My personal and professional roles are intertwined. I mean really intertwined. I commute 1-hr to and from the office with my wife, kids, and nephew every day to work and learn alongside them. In addition to being a driver, I am a father, husband, son, student, children’s writer, organizational psychologist, teacher, and founding executive director of Sanad Trust Foundation. I am also a doctoral student in neuropsychology on an indefinite leave of absence (long story).
I started Sanad Trust Foundation with my wife, Attiqa Syeda, 9 years ago motivated by the nexus of my mortality, my responsibility vis-a-vis my blessings, and the aspiration to preserve my newborn son’s good soul. However, we knew that to do so truly we needed to look beyond him too; to affect communal change there needed to be a sincere effort to coordinate child, adult, and familial spiritual growth so they work in synchronicity.
From the concern of our son’s spirit, our vision expanded to include our own hearts, my widowed mother’s needs, and the community at large. Our hope now, while we have the ability to serve, is to establish a flagship center in South Florida that can be duplicated (if not at the very least be an inspiration) for other NA communities insha’Allah. The Foundation is inspired to serve the cognitive, emotional, and spiritual needs of the soul of children, families, and the community. It is as we say, a soul-centered approach to education and service.
With this intention, we have developed a blended K-12 education model with a focus on adab, character development, and personal communication. One of the first of its kind, the Sanad Prep model allows us to outsource what I call “the business of schooling” and focus on “the process of education”. We have other youth-related programs too: age-relevant clubs, youth counseling, etc.
For the community, we developed the Family Halaqa, a new idea that has grown from just a few families to several families and community members masha’Allah. The idea was to have one inspirational spiritual gathering that could speak to children, young adults, parents, and professionals. By doing so the family and community does not have to be divided in its advancement. We do this by incorporating intention, short talks based on and inspired by the books and lessons of connected scholars, dhikr, and….Dr. Seuss. We now incorporate my original children’s stories/poems too.
We also started fitness clubs for men and women, a social club for seniors, and are now making efforts to engage thought-leaders through essays on: institution building, philanthropy, education, family, and organizational psychology from an Islamic perspective.
To be honest, this work we are doing can be hard and lonely at times. At times you feel that you see things so clearly and the urgency feels so real, but others don’t always feel the same. And sometimes it’s the opposite feeling. When people notice or are willing to listen, it is meaningful.
In the end, I ask Allah to keep our team at Sanad Trust Foundation sincere and humble, and enable us to put together all our skills to create – bi’ithnillah – a holistic approach to family, community, and character development. Insha’Allah we welcome you all to the Sanad Trust Foundation Family & Community Center soon!
Fraternal Salams, 
Rehan Mirza
Founding Executive Director
Sanad Trust Foundation
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