The Lajna of the PAAMA UK 
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
Saturday, 24th November 2018
Baitul Ehsan, 25 Willow Lane, Mitcham, London CR4 4TS
The Lajna of PAAMA UK held a full day Personal Development Workshop at Baitul Ehsan on 24th November 2018. It was an educative and interactive event facilitated by both internal and external professional speakers. We had 82 registered attendees across all the 6 regions – from Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Derby, etc.
Alhamdulillah, we had the presence of our Respected Sadr Lajna UK, Dr Fariha Khan who later requested some of our speakers to repeat their talks/presentations at a general Lajna event – specifically, for now, she had requested Head of West Region, Hafiza Ameen, to repeat her presentation on 9-10th Feb 2019 at the Lajna and Nasirat National Taleem/Tarbiyya Class in Baitul Futuh. The interactions we had with her were helpful and healthy. In some of her feedback messages, she said “I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you. It was such a fantastic event …one thing I really liked about yesterday was the spirit of engagement and hospitality. We need to learn from our African sisters…”
The sessions were on:
- Mental Health Awareness (which has a Shoora recommendation of Lajna Imaillah UK at the last Oct 2018 Ijtema). The Sadr was pleased that we implemented the recommendation before anyone else.
- Parenting challenges of Africans in the UK viz-a-viz cultural differences and what is required by law and the social services)
- Drug Awareness discussions
- Personal growth/capacity building
- Relationship issues/coping strategies/self-care
We also had hands-on practical/demonstration sessions on how to wash and shroud a deceased Muslim.
PAAMA Head of Lajna Mrs. Faosat Sanni started the event with leading the Lajna pledge, opening prayers and recitation from the Holy Qur’an (Surah-Al Nur CH24: v11) which she urged the attendees to ponder over and reflect on the countless mercies and blessings of Allah and why we should be mindful of our duties to Allah and remain dedicated to the Jamaat in all circumstances.
The Opening Address of Lajna Sadr was followed by a Movement Therapy session led by our Health and Fitness Secretary, a Neonatal Nurse Mrs. Fatimah Demba. Thereafter, the speakers took their turns amidst questions and answers, contributions and breaks in-between.
The speakers for the day were 7 – 4 internal & 3 external. The external ones are shown below:
- Dr. Hibbah Araba Saeed, a lecturer at the University of Chester and Head of North Region, delivered a session on Locus of Control -.
- Mrs Oluwatoyin Akinfolarin, Mental Health Practitioner – on Mental Health Awareness and breaking myths associated with mental health in BAME communities.
- A demonstration and Hands-on Practice on how to wash and shroud a deceased Muslim was led by; Hajia Hameeda Addo, Hafiza Ameen and Fatima Kadiri.
- Ms. Tracey Coleman, a friend of the Jamaat, who always attends our Jalsa and other events, from the Church of Scientology delivered an interactive session on Drug Awareness.
- After combined Zuhr/Asr prayers and lunch, the programme continued with Social Worker from Greenwich Council, Hajia Naeema Busari delivering a talk on Children’s emotional & behavioural Development, safeguarding issues.
- Hafiza Ameen and Head of Lajna West Region, a college teacher and Counsellor also delivered a session on Relationship issues/coping strategies/Self-Care. She interweaved her presentation with many chapters of the Holy Quran.
- Magistrate Bilkis Savage delivered the last talk of the day on capacity/skills building/personal growth. Mrs Savage is a friend of the Jamaat and a management staff in the Civil Service.
National Sadr Lajna Ima’illah UK, Dr. Fariha Khan addressed the attendees and urged them to implement all they had learnt at the workshop in their daily living for their individual development and society at large.
We rounded off the day with a mulaqat with Hazrat Appan Jan, who was delighted to see the ladies and commended our efforts generally and the event. She was so kind and relaxed with us and shared some of her beautiful moments during her 9 years stay in Ghana with us. We all laughed heartily, when she shared one of her private joking moments with our Beloved Huzur (atba).
Alhamdullillah Rabbil Alameen. We thank Allah for guiding us through His Khalifah.
