التعليم بوابة التمكين الشبابي و التنمية المجتمعية | Sulafa Batterjee | TEDxKAU

Key Concepts

• الأوقاف (Awqaf/Endowments): Charitable endowments in Islam, where assets are donated for specific purposes, generating continuous benefits.
• جودة الحياة (Quality of Life): Enhancing living standards and well-being through various initiatives.
• مهارات القرن ال 21 (21st-Century Skills): Essential skills for success in the modern world, including critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication.
• المنح التعليمية (Educational Grants/Scholarships): Financial aid provided to students to support their education.
• قياس العائد من الاستثمار (Measuring Return on Investment - ROI): Assessing the social and economic impact of investments, particularly in charitable initiatives.
• نظام اجتماعي اقتصادي مستدام (Sustainable Socio-Economic System): Creating systems that balance social, economic, and environmental needs for long-term viability.
• وقف جبر الخواطر (Endowment for Mending Hearts): Charitable giving focused on alleviating suffering and providing emotional support.
• وثيقة وقفية (Waqf Document): The legal document that establishes the terms and conditions of an endowment.
• شرط الواقف (Founder's Condition): The specific conditions or stipulations set by the founder of the endowment.

The Story of Dar Al-Shakireen

• The Origin: In 1956, a woman in Jeddah decided to invest with God by establishing a Waqf, intending to pass this investment to her descendants.
• The Initial Act: She prepared food daily and had her 10-year-old son deliver it to the poor near Al-Ribat in old Jeddah.
• The Investment: She sold a piece of jewelry given to her by her father to buy land and build a Ribat (a charitable lodging). Her husband supported her.
• Dar Al-Shakireen: They established the first Ribat, named Dar Al-Shakireen, which still exists and is inhabited by a woman over 100 years old.
• Expansion: This initial Waqf was followed by others in Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina.

Types of Waqf

• The speaker poses questions to the audience about what kind of Waqf the examples represent, suggesting possibilities like:
  • Quality of life
  • Joy
  • Feeling of safety
  • Food
  • Good company
  • Housing

Volunteering in Zanzibar

• The Experience: A volunteer trip to Zanzibar, where participants visited an orphanage.
• The Impact: The trip provided a new perspective on life and the meaning of happiness.
• Redefining Happiness: Happiness was found to be unrelated to expensive things but rather to simple acts of kindness and helping others.
• Skills Development: The experience highlighted the difference between theoretical knowledge and practical skills gained in the field.
• Personal Fulfillment: The volunteers felt a sense of inner fulfillment upon returning from the trip.
• Quote: "ما حدث في زنجبار لن يبقى في زنجبار" ("What happened in Zanzibar will not stay in Zanzibar"), implying the experience will have lasting effects.

Droob Al-Barakah Company's Waqf

• Leadership and Empowerment Programs: The video discusses a five-day trip as part of leadership and empowerment programs offered by Droob Al-Barakah Company's Waqf to scholarship students in public education.
• Comparison to "Mawhiba": Analogous to sending students with talent ("Mawhiba") to science programs, these students participate in leadership and giving programs.
• 21st-Century Skills: The aim is to equip students with 21st-century skills, as emphasized by the Minister of Education.
• Social Value International Accreditation: In 2021, the company received accreditation from Social Value International for measuring the return on investment (ROI).
• ROI Figures: The ROI for educational grants ranged between 2.8 and 811%.
• Global Representation: The company represents Saudi Arabia globally in the education sector.

Maximizing the Impact of Educational Grants

• Three Key Reasons for Maximized Impact:
  1. Increased Sense of Security: Parents reported an increased sense of security regarding their children's future due to the scholarship.
  2. Improved Family Learning: The scholarship for talented students in public education improved the learning and skills of their families and siblings.
  3. Comprehensive Development: The scholarship covers more than just academic learning, including skills for the 21st century and leadership.

A Call to Action: Investing with God

• The Question: The speaker poses the question: "يا ترى ايش هو مجال ال الاستثمار اللي بدي ادخل فيه مع الله؟" ("What is the field of investment I want to enter with God?").
• The Fear: The speaker acknowledges the weight and fear associated with this question.
• Sustainable Systems: The speaker expresses a desire to invest in a sustainable socio-economic system.
• Historical Context: The speaker references Omar Ibn Al-Khattab's Waqf and his daughter Hafsa's role as its supervisor, highlighting the historical precedent of women in leadership roles in Waqf management.
• Community Impact: The speaker encourages everyone to establish a Waqf in a field that resonates with them and has a significant impact on society.
• Examples of Waqf Areas:
  • Health (kidney dialysis, cancer treatment)
  • Education (gifted students, special needs)
  • Housing (eliminating slums, building parks)
  • Basic Needs (feeding the hungry, providing water)
  • Social Support (supporting marriage, treating infertility)
• Waqf for "Jabr Al-Khawatir": The speaker emphasizes the importance of Waqf for "Jabr Al-Khawatir" (mending hearts and alleviating suffering).

Interactive Exercise: Defining Your Waqf

• Instructions: The speaker guides the audience through an exercise to identify their desired Waqf.
  1. Close your eyes and place your right hand on your heart.
  2. Take three deep breaths.
  3. Reflect on the area of Waqf and investment with God that resonates with you.
  4. Open your eyes and take out your phones.
• Questions:
  1. "في العالم اود ان ارى اقل ماذا؟" ("What do I want to see less of in the world?")
  2. "بالمقابل اود ان ارى اكثر من" ("What do I want to see more of?")
  3. "ايش ما يحتاجه العالم هو ايش يحتاج العالم اللي نحن عايشين فيه الان في عصرنا ايش يحتاج؟" ("What does the world need? What does the world we live in now need in our time?")
• Formulating the Waqf Document:
  • The speaker provides a template based on a historical example: "انا الفقيره لعفو ربي حفصه بنت عمر بن الخطاب ان من الجاري في مالي وتحت تصرفي وقد اوقف فتها لله سبحانه وتعالى وانا مكلفه وراشده ارجو برها وثوابها وصدقه جاريه عن نفسي وعن والدي يستمر بها عملي بعد وفاتي وموتي وتم انشاء هذه الوثيقه وفقا للشرط التالي" ("I, the one in need of my Lord's forgiveness, Hafsa bint Omar bin Al-Khattab, from what is running in my money and under my disposal, I have endowed it to God Almighty, and I am responsible and of sound mind, hoping for its righteousness and reward, and a continuous charity for myself and my parents, my work will continue after my death and my death, and this document was created according to the following condition").
  • The audience is instructed to complete the sentence: "يخصص هذا الوقف لي ضع اجابه السؤال رقم اثنان حتى يصبح العالم اكثر ضع اجابه السؤال رقم ثلاثة واقل ضع اجابه السؤال رقم واحد" ("This Waqf is dedicated to [answer to question 2] so that the world becomes more [answer to question 3] and less [answer to question 1]").
• Sharing and Reflection: Participants share their Waqf conditions with the person next to them.

Conclusion

• Imagining the Impact: The speaker asks the audience to imagine the impact if everyone established a Waqf in their chosen field.
• The Power of Collective Action: The speaker emphasizes the power of a community investing with God and in their nation.
• Quote: "ما بعد هذه اللحظة هو انا وانت مجتمع مستثمر مع الله سبحانه وتعالى مستثمر في وطنه" ("What comes after this moment is you and I, a community investing with God Almighty, investing in our homeland").