This weekend we participated in a circle of healing.  Muslim health professionals came from our community to share knowledge and guidance with our youth leaders.  

Some pearls from our discussion:

• Brother Ali Adem, Health Equity Liaison at Seattle Children's Hospital, shared that much of his success has come from honoring the values of faith, family, and education.
• Sister Amal Mohamed RN and Brother Feras Rabbi PharmD both shared stories of how discussing their faith with their co-workers helped to create a supportive environment of cultural competency.
  
• Brother Ahmad Bayomy MD emphasized that although the road to becoming a surgeon can be long, if you pursue your passion then you will enjoy your training.

We have gratitude that our professionals and youth sat in a circle as equals-- leaders and partners in healing their community.

The next meeting of Healers of Tomorrow will be on March 25, with a special guest lecturer.  We are also looking forward to exciting field trips in April.  

If you are interested in supporting us you can:

• Design a learning activity or field trip for our youth-- our program is booked for this semester but we are starting to plan for the Fall.
• Donate to our youth-led project grants fund; we are not yet at our goal. 
• Foster an environment of loving service in your own way! 

In Health and Peace,
Dr. Malik

We were ready to "spring forward" this month with exciting activities.  Today we visited Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands.  Our lovely hosts Alexandria, Courtney, and Sophie of Seattle Tilth gave us a tour of the local ecosystem.

Thank you to our tour guide Alexandria for helping us to begin to understand the complexities of our local ecosystem and the role we may play in healing it.  The tour took an adventurous turn when one of the chicken hens escaped from the coop and the group came together to catch it.  Truly a fun filled and blessed day.

In Health and Peace,
Dr. Malik

In February we were blessed to kick off our Healers of Tomorrow Program.  This initiative is a 10 week course for adolescents from the Makkah Islamic School.  Our hope is that youth who complete this program will learn to identify themselves as leaders in their community, understand their inherent value, and begin to envision what role they will play in healing and leading-- now, and in the future.

This month our Healers learned about Asset Mapping.  Mashallah, they completed an advanced Asset Mapping exercise and displayed their ability to think creatively and critically.

Please stay tuned as we have many exciting activities planned for March.  Future posts will also discuss our long-term vision, and how Muslim students from other schools can apply for the next academic year's program.  We are still fundraising for our youth-led project grants, which cannot begin until we have raised the full amount.

Special thank you to our partners who have helped us come this far: 

• Mercy Association (http://www.mercyassociation.org), 
• Native Health Initiative (http://www.lovingservice.us/), 
• and our generous donors! 

In Health and Peace,
Dr. Malik