A much-loved and well-respected Indian expatriate who helped make sure the kingdom’s favourite English-language daily newspaper, the GDN, reached homes in time for a morning coffee break before work, has packed up his bags and will be leaving Bahrain.
Al Hilal Group executive Samuel Jacob, 64, who recently retired as general manager at Hilal Direct Services, is heading to Australia along with his wife, Beatrice Jayaseeli, 63, who worked for the Pakistan Urdu School for 20 years.
Mr Jacob, originally from Chennai, moved to Bahrain in June 1981 and began working as a sales representative for Al Hilal, eventually rising to the position of sales supervisor. He was later appointed circulation manager for GDN and our sister Arabic daily Akhbar Al Khaleej.
He joined Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group in 1993 and helped launch Hilal Direct Services, dealing with the subscriptions of GDN, Akhbar Al Khaleej and many other international publications.
“Bahrain has been our first home and our children grew up here, our home away from home,” said Mr Jacob. “We have witnessed the impressive development of Bahrain over these 40 years. Thanks to the Royal Leadership, the country has come a long way, and the freedom of worship we enjoyed has been a great encouragement to us as a family.”
A well-known church worker and leader, Mr Jacob was a senior associate pastor with the Church of Philadelphia in Bahrain and founded the Bahrain Tamil Full Gospel Congregation. He was also associated with Gideons International, Bahrain and Haggai International, Bahrain.
The couple will be joining sons, Sajai, 36, and Vijay, 30, both of whom are alumni of the Indian School Bahrain, in Melbourne where they currently reside. The grandparents to a five-year-old boy will be leaving the island on Thursday and they plan to engage themselves with Christian institutions in their new home city.
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