Asalamualaikum,

So, it’s been a while since I was last in touch. We haven’t being resting on our laurels though. We won’t be starting the school in 2018, as we haven’t been able to source a building – but we have made progress, Alhamdulillah!

In the intervening period:

1. We have been setting up the schooling co-op (more on that another day);

2. Saadia’s been volunteering at the Fitzroy Community School to learn more about how they go about things;

3. We have taken our set of interested parents and children on their first ever camp; and

4. We have not relented in our search for the building

We are zeroing in on a kindergarten that the Council plans to stop using. It’s been quite an interesting ride, especially for Saadia who has been meeting with the Major, Government Ministers and Council Officers to get to them to consider leasing the property to us. I never would have picked Saadia as the political type – but it’s the game we’ve had to play! This is by no means over the line – it is a bureaucracy that we are dealing with after all. Many hoops still to jump, but at least we are in the game. We are probably still six months away from knowing whether we have the space or not – so, needless to say, your duas are much-needed in the coming days and months.

And since we don’t have the Kindergarten signed, sealed and delivered, we haven’t closed the door on other options. If you know of a suitable location that may be available, please do let me know!

As mentioned above, we recently went on our first group camp, which was a heap of fun! Camps will be a big part of what we intend to do through the school inshaAllah. We believe camps are a wonderful way to expose children to challenging situations so that they can develop their emotional strength and ability to adjust and deal with new experiences.

Our super-organised urban lifestyles quite often deprive children of the opportunity learn to manage themselves and assume responsibility. In essence we see camps as providing the environment children need to grow to develop self-sufficiency, responsibility and their problem solving capacity.

This time around we ran the camp just for us to get in the groove of camping and to learn the ropes. We had a blast (and so did the children!) Attached are some photos. We hope that you can all join us on one of our next adventures!

Lastly, I just wanted to say that we’ll be taking a bit of a break. Actually a lot of the Fitra team will be in Sri Lanka for the month of December – so if you are around and would like to connect, please drop me a line.

Otherwise, we’ll see you in the new year inshaAllah!

Join our Facebook Group and be apart of our journey:  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/FitraCommunitySchool/

Salams

Adel