothly. Most importantly, his customers keep coming back, many of them now third-generation customers.

To contact Saboor Sahely for speaking engagements, email [email protected].

Connecting Neighbors: Hadjer Abir Bensaha

A spirited young woman who loves life, Hadjer Abir Bensaha has ambitious goals in mind. Coming to Utah from Algeria in 2016, she entered high school as a senior. With language and cultural barriers, she began attending a high school with little diversity. She has never been afraid to step out of her comfort zone. Not only did she graduate from Bear River High School in Garland, Utah, but she continued to keep up her studies and graduated at the top of her class from her school in Ksar Chellala Tiaret, Algeria, in that same year.

Continuing her education at Utah State University, Hadjer is majoring in International Business and Marketing with three minors in Leadership & Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technical Sales Management. Those aren’t all the skills she has in her toolbox; she also speaks Arabic, French, English, and is familiar with Spanish and Turkish.

Her father is a successful businessman and has traveled all over the world. After he had visited more than seventy different countries, he realized there were opportunities in the United States that he wanted his children to experience. Hadjer, with three of her brothers, are now living in Utah.

Currently, Hadjer works at Walmart and has great appreciation for her job and the people with whom she associates, including co-workers and customers. She’s the friendly smile you hope to have assist you while shopping. Some customers have showed appreciation by asking if they can give her hugs for her help– making her smile even bigger!

Hadjer’s father’s desire to see the world has rubbed off on her, and she hopes to travel the world by the time she’s fifty years old. For now, she’s trying new skills in camping and exploring nature, when and if she can find the time. She is always up for adventures, whether in education, travel, the outdoors, or getting to know more about the people with whom she associates. And for the rest of us, it’s an adventure for us to get to know her.

Hadjer is working hard to develop the skills and knowledge she’ll need to someday have her own business. And who knows– it might just be in Logan, Utah!

To contact Hadjer Benasah for a speaking engagement, email [email protected].

Connecting Neighbors: Rida Shoorbajee

Rida Shoorbajee’s father originally came from the Ottoman Empire, which is in today’s country of Turkey. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Shoorbajee family settled in Syria, where Rida’s parents met. Eventually Rida’s father’s job led him to the United States. After losing that job in 2005, his new job offered him an opportunity to return his family to Syria.

Rida tells memories during those early years in Syria. He remembers it being a good life until the war began. He still carries the memories of war today. In 2013 the family moved back to the United States.

Rida recalls always having a problem with fitting in. In Syria he was looked at as being too American. In America, he was looked at being too Syrian. Those times proved quite difficult. He says he feels fortunate to have experienced both worlds as it gives him a better perspective of both sides. He has a better understanding of why Syrians misunderstand Americans and American misunderstand Syrians. He says,

It’s important that we talk more to each other, but that can be difficult. There is fear of saying or doing something that will be taken wrong. I and people in my situation find it best to stay quiet and go about life, which results in a disconnection.

He would like to see that change.

So how did Rida end up in Cache Valley? After a couple of failed attempts at going to college, Rida began working a job at an airport as a baggage handler. Being taken in by watching airplanes, Rida knew he wanted to become a pilot. He applied to Utah State University and was accepted. Having lived in fear of people often having biased opinions of people from the Middle East, his family had great concerns for him being so far away, but they did come to accept his decision. Rida says his experience in Cache Valley has been good for the most part.

He desires to have people see that all Muslims do believe in peace and are not terrorists. He says that he does not believe in violence, nor is it what the Quran teaches. He gives us an explanation of the true meaning of jihad and that it does not condone terrorism. He is hopeful that platforms such as this will help bring people together with an understanding that they can find common ground and hopefully help to tear down prejudicial walls.

To contact Rida Shoorbajee for a speaking engagement, email [email protected].