Abdullah Oduro – Iman Cave – From Orphaned Parents In Africa To Changing Lives For Orphans

Abdullah Oduro
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The speakers discuss the importance of leadership by example, not just by kalam, in building empathy and growth for young people. They emphasize the need for leadership by example, not just by kalam, and how it can lead to building a positive life. They also discuss the importance of giving by service, and how it can lead to building a person of action and bringing satisfaction. The segment ends with a discussion of leading by example, and how it can lead to building a person of action and bringing satisfaction.

AI: Summary ©

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			As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
		
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			May the peace and blessings of Allah be
		
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			upon you all.
		
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			I'm Abdullah Oduro and welcome to the Iman
		
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			Cave where we discuss issues of male excellence
		
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			while being grounded in faith.
		
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			Be the change that you want to see
		
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			in the world.
		
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			And the best way of being something is
		
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			by doing.
		
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			You have to do consistently in order to
		
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			be and if it requires a change that
		
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			means you are the person that was the
		
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			catalyst for that change in society, in a
		
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			person's life, for a group of people, for
		
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			someone's spirituality.
		
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			Allah used you to do something good but
		
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			you had to have made the choice.
		
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			The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said He
		
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			said that each one of you is a
		
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			shepherd so each shepherd should take care of
		
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			who they are responsible for.
		
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			So as a man, as a young boy
		
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			being told by their father, being taught by
		
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			their father, being showed by their father, their
		
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			uncle, their grandfather, the men in their family
		
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			how to be a leader.
		
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			How to lead by example.
		
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			That's what we're going to talk about today,
		
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			leading by example.
		
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			It's important for the young man that grows
		
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			up to be an old man or an
		
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			older man, a father eventually, or an uncle,
		
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			someone that has a position of experience to
		
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			be able to share those experiences in a
		
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			way that has an influence on those that
		
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			are younger than him, preferably in this setting
		
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			for our young men.
		
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			But for you young men, it's important initially
		
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			to have that intention to lead.
		
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			As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has put
		
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			that in the hands of the Prophets.
		
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			We see with the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi
		
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			wa sallam.
		
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			He was a leader and he was someone
		
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			that was well-rounded in his leadership, rahmatan
		
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			lil alameen, as a mercy for mankind, and
		
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			also to show us how to be men
		
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			of integrity, effective influencers, effective leaders.
		
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			So talking about this leadership today and how
		
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			to lead by example, we have on my
		
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			right, as many of you know, Mashallah, the
		
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			Mechanical Engineer of the Year, Mashallah, Tabarak Allah,
		
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			Yahya Talib, Mashallah, he's here with us today,
		
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			and we have none other than Brother Faldu
		
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			Negbene, Mashallah, I hope I pronounced it correctly.
		
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			You did.
		
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			That's the West African vibe, that's the spice,
		
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			you know.
		
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			They don't know about that.
		
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			I mean, not they, I didn't mean they,
		
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			but it's okay.
		
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			We all, we have, you know, a little
		
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			mud at the end.
		
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			But Brother Faldu, Mashallah, he is a Financial
		
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			Analyst?
		
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			Manager.
		
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			Manager, Financial Manager, he moved up, he was
		
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			analyst, now he's a manager, Mashallah, Tabarak Allah,
		
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			Alhamdulillah.
		
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			No, Alhamdulillah, he has an organization, or he
		
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			is part of an organization, he's a co
		
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			-founder of an organization called Rise Relief, and
		
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			this is an organization that deals with helping
		
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			and building wells, primarily in West Africa, or
		
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			I'll say initially in West Africa, with much
		
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			bigger goals, which we're, bigger goals, Inshallah, which
		
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			we're going to share, Inshallah ta'ala.
		
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			So that's going to be our premise of
		
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			this organization, a non-profit organization, but the
		
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			story behind it is amazing, and it has
		
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			a relevance to all of you young men,
		
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			and older men as well, of doing something
		
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			that can leave a legacy, but most importantly,
		
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			leading when doing that.
		
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			So Inshallah, Alhamdulillah, we want to start by
		
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			just welcoming you, May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta
		
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			'ala bless you, Inshallah, and I see you
		
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			have the Rise Relief, Mashallah, it says RR,
		
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			is that Rise Relief, or is it Rolls
		
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			-Royce?
		
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			I didn't see one outside, Sheikh.
		
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			I'm inspired for the Rolls-Royce in Jannah,
		
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			Inshallah.
		
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			Inshallah, Inshallah, Inshallah.
		
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			No, Alhamdulillah, so tell us a little about
		
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			yourself, where were you, where were you born,
		
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			and where were you raised, and what brought
		
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			you here to Dallas?
		
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			Jazakallah Khair, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa
		
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			barakatuh, it's an honor to be here with
		
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			you, Jazakallah Khair for having me on this
		
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			show.
		
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			Yes, to answer your question, Alhamdulillah, I was
		
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			born in a very small village called Niki,
		
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			Niki, that's in the country of Benin, which
		
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			is a small country next to Nigeria in
		
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			West Africa.
		
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			This is also the home birthplace of my
		
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			mother, she was born in Niki as well
		
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			too.
		
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			My father was born in the northern part
		
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			of Benin called Piami, so Alhamdulillah, I was
		
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			born there, spent the first year of my
		
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			life there, another year in my father's village
		
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			in the north, and then Alhamdulillah, my father
		
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			got the opportunity to migrate to the south
		
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			in Cotonou, where this is basically the main
		
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			commercial city.
		
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			At the capital?
		
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			The capital is actually Porto Novo, it's not
		
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			far, probably maybe an hour, an hour and
		
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			a half from Cotonou, but Cotonou is basically
		
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			the commercial city.
		
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			Everyone comes there from Lagos, from Accra, we
		
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			have a port, right, and in West Africa,
		
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			when you have a port, that's where basically
		
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			most of the commerce and economy thrives from.
		
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			So I pretty much went to school, I
		
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			did my primary school there, I also did
		
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			a little bit of my middle school there,
		
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			until we got the opportunity to move to
		
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			the states.
		
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			So I was born and raised in Benin,
		
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			Alhamdulillah, and lived there for the first 10
		
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			years of my life until I moved to
		
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			the states.
		
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			SubhanAllah, so was your household the household of
		
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			always pushing towards education?
		
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			Yes, education was always key because, well, my
		
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			parents, Mashallah, Tabarakallah, they literally came from nothing.
		
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			They both were orphans at a young age.
		
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			My mother at birth and, or shortly after
		
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			birth, she never knew her father.
		
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			My father became an orphan at the age
		
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			of maybe eight or 10 years old, and
		
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			him being the fourth youngest in the family,
		
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			he had to assume new responsibilities, starting to
		
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			go to the farm, to cultivate, to plant,
		
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			to provide, to help out his mother.
		
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			So education was what actually got him out
		
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			of, I don't want to say got him
		
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			out of poverty, but it allowed him to
		
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			support his family at large, even though he
		
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			was the fourth youngest son of his family.
		
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			So Mashallah, Tabarakallah, that is what they instilled
		
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			in us growing up, that education was always
		
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			the key for us to take the next
		
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			generation out of poverty, or at least give
		
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			them the opportunity to thrive from a financial
		
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			standpoint.
		
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			Rise Relief.
		
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			Tell us about Rise Relief.
		
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			So, I mean, I remember when I first
		
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			met you.
		
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			I mean, Brother Waleed introduced me to you.
		
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			Yes, Mashallah.
		
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			And Brother Suleiman.
		
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			They're actually both on this show before.
		
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			Yeah, shout out to them, Mashallah.
		
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			We were at Suleiman's house, actually.
		
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			That's when I met Suleiman at the same
		
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			time as well, yes.
		
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			It was beautiful to hear the story of
		
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			how it started.
		
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			If you don't mind sharing with us the
		
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			problem to where you said, OK, something has
		
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			to be done.
		
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			Was it you?
		
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			Was it your mother?
		
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			So what was the exact problem that you
		
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			were all seeing to where you had to
		
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			step up and do something about it?
		
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			Each time I mention the story, it's, you
		
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			know, it's moving because even though we incorporated
		
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			in 2020, about four years ago, I like
		
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			to say that it really started 50 years
		
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			back.
		
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			That's with my parents, Alhamdulillah, specifically my mother.
		
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			My mother, as I mentioned, she was an
		
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			orphan from pretty much birth.
		
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			She never knew her father.
		
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			And living in that society, as you know,
		
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			living in that society without a fatherly figure,
		
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			you're pretty much left to yourself, right?
		
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			It was her and her mother.
		
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			And she was the one assisting her mother
		
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			with income, right?
		
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			So imagine as a five, six, seven, eight
		
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			-year-old, let's not even get into what
		
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			an eight-year-old can do today, but
		
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			she was babysitting.
		
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			She was doing sales, you know, small merchant
		
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			sales.
		
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			Maybe the mother would make some cheese or
		
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			something from their garden, and she would go
		
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			out and sell it and then bring it
		
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			back.
		
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			Here's what, you know, what she earned from
		
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			that.
		
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			And unfortunately, it wasn't enough to put her
		
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			into school.
		
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			She had to actually drop out at a
		
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			very young age, but she always had the
		
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			drive to go to school.
		
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			Alhamdulillah, later on, when we came to the
		
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			States, she was able to finish her school.
		
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			She got her GED, and then she even
		
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			went on and got a certification in nursing.
		
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			Mashallah, Tabarakallah.
		
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			So when I was born, growing up the
		
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			first 10 years of my life in Benin,
		
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			we always had somebody at home.
		
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			Always had somebody at home.
		
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			So at this point, obviously, she's married with
		
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			my father together.
		
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			They basically would help out orphans from the
		
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			villages and bring them south and return to
		
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			provide them an education.
		
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			So they would be at home helping out.
		
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			And at the same time too, during the
		
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			day, they would either go for school or
		
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			others, if it's too late, they would do
		
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			some type of trade.
		
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			So they've always done that.
		
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			I've always seen, I've always thought they were
		
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			family members, but then I later on find
		
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			out they had, that person was not a
		
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			family member, or maybe it was a distant
		
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			family member, right?
		
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			In 2020, there was an Islamic school in
		
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			Yashikira, Nigeria, which borders Niki from the Benin
		
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			side, and Yashikira is on the Nigerian side.
		
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			So my mother's side of the family, my
		
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			great-uncle has a school, an Islamic school
		
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			that was in need of renovation.
		
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			And when my mother presented this idea, she
		
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			said, hey, this is one of the projects
		
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			that we're trying to help out with this
		
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			year.
		
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			Is that something that we can do?
		
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			The first question was like, hey, what's the
		
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			budget on this?
		
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			What's gonna cost, right?
		
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			And this was the first time that it
		
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			was gonna cost more than 5,000, let's
		
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			say.
		
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			It was a $12,000 project to renovate.
		
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			They told us that about 500 students or
		
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			so, and every year they produce between 12
		
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			and 15 half of the Quran.
		
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			And they have the roofs caving in.
		
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			You have the floors that are completely dismantled.
		
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			And on top of that, there are no
		
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			windows, right?
		
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			So imagine you're in that condition, there's no
		
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			electricity, and you're studying the book of Allah.
		
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			Of course, it was a beautiful project.
		
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			Let's tackle it.
		
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			But I told my mother, I think it
		
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			was for sure it was Allah who put
		
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			that inclination to me and said, mom, this
		
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			is over $10,000.
		
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			Let's not do it the way we normally
		
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			do, which is we collect a little bit,
		
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			we go through our personal accounts, and then
		
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			we issue it out, right?
		
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			Let's actually open a separate account for this,
		
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			because I was actually concerned that, hey, this
		
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			amount can be audited in the future.
		
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			And that's how I started.
		
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			And my mother said, okay, what do you
		
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			suggest?
		
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			I said, well, let's open an account.
		
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			Then next thing you know, I started researching,
		
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			okay, nonprofits.
		
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			It never crossed my mind that we should
		
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			establish a nonprofit.
		
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			And that's how it started.
		
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			So I started researching nonprofits.
		
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			We started reading together.
		
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			So, hey, what do you guys think of
		
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			this?
		
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			Maybe we can do something like this.
		
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			So initially, it was just gonna be one
		
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			project.
		
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			I see.
		
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			That was it.
		
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			And then subhanAllah, fast forward four years later,
		
00:12:02 --> 00:12:07
			it's now we have a drilling operation where
		
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			we actually providing and bringing clean water to
		
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			rural communities in Benin and Nigeria.
		
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15
			It was inspired by a Quran school that
		
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			needed severe help.
		
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18
			And your mother was very passionate about.
		
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19
			Absolutely.
		
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19
			About that.
		
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21
			So the mother served as an inspiration.
		
00:12:22 --> 00:12:22
			100%.
		
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23
			To you.
		
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24
			100%.
		
00:12:24 --> 00:12:24
			Wow.
		
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26
			What year was this that you decided to
		
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27
			take that step to?
		
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29
			Well, COVID happened in...
		
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30
			Late of 2019.
		
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32
			Late, late 2019, right?
		
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33
			So yeah, right around that time that happened.
		
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36
			I've actually was laid off during that time.
		
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37
			So I had extra time.
		
00:12:37 --> 00:12:40
			I think it's all the plan of Allah.
		
00:12:40 --> 00:12:40
			Yeah.
		
00:12:40 --> 00:12:45
			And I wanted to utilize that time for
		
00:12:45 --> 00:12:45
			good.
		
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47
			The intention was to do it right.
		
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49
			We wanted to do it right.
		
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50
			We wanted to be clean.
		
00:12:50 --> 00:12:54
			We wanted to establish something that can actually
		
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56
			have a proper foundation.
		
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59
			So that's how the incorporation started.
		
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02
			Two weeks ago, we took a trip to
		
00:13:02 --> 00:13:02
			Benin.
		
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04
			It was the first time I saw the
		
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06
			school, being there in person.
		
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08
			But of course, we had images.
		
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11
			And we've also shared with our donors the
		
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			before and after.
		
00:13:12 --> 00:13:16
			But it was actually moving, seeing that, hey,
		
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17
			this is the school.
		
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18
			This is how it all started.
		
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19
			This is the school that we renovated.
		
00:13:20 --> 00:13:24
			And mashallah, almost every moment, my uncle has
		
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26
			an opportunity to speak with me.
		
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			He always shares that, hey, the village is
		
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31
			sharing their dua upon the donors.
		
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33
			So much change has happened here.
		
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34
			The kids are so happy learning.
		
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38
			They were happy, even without electricity.
		
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40
			The budget did not suffice for electricity.
		
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42
			The fact that they had a covered roof,
		
00:13:42 --> 00:13:46
			so that way, when it rains, and they
		
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47
			had a chair to sit in, was more
		
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48
			than enough for them.
		
00:13:48 --> 00:13:52
			I can personally say, there has been several
		
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55
			situations or examples where we thought it was
		
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57
			dead end, and Allah would open the door.
		
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00
			And it's just the fact that we just
		
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02
			kept persevering a little bit.
		
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04
			It doesn't have to be a lot, but
		
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06
			you just persevere.
		
00:14:06 --> 00:14:09
			You just try to find another avenue to
		
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10
			resolve the issues, right?
		
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14
			And alhamdulillah, Allah has opened the doors from
		
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			those facets.
		
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18
			I can see it in his face, that
		
00:14:18 --> 00:14:18
			the happiness.
		
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21
			Allah, it's a common thing with the folk
		
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22
			or the people that go out and help.
		
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25
			Subhanallah, also having a background from the Middle
		
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26
			East, obviously.
		
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28
			Each country, may Allah help them.
		
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30
			There's infinite amount of help that's needed all
		
00:14:30 --> 00:14:30
			over the world.
		
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35
			And each family or each organization or each
		
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37
			person that you speak to that is involved,
		
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38
			subhanallah, they're happy, no matter.
		
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42
			They've seen so much destruction and so much
		
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45
			poverty, yet you see them all the time
		
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48
			smiling, and they're always enjoying their work, because
		
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50
			Allah put that happiness in them.
		
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52
			That's what keeps us motivated as well.
		
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54
			Of course, we're doing for the sake of
		
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55
			Allah.
		
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58
			We want the true reward with Allah.
		
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01
			And we know that there are, there is,
		
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03
			there's a jihad that needs to take place.
		
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05
			There is work where we have to struggle,
		
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07
			right, to make certain things happen.
		
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11
			But in this world as well, too, you
		
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12
			can feel it.
		
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13
			And that's exactly what you're talking about, that
		
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14
			satisfaction, right?
		
00:15:15 --> 00:15:19
			When you visit a village, and you meet
		
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21
			the chief of the village, and you ask
		
00:15:21 --> 00:15:25
			him, hey, when was the last time you
		
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26
			guys had access to clean water?
		
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30
			And he looks up, and he makes, you
		
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33
			know, in Africa, we have signs, or you
		
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35
			know, sounds, we make a lot of sounds,
		
00:15:35 --> 00:15:35
			right?
		
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38
			We make a specific sound that everyone just
		
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40
			like, you know that that sound means?
		
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42
			What kind of question is that?
		
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45
			We never had access to water, right?
		
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47
			At first, it'd be like, yeah, exactly.
		
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51
			It'd be like, you know?
		
00:15:52 --> 00:15:56
			So his answer was, he said centuries.
		
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58
			But what I took from that is never.
		
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01
			Centuries.
		
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03
			Their source of water was an open source.
		
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05
			It was a river, not far from where
		
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07
			they live, where they were going, you know,
		
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10
			generally speaking, it's the women, the young girls
		
00:16:10 --> 00:16:14
			that would actually go and fill up the
		
00:16:14 --> 00:16:19
			some of them would do their laundry there,
		
00:16:19 --> 00:16:19
			et cetera.
		
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21
			But it's the same water that's also that
		
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22
			the livestock feed off of.
		
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24
			And sometimes, you know, you have feces that's
		
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26
			in there, but then for them to see
		
00:16:26 --> 00:16:30
			and be so happy that we haven't even
		
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32
			tapped into, we haven't tapped the water yet,
		
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34
			but they were just happy that the team
		
00:16:34 --> 00:16:38
			arrived with the goal that inshallah, we will
		
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40
			establish a water well for them.
		
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41
			You said you lost your job, you let
		
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42
			go.
		
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43
			Was that due to COVID?
		
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44
			No, it was not due to COVID.
		
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46
			It just so happened that it was coincidental.
		
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50
			The company that I was with, which was
		
00:16:50 --> 00:16:56
			the company that Allah facilitated for me to
		
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58
			make hijr with my wife from Tampa to
		
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59
			Dallas.
		
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02
			She's actually Dallas native, but the intention was
		
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03
			to move here.
		
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06
			And it was through a company that filed
		
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08
			for bankruptcy three months after I started.
		
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11
			So I'm in a new city.
		
00:17:12 --> 00:17:16
			I'm married with an eight month old daughter
		
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18
			and I lose my job.
		
00:17:18 --> 00:17:23
			So it was a time of reflection.
		
00:17:23 --> 00:17:28
			It was a time of uncertainty for sure.
		
00:17:29 --> 00:17:35
			And I definitely felt unstable, but Ramadan was
		
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37
			around the corner and I knew that inshallah,
		
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39
			Allah has a better plan.
		
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41
			He has a better plan.
		
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42
			I always knew that he has a better
		
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42
			plan.
		
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45
			And next thing you know, my mother, she
		
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48
			suggested this project or she brought on this
		
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50
			project, which I said, okay, perfect.
		
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52
			I'm going to dedicate half my day towards
		
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53
			researching a new job.
		
00:17:53 --> 00:17:56
			And then the other half, learning about nonprofits
		
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59
			and what it entails to run it correctly.
		
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00
			Okay.
		
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01
			From there, you decided to go through with
		
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01
			these seven months.
		
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04
			I think there's a huge effort of building
		
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06
			this nonprofit organization with building wells.
		
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09
			And she was 40 immediately when you, when
		
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09
			you mentioned it.
		
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10
			Yes.
		
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11
			So the wells came later.
		
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14
			So we started out, as I mentioned, we
		
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15
			started with an Islamic school.
		
00:18:15 --> 00:18:18
			Your first nonprofit initiative was funding the Islamic
		
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19
			school.
		
00:18:19 --> 00:18:19
			Exactly.
		
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20
			Aha.
		
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21
			Okay.
		
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23
			So it was fun.
		
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23
			Yeah, it's correct.
		
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25
			It was funding the Islamic school.
		
00:18:25 --> 00:18:29
			Then Allah showed us that there was a
		
00:18:29 --> 00:18:31
			bigger need, which was water.
		
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33
			And how do we come about?
		
00:18:33 --> 00:18:38
			Because as soon as we were done, we
		
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40
			got feedback that some of the kids were
		
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40
			not going to school.
		
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42
			They were sick.
		
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43
			And they were asking for water.
		
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45
			But we didn't make the connection.
		
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48
			We didn't make the connection until it's almost
		
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50
			like Allah put us in the position where
		
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52
			like, this is the direction I want you
		
00:18:52 --> 00:18:55
			guys to focus to head towards.
		
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58
			But then view your attention towards this.
		
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59
			It started off with that.
		
00:18:59 --> 00:19:03
			So that's why our tagline is providing clean
		
00:19:03 --> 00:19:06
			water and building brighter minds.
		
00:19:06 --> 00:19:12
			Because the clean water facilitates health, promotes economy,
		
00:19:12 --> 00:19:15
			and just helps the village to thrive.
		
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16
			Allows for life.
		
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17
			Exactly.
		
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18
			Without clean water, you can't have life.
		
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19
			You cannot.
		
00:19:19 --> 00:19:23
			So that was the big need or one
		
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26
			of the problems that came about after the
		
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26
			first project.
		
00:19:26 --> 00:19:31
			And we changed our direction towards, hey, what
		
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33
			does it take to implement a water well?
		
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35
			And then that's how we got into it.
		
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35
			SubhanAllah.
		
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36
			Wow.
		
00:19:36 --> 00:19:39
			So that I mean, even, you know, it's
		
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42
			funny, because that level of stepping up and
		
00:19:42 --> 00:19:47
			doing something required you to lose your job
		
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47
			at the moment.
		
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48
			SubhanAllah.
		
00:19:48 --> 00:19:48
			Right.
		
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50
			To even intensify it, if you will.
		
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52
			I mean, and then also research to do
		
00:19:52 --> 00:19:54
			some competency, have some competency in what you're
		
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55
			doing.
		
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56
			And then just take that step.
		
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58
			Your first fundraiser.
		
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02
			I know what it's like.
		
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03
			That's why I want to ask you.
		
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05
			How nervous were you?
		
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06
			How much were you sweating?
		
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07
			How many people were there?
		
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10
			What was it like, if you don't mind
		
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13
			sharing with us how that took place?
		
00:20:13 --> 00:20:17
			Unlike a for-profit organization, you have a
		
00:20:17 --> 00:20:21
			physical product or service to sell in exchange
		
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23
			for money, for funds.
		
00:20:24 --> 00:20:28
			For non-profit, it's literally out of the
		
00:20:28 --> 00:20:31
			goodwill or the goodness of others, right?
		
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33
			Giving, because they believe in your cause.
		
00:20:33 --> 00:20:37
			They believe that you have a specific humanitarian
		
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39
			project that you're working on that they value.
		
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40
			Right?
		
00:20:40 --> 00:20:46
			The challenge becomes making your cause valuable, right?
		
00:20:46 --> 00:20:49
			In order for others to believe.
		
00:20:49 --> 00:20:51
			And of course, that's probably one aspect of
		
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51
			it.
		
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52
			It's your cause.
		
00:20:52 --> 00:20:56
			And the other one is the integrity, right?
		
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58
			But integrity comes with time.
		
00:20:58 --> 00:21:01
			How you structure your organization, how you move,
		
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02
			et cetera.
		
00:21:02 --> 00:21:05
			So going back to your first question about
		
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07
			the first fundraiser.
		
00:21:07 --> 00:21:12
			So this was at EPIC, East Plano Islamic
		
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13
			Center.
		
00:21:14 --> 00:21:20
			I approached this, the project, I spoke with
		
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21
			Ustad Bajour.
		
00:21:22 --> 00:21:24
			Mashallah, he's my beloved Shaykh.
		
00:21:24 --> 00:21:27
			May Allah preserve him and protect him and
		
00:21:27 --> 00:21:31
			keep him as a beacon of light of
		
00:21:31 --> 00:21:34
			Islam for us and generations to come, inshallah.
		
00:21:34 --> 00:21:37
			I mean, so I spoke, I approached him
		
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39
			and said, Hey, look, we have this project
		
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40
			that we're working on.
		
00:21:40 --> 00:21:42
			We want to do a water well in
		
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42
			Benin.
		
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45
			It's going to cost us about 9,000
		
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45
			or so.
		
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48
			And I said, is it possible to share
		
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49
			with the brothers?
		
00:21:51 --> 00:21:55
			And he mentioned, well, without a 501c3 status,
		
00:21:55 --> 00:21:58
			you are pretty much limited, right?
		
00:21:58 --> 00:22:02
			Because in the States with the 501c3 status,
		
00:22:02 --> 00:22:05
			it basically gives your organization the right to
		
00:22:05 --> 00:22:10
			receive donations in exchange for donation receipt, which
		
00:22:10 --> 00:22:14
			most people will use that for their taxes
		
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16
			in the later year, right?
		
00:22:16 --> 00:22:19
			I didn't even think about that, right?
		
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20
			For me, it was just like, which brothers
		
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22
			are ready to support this, right?
		
00:22:24 --> 00:22:27
			But he said, nevertheless, we'll still share with
		
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28
			the population.
		
00:22:29 --> 00:22:32
			I was part of the Sunday Khalaqa group
		
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34
			that he does after Fajr every Sunday.
		
00:22:34 --> 00:22:37
			Also, I was part of the men's over
		
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38
			30 basketball group at Epic.
		
00:22:39 --> 00:22:42
			And they were the first group of men
		
00:22:42 --> 00:22:44
			to sponsor our very first water well.
		
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48
			So I shared with the brothers, obviously at
		
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50
			that time, WhatsApp was becoming a very big
		
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51
			thing.
		
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52
			And I shared with the brothers and some
		
00:22:52 --> 00:22:55
			of the brothers said, Bismillah, let's get started.
		
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57
			Of course, they asked some questions, some of
		
00:22:57 --> 00:22:59
			the questions I didn't know how to answer.
		
00:22:59 --> 00:23:02
			And later on, after we implemented the water
		
00:23:02 --> 00:23:06
			project, we showed them images and a small
		
00:23:06 --> 00:23:09
			video of the well and how excited the
		
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10
			people were, the population were.
		
00:23:11 --> 00:23:14
			And next thing you know, we started receiving
		
00:23:14 --> 00:23:18
			a lot of requests for water in Benin.
		
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19
			That's how it started.
		
00:23:20 --> 00:23:22
			It became more of a, hey, we've heard
		
00:23:22 --> 00:23:24
			you guys did a water well in so
		
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25
			-and-so village.
		
00:23:25 --> 00:23:27
			Can you also bring us one here?
		
00:23:27 --> 00:23:30
			Can you also source us access to clean
		
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30
			water?
		
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32
			Provide us access to clean waters?
		
00:23:32 --> 00:23:35
			Then the request for school or education kind
		
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36
			of died down a bit.
		
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38
			And we saw that there was a bigger
		
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39
			need for that.
		
00:23:40 --> 00:23:43
			And that also triggered my parents to remember
		
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43
			their childhood.
		
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45
			Because at some point they forgot when you
		
00:23:45 --> 00:23:47
			live in the States, especially in the-
		
00:23:47 --> 00:23:49
			No luxurious place that we're in.
		
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49
			Exactly.
		
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50
			In a developed country, right?
		
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52
			Where you could just open the tap and
		
00:23:52 --> 00:23:55
			have any temperature that you want, you kind
		
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55
			of forget.
		
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58
			So they remembered how it was also to
		
00:23:58 --> 00:24:03
			go and fetch dirty water at the expense
		
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05
			of the kid's health.
		
00:24:05 --> 00:24:08
			So subhanAllah, that's how water became the primary
		
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12
			service that we provide through our organization.
		
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14
			I mean, mashaAllah, there was a level of
		
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16
			acceptance, mashaAllah, starting with the group, the men
		
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17
			over 30 group.
		
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17
			Correct.
		
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19
			I didn't know y'all had a basketball
		
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19
			team.
		
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20
			Yes, we do.
		
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22
			You should come and try it out.
		
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24
			I know why they haven't invited me.
		
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25
			I mean, it's very clear.
		
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25
			It's obvious.
		
00:24:26 --> 00:24:30
			What are your plans with this organization?
		
00:24:30 --> 00:24:34
			Because, I mean, I'm seeing different characteristics of
		
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35
			leadership here.
		
00:24:35 --> 00:24:37
			I mean, firstly, taking initiative.
		
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40
			And really that connection that you have with
		
00:24:40 --> 00:24:43
			your mother is very, very important for men
		
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43
			even.
		
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45
			Even when we talk about men and their
		
00:24:45 --> 00:24:48
			fathers and having that example set, it doesn't
		
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50
			mean that it's void of the mother.
		
00:24:50 --> 00:24:53
			Because really that nurturing is very, very important
		
00:24:53 --> 00:24:57
			from the mother for the son and the
		
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57
			daughter as well.
		
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00
			There's a special bond when it comes to
		
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01
			the son and the mother.
		
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03
			There's a special bond with every relationship, father,
		
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04
			daughter as well.
		
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05
			100%.
		
00:25:05 --> 00:25:09
			But that level of protection and of doing
		
00:25:09 --> 00:25:12
			whatever she says at any cost is a
		
00:25:12 --> 00:25:15
			beautiful, honorable relationship.
		
00:25:16 --> 00:25:18
			I mean, honorable for the mother and honorable
		
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19
			for the son.
		
00:25:20 --> 00:25:23
			You know, the mother having the blanket authority.
		
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24
			Pretty much.
		
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25
			Pretty much, right?
		
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27
			To tell him to do whatever and him
		
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29
			having the privilege to do it.
		
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30
			Right?
		
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31
			That's beautiful.
		
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32
			It's a privilege.
		
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32
			It's a win-win.
		
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34
			Yeah, it's a win-win.
		
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38
			And you know what's beautiful about this hadith,
		
00:25:38 --> 00:25:41
			the Prophet, when the man came to the
		
00:25:41 --> 00:25:44
			Prophet, he said, He said, who has the
		
00:25:44 --> 00:25:47
			most right of my companionship?
		
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50
			That's the word, companionship.
		
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52
			And that's when the Prophet said, your mother.
		
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53
			And he said, then who?
		
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54
			He said, your mother.
		
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55
			And he said, then who?
		
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55
			He said, your mother.
		
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57
			He said, then he said, your father.
		
00:25:58 --> 00:26:01
			That's beautiful because he said, my companionship, right?
		
00:26:01 --> 00:26:05
			So when looking at this and hearing the
		
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07
			story of you having that level of closeness
		
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09
			with your mother to where it manifests or
		
00:26:09 --> 00:26:15
			a product of that relationship is helping building
		
00:26:15 --> 00:26:19
			the school, which morph into something that you
		
00:26:19 --> 00:26:21
			didn't even think about at the moment of
		
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22
			donating for the school.
		
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23
			We did not.
		
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24
			Because you're persistent.
		
00:26:24 --> 00:26:28
			That consistency and even that level of risk.
		
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29
			Like taking risk.
		
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32
			You know, with a non-profit, like you
		
00:26:32 --> 00:26:36
			mentioned in the beginning, you're not receiving money
		
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38
			for this in the beginning of doing the
		
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38
			non-profit.
		
00:26:38 --> 00:26:40
			Yes, there's a cause for administration.
		
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42
			And then when you get to a certain
		
00:26:42 --> 00:26:45
			level as a founder, that's where your time
		
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47
			has to be compensated for and your expertise.
		
00:26:48 --> 00:26:51
			Seeing that where you are now, what is
		
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52
			it?
		
00:26:52 --> 00:26:55
			We said 50, so about 50 years ago.
		
00:26:55 --> 00:26:59
			But from the legal inception, about four years.
		
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59
			Exactly.
		
00:27:01 --> 00:27:04
			What are your plans now with this?
		
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06
			And how has this, I mean, within these
		
00:27:06 --> 00:27:09
			four years, what have you seen within yourself
		
00:27:09 --> 00:27:12
			as a man, i.e. father and son?
		
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13
			Because you're a father.
		
00:27:13 --> 00:27:18
			How do you plan to introduce this?
		
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19
			What's the word?
		
00:27:20 --> 00:27:23
			I'll say legacy, this family legacy to them.
		
00:27:23 --> 00:27:26
			I mean, do you initially have the plan
		
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28
			to let this carry over into the family?
		
00:27:28 --> 00:27:30
			Or what are your plans with this?
		
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33
			If you just even try to dream, a
		
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35
			lot makes you dream bigger.
		
00:27:35 --> 00:27:39
			In a way, because it started off with
		
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40
			an Islamic school.
		
00:27:41 --> 00:27:44
			Then it was one project, let's do a
		
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44
			water well.
		
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47
			Then the need came in.
		
00:27:47 --> 00:27:53
			Then we realized, okay, in Benin, it costs,
		
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55
			at the time, it was about $9,000
		
00:27:55 --> 00:27:58
			to do a hand pump well, which is
		
00:27:58 --> 00:28:00
			very difficult to fundraise for.
		
00:28:00 --> 00:28:05
			When other countries can implement wells for a
		
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07
			fraction of the cost, maybe $1,500, $2
		
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08
			,000, right?
		
00:28:08 --> 00:28:11
			So that becomes a challenge of, okay, what
		
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13
			sets that region apart?
		
00:28:13 --> 00:28:15
			Well, several factors.
		
00:28:16 --> 00:28:22
			But number one is we service or we
		
00:28:22 --> 00:28:27
			serve rural communities where the average well that
		
00:28:27 --> 00:28:29
			we've implemented so far is about 80 meters.
		
00:28:30 --> 00:28:36
			We're talking about anywhere between 200 to about
		
00:28:36 --> 00:28:40
			500, 600 feet deep into the ground to
		
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42
			surface water, right?
		
00:28:42 --> 00:28:45
			So there's a difference between a shallow well
		
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46
			and deep well.
		
00:28:46 --> 00:28:50
			So that adds to the expense, right?
		
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51
			That adds to the cost.
		
00:28:51 --> 00:28:54
			Then the second aspect of it would be
		
00:28:54 --> 00:28:59
			the sourcing or hiring a company, a drilling
		
00:28:59 --> 00:29:02
			company to implement the well, right?
		
00:29:02 --> 00:29:05
			And most of the time, they're Nigerian companies.
		
00:29:05 --> 00:29:08
			So imagine you have to, we're sourcing them
		
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10
			from Nigeria to come to Benin to drill.
		
00:29:11 --> 00:29:13
			You also have to pay for their fuel,
		
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14
			for their transportation, right?
		
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16
			And the time that they're there.
		
00:29:16 --> 00:29:18
			So that adds to the cost, right?
		
00:29:18 --> 00:29:23
			So the first year, we thought, long-term,
		
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24
			this won't be sustainable.
		
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25
			There has to be a way where we
		
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26
			can reduce the cost.
		
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28
			And Allah opened up the doors again.
		
00:29:29 --> 00:29:32
			And through actually one of our donors, he
		
00:29:32 --> 00:29:36
			suggested, hey, why don't you invest in your
		
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36
			own machine?
		
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38
			Start a drilling company.
		
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39
			Start a drilling company.
		
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41
			Engineer, we got an engineer here.
		
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41
			So there you go.
		
00:29:43 --> 00:29:45
			So it was a seed that he planted.
		
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47
			And again, where does it come from?
		
00:29:47 --> 00:29:50
			You dream a little bit or you attempt
		
00:29:50 --> 00:29:52
			to dream and Allah makes you dream bigger,
		
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52
			right?
		
00:29:52 --> 00:29:56
			So that's an example of a donor who
		
00:29:56 --> 00:29:59
			said, why don't you think about investing in
		
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01
			your own drilling machine if it costs so
		
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01
			much?
		
00:30:02 --> 00:30:05
			And that's how we formulated a five-year
		
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05
			plan.
		
00:30:05 --> 00:30:07
			We said, okay, guys, let's formulate a five
		
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08
			-year plan.
		
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10
			In five years, inshallah, we would get away
		
00:30:10 --> 00:30:13
			from contracting, which is what most organizations do.
		
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15
			They contract a project, right?
		
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16
			They collect the funds here.
		
00:30:16 --> 00:30:20
			And then they distribute the funds to contractors,
		
00:30:21 --> 00:30:24
			local contractors overseas that will implement the project,
		
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24
			right?
		
00:30:24 --> 00:30:29
			So our five-year plan was, let's get
		
00:30:29 --> 00:30:31
			to a point where we also have our
		
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31
			own operation.
		
00:30:32 --> 00:30:37
			That way we can oversee the entire operation
		
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39
			and have a bit more visibility in what
		
00:30:39 --> 00:30:41
			it actually costs to drill a well.
		
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43
			Allah made it realized in two years.
		
00:30:44 --> 00:30:46
			We had a five-year plan, Allah made
		
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47
			it realized in two years.
		
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49
			And that's at the time where you and
		
00:30:49 --> 00:30:52
			I, we sat down with Waleed and Dr.
		
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53
			Suleiman.
		
00:30:53 --> 00:30:56
			So when I pitched the idea to them,
		
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56
			they loved it.
		
00:30:57 --> 00:31:00
			And with Dr. Suleiman, he's also an engineer
		
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00
			background.
		
00:31:01 --> 00:31:03
			He can literally build a mansion out of
		
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04
			nothing.
		
00:31:04 --> 00:31:06
			Oh yeah, his garage is just a hardware
		
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06
			store.
		
00:31:07 --> 00:31:10
			We gotta do a monthly man cave in
		
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11
			your garage, Dr. Suleiman, coming soon.
		
00:31:11 --> 00:31:13
			So Allah just kept opening up the doors
		
00:31:13 --> 00:31:16
			in terms of, hey, how can we take
		
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16
			it to the next level?
		
00:31:17 --> 00:31:20
			So to tie it back to your question
		
00:31:20 --> 00:31:22
			about the legacy aspect of it, right?
		
00:31:23 --> 00:31:26
			Is that it's wherever also my kids want
		
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27
			to take it, right?
		
00:31:27 --> 00:31:30
			Inshallah ta'ala, I have my vision, I
		
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31
			have my inspirations.
		
00:31:32 --> 00:31:34
			Inshallah ta'ala, as long as Allah blesses
		
00:31:34 --> 00:31:37
			you with long life, I will continue serving
		
00:31:37 --> 00:31:39
			the people in need.
		
00:31:40 --> 00:31:42
			And I would love for this to be,
		
00:31:43 --> 00:31:45
			I would love for rise and leave, inshallah
		
00:31:45 --> 00:31:47
			ta'ala, to carry on for as long
		
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47
			as possible.
		
00:31:47 --> 00:31:49
			Even if today you can't, inshallah ta'ala.
		
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52
			So you said to serve the people in
		
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52
			need.
		
00:31:52 --> 00:31:54
			I mean, that's definitely one characteristic of the
		
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55
			leader is he's selfless.
		
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57
			I mean, and as a father, as a
		
00:31:57 --> 00:32:01
			husband, you come last when it comes to
		
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02
			serving the people in the household.
		
00:32:02 --> 00:32:04
			And that's, I mean, there's not complaint.
		
00:32:04 --> 00:32:06
			It's just, that's the nature of things.
		
00:32:06 --> 00:32:08
			If you're the father, you're the protector, you're
		
00:32:08 --> 00:32:12
			the provider, the ultimate initial protector and provider,
		
00:32:13 --> 00:32:16
			you shouldn't think about yourself first.
		
00:32:16 --> 00:32:19
			It's thinking about your wife, your children.
		
00:32:19 --> 00:32:21
			And that's what's so beautiful, even about when
		
00:32:21 --> 00:32:23
			they talk about in the verses of inheritance,
		
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24
			you know, you'll find some that say, okay,
		
00:32:25 --> 00:32:27
			you know, Allah says, يوسيق مولا في أولادكم
		
00:32:27 --> 00:32:30
			لذكر مثل حضر On the end, he says,
		
00:32:30 --> 00:32:33
			Allah, you know, reminds you or teaches you
		
00:32:33 --> 00:32:37
			about your children in regards to the dispensation
		
00:32:37 --> 00:32:43
			of the money, the waratah after an individual
		
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43
			dies.
		
00:32:43 --> 00:32:45
			He says, لذكر مثل حضر On the end,
		
00:32:46 --> 00:32:48
			for a male is the amount that is
		
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49
			equivalent to two females.
		
00:32:50 --> 00:32:52
			So you'll find some that say, okay, why
		
00:32:52 --> 00:32:54
			is the woman treated lesser than a man?
		
00:32:54 --> 00:32:56
			He's half of the man, et cetera.
		
00:32:57 --> 00:33:01
			Well, because in Islam, the structure always hopes
		
00:33:01 --> 00:33:03
			to establish and maintain a family to where
		
00:33:03 --> 00:33:06
			the man is the ultimate provider.
		
00:33:06 --> 00:33:08
			I mean, the woman can't make money, but
		
00:33:08 --> 00:33:10
			the man is the ultimate provider.
		
00:33:10 --> 00:33:12
			And the reality of that is that, that
		
00:33:12 --> 00:33:14
			one that the man takes is actually going
		
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15
			back to the sister.
		
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16
			That's the point I'm getting to.
		
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17
			So the money that he gets in one
		
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18
			pocket goes out the other.
		
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19
			Yes.
		
00:33:19 --> 00:33:22
			It's to support the two women that have
		
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23
			their amount as well.
		
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24
			Yes.
		
00:33:24 --> 00:33:26
			But that money that he has initially has
		
00:33:26 --> 00:33:28
			to go to them and support the households,
		
00:33:28 --> 00:33:30
			put the family, et cetera, because the father's
		
00:33:30 --> 00:33:30
			not there anymore.
		
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31
			Yes.
		
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31
			Yes.
		
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31
			Right.
		
00:33:31 --> 00:33:34
			So when you're saying you want, I mean,
		
00:33:34 --> 00:33:36
			that they can have or do what they
		
00:33:36 --> 00:33:39
			wish with the effort of rise relief, even
		
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40
			if it's something else.
		
00:33:41 --> 00:33:46
			What is your plan in showing them this
		
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47
			project?
		
00:33:47 --> 00:33:49
			Is it like, for instance, do you want
		
00:33:49 --> 00:33:52
			them to travel to Benin with you every
		
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53
			year, every summer?
		
00:33:53 --> 00:33:56
			How do you plan to show and exhibit
		
00:33:56 --> 00:33:58
			that level of leadership to them?
		
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00
			That is the plan.
		
00:34:00 --> 00:34:02
			The plan is for them, Inshallah Ta'ala,
		
00:34:03 --> 00:34:06
			once they have reached an age of understanding
		
00:34:06 --> 00:34:11
			where they can really remember the experience, is
		
00:34:11 --> 00:34:13
			to take them there and for them to
		
00:34:13 --> 00:34:15
			also see, first of all, where I grew
		
00:34:15 --> 00:34:20
			up and how what we have at our
		
00:34:20 --> 00:34:22
			disposal is not what the rest of the
		
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23
			world has.
		
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24
			Right.
		
00:34:24 --> 00:34:27
			And how water is something that we don't
		
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28
			think about.
		
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28
			Right.
		
00:34:28 --> 00:34:31
			I mean, who thinks about water when you're
		
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31
			thirsty?
		
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33
			When you're thirsty, you know that you can...
		
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34
			Go get something to drink.
		
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36
			You can get something to drink.
		
00:34:36 --> 00:34:38
			If you want a shower, you know that
		
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39
			you just have to take a few steps,
		
00:34:40 --> 00:34:43
			take a left, and that's it.
		
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44
			You're there, right?
		
00:34:44 --> 00:34:46
			Literally, just a few steps.
		
00:34:47 --> 00:34:53
			But in most part of Sub-Saharan Africa,
		
00:34:53 --> 00:34:56
			and I'm sure also Northern too, you have
		
00:34:56 --> 00:35:02
			young girls, preteens that are walking probably four
		
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03
			to five kilometers.
		
00:35:03 --> 00:35:05
			We're talking about two to three miles, maybe
		
00:35:05 --> 00:35:08
			a round trip to go fetch dirty water
		
00:35:09 --> 00:35:12
			in order to provide for their family.
		
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13
			And that's their sustenance.
		
00:35:13 --> 00:35:18
			So there's no better teacher than experiencing it
		
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19
			or seeing it.
		
00:35:19 --> 00:35:21
			I'm not saying we should be in a
		
00:35:21 --> 00:35:24
			situation where we should actually submerge ourselves, but
		
00:35:24 --> 00:35:26
			at least seeing it does something.
		
00:35:27 --> 00:35:29
			And just recently, we took a trip with
		
00:35:29 --> 00:35:31
			a couple of the board members, and this
		
00:35:31 --> 00:35:34
			was the first time also they've been to
		
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35
			Benin.
		
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37
			And you should see the expression on their
		
00:35:37 --> 00:35:40
			faces and the questions they were asking.
		
00:35:41 --> 00:35:43
			And some of them were in disbelief in
		
00:35:43 --> 00:35:46
			the realities of what's happening out there.
		
00:35:47 --> 00:35:49
			And on top of that, seeing people with
		
00:35:49 --> 00:35:53
			a smile on their face, that, they couldn't
		
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54
			believe it.
		
00:35:54 --> 00:35:56
			And what do we complain about here, right?
		
00:35:56 --> 00:35:59
			Many of us are out of touch with
		
00:35:59 --> 00:36:04
			giving back and understanding an environment that to
		
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05
			us seems unreal.
		
00:36:06 --> 00:36:09
			How do I, a young man, a young
		
00:36:09 --> 00:36:12
			woman or a person in this modern society
		
00:36:12 --> 00:36:17
			who's living in a first world country, feel
		
00:36:17 --> 00:36:19
			or put myself in a position where I
		
00:36:19 --> 00:36:22
			can now understand how they feel or start
		
00:36:22 --> 00:36:25
			to contribute to them in the same level
		
00:36:25 --> 00:36:27
			that someone who, for example, like you, who's
		
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28
			experienced all of that can?
		
00:36:29 --> 00:36:31
			Really, you have to immerse yourself in that
		
00:36:31 --> 00:36:31
			environment.
		
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33
			You have to be in that environment.
		
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35
			And if you have an opportunity to go,
		
00:36:36 --> 00:36:38
			it's a beautiful opportunity to take for sure
		
00:36:38 --> 00:36:42
			because you don't realize, to your point about
		
00:36:42 --> 00:36:46
			depression, you don't realize what that experience can
		
00:36:46 --> 00:36:48
			do to your mental state, right?
		
00:36:48 --> 00:36:51
			To your mental health, even your emotional health,
		
00:36:51 --> 00:36:51
			right?
		
00:36:51 --> 00:36:53
			Because everything ties together.
		
00:36:53 --> 00:36:55
			So I'll give you a small example.
		
00:36:57 --> 00:36:58
			So just recently, right?
		
00:36:58 --> 00:37:03
			On the trip, one of the, for me,
		
00:37:03 --> 00:37:04
			even though I grew up there and then
		
00:37:04 --> 00:37:07
			of course spent 10 years there, but it's
		
00:37:07 --> 00:37:11
			still a discomfort that access to public bathroom
		
00:37:11 --> 00:37:14
			is very limited there.
		
00:37:14 --> 00:37:16
			Very limited there, right?
		
00:37:16 --> 00:37:22
			So we planned our days around when we
		
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23
			- Public restrooms where you can take a
		
00:37:23 --> 00:37:23
			break.
		
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25
			Because it's not like here, right?
		
00:37:25 --> 00:37:27
			Again, you don't think about it here, right?
		
00:37:27 --> 00:37:30
			So all these different amenities that we take
		
00:37:30 --> 00:37:35
			for granted here, the best way to do
		
00:37:35 --> 00:37:39
			shukr for those amenities is to go a
		
00:37:39 --> 00:37:40
			period of time without it.
		
00:37:41 --> 00:37:43
			So you put yourself in those hard situations
		
00:37:44 --> 00:37:47
			which will give you gratitude, cause you to
		
00:37:47 --> 00:37:52
			be a person that has gratitude towards Allah
		
00:37:52 --> 00:37:53
			Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la.
		
00:37:53 --> 00:37:53
			Yes.
		
00:37:54 --> 00:37:56
			But then also a level of empathy, right?
		
00:37:56 --> 00:37:56
			100%.
		
00:37:56 --> 00:37:58
			So, and I think within the shariah, it
		
00:37:58 --> 00:38:00
			even has that with fasting and which, you
		
00:38:00 --> 00:38:01
			know, with zakat, when you look at those
		
00:38:01 --> 00:38:03
			that are less fortunate.
		
00:38:03 --> 00:38:05
			But when saying this, I would say, subhanAllah,
		
00:38:06 --> 00:38:08
			for just as father was able to go
		
00:38:08 --> 00:38:10
			recently, but hearing about it from his mother,
		
00:38:10 --> 00:38:13
			mashaAllah, my law preserver, is for these youth
		
00:38:13 --> 00:38:15
			to get involved in some of these non
		
00:38:15 --> 00:38:18
			-profit organizations, this work, you know, these non
		
00:38:18 --> 00:38:20
			-profit organizations that go out to different countries
		
00:38:20 --> 00:38:22
			and, you know, to go and see.
		
00:38:23 --> 00:38:25
			And even within their, with the money that
		
00:38:25 --> 00:38:27
			they have from a job, for example, when
		
00:38:27 --> 00:38:28
			they see it, you know, a fundraiser at
		
00:38:28 --> 00:38:30
			the masjid, there's something for that cause as
		
00:38:30 --> 00:38:31
			well.
		
00:38:31 --> 00:38:34
			Because when you do that, it expresses some
		
00:38:34 --> 00:38:35
			level of sympathy.
		
00:38:35 --> 00:38:36
			Yes, yes it does.
		
00:38:36 --> 00:38:38
			And empathy, either one if you will.
		
00:38:39 --> 00:38:41
			But nothing like seeing it, like you said.
		
00:38:41 --> 00:38:41
			A hundred percent.
		
00:38:42 --> 00:38:43
			And we don't have to even go that
		
00:38:43 --> 00:38:43
			far.
		
00:38:44 --> 00:38:45
			Just go to any downtown.
		
00:38:46 --> 00:38:47
			Yeah, yeah.
		
00:38:47 --> 00:38:48
			Go to any downtown cities, right?
		
00:38:48 --> 00:38:49
			True, yeah.
		
00:38:49 --> 00:38:50
			And just, okay, you know what?
		
00:38:50 --> 00:38:51
			Maybe I have a budget.
		
00:38:51 --> 00:38:52
			I'm gonna give $50.
		
00:38:53 --> 00:38:57
			Instead of giving $50 easily, meaning sending a
		
00:38:57 --> 00:38:59
			payment or, you know, giving to a masjid
		
00:38:59 --> 00:39:01
			or you actually want, actually give it to
		
00:39:01 --> 00:39:05
			someone in need and see, witness that experience.
		
00:39:05 --> 00:39:07
			And I do that with my daughter sometimes.
		
00:39:07 --> 00:39:09
			One of the times we were having, and
		
00:39:09 --> 00:39:10
			she loves bananas.
		
00:39:10 --> 00:39:12
			And we were just going, we happened to
		
00:39:12 --> 00:39:14
			see an elderly person.
		
00:39:14 --> 00:39:15
			I said, no, let's give her the banana.
		
00:39:16 --> 00:39:17
			Let's give her what we have, you know?
		
00:39:18 --> 00:39:20
			And the questions just kept coming up.
		
00:39:20 --> 00:39:21
			She said, why do we have to do
		
00:39:21 --> 00:39:21
			this?
		
00:39:21 --> 00:39:22
			Why do we have to do this?
		
00:39:22 --> 00:39:24
			She was asking very intelligent questions, but she
		
00:39:24 --> 00:39:28
			just didn't understand, what value does this have
		
00:39:28 --> 00:39:30
			to someone else?
		
00:39:30 --> 00:39:32
			So you don't have to go far.
		
00:39:32 --> 00:39:34
			You don't have to go overseas to experience
		
00:39:34 --> 00:39:36
			that, but you can start locally, right?
		
00:39:36 --> 00:39:38
			You can start locally and see the people
		
00:39:38 --> 00:39:39
			that are in need.
		
00:39:39 --> 00:39:41
			And whether if it's, you know, food or
		
00:39:41 --> 00:39:44
			whether if it's, you know, money or blankets,
		
00:39:44 --> 00:39:46
			especially in the winters, do something there.
		
00:39:47 --> 00:39:48
			And if, inshallah to Allah, if you have
		
00:39:48 --> 00:39:52
			the opportunity to actually go where majority of
		
00:39:52 --> 00:39:54
			the environment is in need, then that's also
		
00:39:54 --> 00:39:56
			will stimulate you differently as well.
		
00:39:56 --> 00:39:58
			Yeah, I think this will engender some good
		
00:39:58 --> 00:40:00
			qualities for the young man, particularly.
		
00:40:00 --> 00:40:01
			If he was to go there or his
		
00:40:01 --> 00:40:03
			mother was to let him go with these
		
00:40:03 --> 00:40:05
			organizations and to see this, it's an irreplaceable
		
00:40:05 --> 00:40:06
			experience.
		
00:40:06 --> 00:40:07
			I mean, you can't replace that.
		
00:40:07 --> 00:40:09
			I mean, especially if you've never been put
		
00:40:09 --> 00:40:10
			in that situation.
		
00:40:10 --> 00:40:11
			Yes, exactly.
		
00:40:11 --> 00:40:12
			And you just painted the picture.
		
00:40:12 --> 00:40:14
			You take a couple of steps and you
		
00:40:14 --> 00:40:17
			are drowning in about maybe five, 10 gallons
		
00:40:17 --> 00:40:19
			of water in five minutes.
		
00:40:20 --> 00:40:22
			And someone in a particular country would love
		
00:40:22 --> 00:40:24
			to just get one gallon of that in
		
00:40:24 --> 00:40:24
			clean water.
		
00:40:25 --> 00:40:26
			You know, so when you put that in
		
00:40:26 --> 00:40:29
			proper perspective, that can push you to do
		
00:40:29 --> 00:40:32
			something to give from yourself for yourself.
		
00:40:32 --> 00:40:32
			Yes.
		
00:40:32 --> 00:40:34
			And I think that's important.
		
00:40:34 --> 00:40:36
			And with that is a quality of, no
		
00:40:36 --> 00:40:37
			doubt about it, of a leader.
		
00:40:37 --> 00:40:39
			Because when that young man goes through that
		
00:40:39 --> 00:40:42
			once, twice, three times, and then he decides
		
00:40:42 --> 00:40:43
			to have a family, he will at least
		
00:40:43 --> 00:40:44
			have some stories to tell his children.
		
00:40:45 --> 00:40:46
			To be like, look, this is what I've
		
00:40:46 --> 00:40:47
			done.
		
00:40:47 --> 00:40:47
			This is what I've seen.
		
00:40:47 --> 00:40:48
			This is where I've been.
		
00:40:48 --> 00:40:50
			Which is very important for a young man
		
00:40:50 --> 00:40:53
			as well is to go through experiences and
		
00:40:53 --> 00:40:55
			to allow those experiences to mold you in
		
00:40:55 --> 00:41:01
			a way that establish or strengthen your gratitude,
		
00:41:02 --> 00:41:05
			establish or intensify your sympathy, your empathy.
		
00:41:06 --> 00:41:07
			And that goes with action.
		
00:41:08 --> 00:41:09
			And I think ultimately, that's one of the
		
00:41:09 --> 00:41:11
			things you can look at is when you
		
00:41:11 --> 00:41:15
			lead by example, not by kalam, right?
		
00:41:16 --> 00:41:18
			It's leading by example and not by just
		
00:41:18 --> 00:41:19
			with speech.
		
00:41:19 --> 00:41:22
			My dad always jokes around, but real men
		
00:41:22 --> 00:41:23
			are born from hardship.
		
00:41:24 --> 00:41:25
			Whenever he'd mess around, I'm like, let's say
		
00:41:25 --> 00:41:26
			it was something silly.
		
00:41:27 --> 00:41:28
			He'll say, oh, it's time to go back
		
00:41:28 --> 00:41:28
			home.
		
00:41:28 --> 00:41:30
			It's time to take you back to the
		
00:41:30 --> 00:41:30
			motherland.
		
00:41:31 --> 00:41:32
			The motherland.
		
00:41:32 --> 00:41:33
			He's right, he's right.
		
00:41:34 --> 00:41:35
			Actually, my parents used to threaten me on
		
00:41:35 --> 00:41:36
			that.
		
00:41:36 --> 00:41:36
			I'm telling you.
		
00:41:36 --> 00:41:39
			The moment they felt that, you know, we
		
00:41:39 --> 00:41:39
			were acting.
		
00:41:40 --> 00:41:40
			Yeah, exactly.
		
00:41:40 --> 00:41:41
			Hold on, there's an elephant in the room.
		
00:41:41 --> 00:41:43
			The Arabs, y'all say motherland too?
		
00:41:43 --> 00:41:45
			I mean, Baba will say something.
		
00:41:45 --> 00:41:46
			I mean, he'll say leblad, you know.
		
00:41:47 --> 00:41:47
			That's leblad.
		
00:41:48 --> 00:41:49
			Hey, just tell me motherland.
		
00:41:51 --> 00:41:53
			But we'll keep the blad, that's fine.
		
00:41:53 --> 00:41:54
			Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, we'll keep the blad.
		
00:41:54 --> 00:41:55
			We get the motherland.
		
00:41:56 --> 00:41:58
			No, no, but subhanAllah, seriously, that's literally how
		
00:41:58 --> 00:41:58
			it goes.
		
00:41:58 --> 00:41:59
			Because, I mean, it's true.
		
00:41:59 --> 00:42:01
			And you experience it for yourself.
		
00:42:01 --> 00:42:04
			And not to say that that's the only
		
00:42:04 --> 00:42:07
			factor, but the environment plays a huge role
		
00:42:07 --> 00:42:07
			in building someone.
		
00:42:09 --> 00:42:10
			And then the one last thing I wanted
		
00:42:10 --> 00:42:12
			to ask, because a lot of times people
		
00:42:12 --> 00:42:13
			or young men or women have a hard
		
00:42:13 --> 00:42:14
			time taking that first step.
		
00:42:15 --> 00:42:17
			Giving away from your own pocket.
		
00:42:17 --> 00:42:19
			Because, I mean, we work so hard, especially
		
00:42:19 --> 00:42:21
			in a world like this, where your money
		
00:42:21 --> 00:42:22
			is being taken from everywhere.
		
00:42:22 --> 00:42:24
			You've got, you know, money going here, money
		
00:42:24 --> 00:42:25
			going there.
		
00:42:25 --> 00:42:26
			Expenses are so high.
		
00:42:26 --> 00:42:27
			Inflation is so high.
		
00:42:27 --> 00:42:28
			It's so difficult for someone in these times
		
00:42:28 --> 00:42:31
			to make the decision to actively go out
		
00:42:31 --> 00:42:33
			and make that, even if it's five or
		
00:42:33 --> 00:42:34
			10 or 20 bucks.
		
00:42:34 --> 00:42:37
			Because relative, you know, 20 bucks to someone
		
00:42:37 --> 00:42:39
			that's, you know, young, that's, maybe that's their
		
00:42:39 --> 00:42:40
			lunch or something.
		
00:42:40 --> 00:42:41
			You know, subhanAllah.
		
00:42:41 --> 00:42:44
			So, I want your take, and I'm going
		
00:42:44 --> 00:42:45
			to kind of start it with this hadith
		
00:42:45 --> 00:42:47
			that my dad gave me, was, مَا نَقَصَ
		
00:42:47 --> 00:42:50
			مَالٌ مِّن صَدَقَةٍ And, you know, guys, oh,
		
00:42:50 --> 00:42:53
			Sunnah Salah Salaam said, no money, no wealth
		
00:42:53 --> 00:42:56
			is lost from charity or donation.
		
00:42:56 --> 00:42:59
			And that's given a lot of, I think,
		
00:42:59 --> 00:43:01
			I mean, Allah make me better and better,
		
00:43:01 --> 00:43:03
			but that allows me sometimes to say, I'm
		
00:43:03 --> 00:43:04
			not losing that.
		
00:43:04 --> 00:43:06
			If I can put money in S&P
		
00:43:06 --> 00:43:08
			500 and say, it'll grow in 50 years,
		
00:43:08 --> 00:43:10
			how can I not put money in Allah's
		
00:43:10 --> 00:43:12
			word and say that will grow in my
		
00:43:12 --> 00:43:13
			lifetime?
		
00:43:13 --> 00:43:13
			SubhanAllah.
		
00:43:13 --> 00:43:15
			First of all, let's define what wealth is,
		
00:43:15 --> 00:43:15
			right?
		
00:43:17 --> 00:43:20
			Personally, I don't think what is just monetary.
		
00:43:21 --> 00:43:23
			It's also in your health.
		
00:43:24 --> 00:43:25
			It's also the peace that you have at
		
00:43:25 --> 00:43:25
			home.
		
00:43:25 --> 00:43:28
			It's also how you feel, the mental state,
		
00:43:29 --> 00:43:29
			right?
		
00:43:29 --> 00:43:33
			So you don't know where that wealth is
		
00:43:33 --> 00:43:34
			coming from, right?
		
00:43:34 --> 00:43:37
			If anyone would pose the question, say you
		
00:43:37 --> 00:43:39
			lose your leg, how much would you give
		
00:43:39 --> 00:43:40
			for it?
		
00:43:41 --> 00:43:43
			What would be the answer?
		
00:43:43 --> 00:43:44
			It's priceless.
		
00:43:44 --> 00:43:45
			You get everything you have.
		
00:43:46 --> 00:43:49
			But in the moment, we feel that it
		
00:43:49 --> 00:43:51
			has a price, but it doesn't really have
		
00:43:51 --> 00:43:52
			a price, right?
		
00:43:52 --> 00:43:55
			So there's a different level of giving, obviously
		
00:43:55 --> 00:43:58
			for everyone, but you can give with your
		
00:43:58 --> 00:43:58
			time.
		
00:43:59 --> 00:44:02
			You can give with your service, right?
		
00:44:02 --> 00:44:05
			And generally speaking, when you're starting off some
		
00:44:05 --> 00:44:08
			type of non-profit or charitable work, it's
		
00:44:08 --> 00:44:11
			your time that's your most valuable asset.
		
00:44:12 --> 00:44:14
			And Sheikh Inshallah, of course, you can add
		
00:44:14 --> 00:44:17
			on to this, is that being of service
		
00:44:17 --> 00:44:21
			to others is probably one of the most
		
00:44:21 --> 00:44:23
			beloved act of worship, isn't it?
		
00:44:23 --> 00:44:24
			Oh, yes, Sheikh, of course.
		
00:44:24 --> 00:44:24
			Right?
		
00:44:25 --> 00:44:28
			So that servitude is where any one of
		
00:44:28 --> 00:44:31
			us can start, whether if it's spending a
		
00:44:31 --> 00:44:33
			couple of hours at the masjid, cleaning the
		
00:44:33 --> 00:44:37
			bathroom, or just helping out with the Sunday
		
00:44:37 --> 00:44:39
			school and working at the parking lot, just
		
00:44:39 --> 00:44:40
			doing something.
		
00:44:40 --> 00:44:46
			And maybe from that little action, it motivates
		
00:44:46 --> 00:44:46
			you to do more.
		
00:44:47 --> 00:44:48
			And you don't know where the wealth is
		
00:44:48 --> 00:44:49
			gonna come.
		
00:44:49 --> 00:44:51
			It could come in monetary, it could come
		
00:44:51 --> 00:44:52
			with inspiration.
		
00:44:52 --> 00:44:53
			It can be opportunity.
		
00:44:53 --> 00:44:54
			Exactly, opportunity.
		
00:44:55 --> 00:44:58
			So to answer your question, really, anyone can
		
00:44:58 --> 00:45:00
			start with something that can give back.
		
00:45:01 --> 00:45:05
			If money is an issue, then give your
		
00:45:05 --> 00:45:06
			time, give a little bit of your time,
		
00:45:07 --> 00:45:10
			whatever free time that you have, allocate that
		
00:45:10 --> 00:45:12
			towards something good that serves others.
		
00:45:13 --> 00:45:16
			And Inshallah, Allah will put the satisfaction in
		
00:45:16 --> 00:45:16
			you.
		
00:45:16 --> 00:45:18
			And that will motivate you to do more,
		
00:45:18 --> 00:45:19
			Inshallah.
		
00:45:19 --> 00:45:20
			Alhamdulillah, it was a great episode, man.
		
00:45:20 --> 00:45:23
			It was a great gathering, Inshallah.
		
00:45:23 --> 00:45:26
			And speaking about this of leading by example
		
00:45:26 --> 00:45:28
			and being a person of action and letting
		
00:45:28 --> 00:45:30
			that action push you to do things that
		
00:45:30 --> 00:45:32
			you never would have known that it would
		
00:45:32 --> 00:45:32
			have come in front of you.
		
00:45:32 --> 00:45:34
			As you've seen, it started with the Quran
		
00:45:34 --> 00:45:38
			school and moved on to this organization providing
		
00:45:38 --> 00:45:40
			wells, starting in Benin, but planning to go
		
00:45:40 --> 00:45:41
			all around the world, Inshallah.
		
00:45:42 --> 00:45:44
			May Allah SWT bless the project, Inshallah.
		
00:45:44 --> 00:45:45
			Rise, relief, Inshallah.
		
00:45:46 --> 00:45:49
			And may Allah SWT make you a person
		
00:45:49 --> 00:45:52
			of action, a person of risk, and a
		
00:45:52 --> 00:45:53
			person of gratitude.
		
00:45:54 --> 00:45:55
			BarakAllahu feekum.
		
00:45:55 --> 00:45:57
			Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.