The First Of Their Name Part II: Chapter Two

By this time, I have featured quite a few educators. Each with a different story. Each with a unique line of thought. Each with different backgrounds and qualifications. Yet, every single one of them have the same vision, the same drive. To provide quality education within an easy reach of children and their parents. Joining this league of women are Fatima Siddiqa Mohamedali and Samira Juma-Jafer. They too want to make a difference in the field of education. And most importantly, educate these bright, young minds towards enhancing their natural curiosity for their roots and origins. Stay with us on this journey to find out more about these amazing forerunners in a league of their own.

SEED / Fatima Siddiqa Mohamedali & Samira Juma-Jafer

About Fatima and Samira:

Fatima Siddiqa Mohamedali is the co-founder of SEED. Her educational background consists of a bachelor’s degree and a post graduate diploma in Montessori Elementary teaching. She has more than 10+ years of teaching experience in both public and private schools. She has also led Islamic online courses for an international audience through the Academy of Learning Islam.

Samira Juma-Jafer is the other co-founder of SEED. Her educational background consists of a Bachelor Degree in science from University of Toronto with major and minors in Biology, Environmental Science and Psychology. She also holds a diploma as a Medical Laboratory Technician. She has experience working in a research environment, photography, graphic design, cooking and has been an Islamic teacher in Madressa (Sunday school) as well as a peer tutor at Anderson College. 

Motivation behind the endeavour:

Our motivation involved when looking at programs for kids there were some that were mindfulness focused, others only Islamic focused, and some only STEM focused but there were not many programs that combined all thoes areas together. As well, when students typically learned about Allah SWT it was mainly limited to when they were engaging on a specific act of ibadaat (or engaging in Islamic studies).

Inspiration behind the name:

When it came to choosing a name the key for us was choosing one that aligned with our core vision. The core vision was helping children form a stronger connection with Allah SWT. The “S” stands for spark which is the spark of enlightenment that is received when the knowledge is acquired. The first “E” stands for excite which is the feeling of excitement and curiousity that we hope to enlist in every child. The second “E” stands for educate involves sharing knowledge for the mind (and to awaken the heart as well). The “D” stands for develop which involves helping the child to develop the knowledge and skills to help them be successful in the future (including the hereafter).

Vision ahead:

Our vision involves helping young children form a stronger connection with Allah in their everyday lives. Likewise our plan to achieve this involves illustrating how Allah SWT can be remembered in more then just specific acts of ibadaat but in every aspect of life (when learning about science, mindfulness engaging in art, etc). We work on achieving this by presenting a topic to the child and showing the child how that one topic can be analyzed in various lens involving connection to Allah, mindfulness, STEM and so much more!

Challenges faced:

The biggest challenge we faced were the thoughts in our minds that were challenging our belief with proceeding ahead in this venture. Some examples of these thoughts included wondering if people would be interested in what we have to offer and will we be providing “enough” value for everyone. We were able to overcome our thought hurdles by reminding ourselves that our intention was ultimately to help young children develop a stronger connection with Allah SWT and with the help of Allah we would be able to achieve this.

Advice to budding entrepreneurs:

Our advice to entrepreneurs is to ask yourself what your primary intention is for doing what you are doing and the positive difference it can make in the lives of others. As well, as constantly pray to Allah to help you achieve your goals/intention as with His help anything is possible!

Contact info:

Instagram page: @inspiring.seeds

Website: https: @inspiring.seed|Linktree

Email: theinspiring.seed@gmail.com