Inspiring our Children to Dream BIG



When was the last time we told our children they can accomplish anything they want in the world, no matter how big it seems or how impossible it may be?

 

Do you think that a six year old could raise enough money to build a well inAfricaand 12 years later continue to fundraise until he has built 500 hundred water projects in 16 countries, bringing water and improved sanitation to over 620,000 people?

 

Well this six year old really exists – his name is Ryan Hreljac and he has his own international non profit organization called the “Ryan’s Well Foundation”.  Over 12 years ago, after his grade one teacher told him there are children dying inAfricabecause they don’t have clean water, he went home to his parents and demanded that he do something about it.  I heard his mother, Susan Hrejlac, recently share her experience at an event, and she relates that they did not take him seriously until one night at the dinner table, Ryan looked her and his dad straight in the eye, pointed his finger at them, and strongly asserted: “You don’t understand.  ٍSomeone has died right now because they don’t have clean water.  And it’s our fault”.

 

At that point, his parents gave him the opportunity to fundraise for a well and it took him four months to raise $70.  He did not give up then – with his parent’s support, he enlisted the support of the community and soon enough he raised enough money to build a well in Africa and has been building wells ever since.

 

My question is why don’t we have Mohammads and Aishas like this as well?  Why don’t we inspire our children to dream big and believe in the power of what one passionate and sincere person can do?

 

The Prophet peace be upon him is the best example of this as he gave some of the youth amongst his companions positions of great responsibility and leadership.  Ali ibn Abi Talib and Osama ibn Zaid are only a couple of examples of great sahaba that had great accomplishments in their youth.

 

How is it that we can inspire our children to dream big? Here are a few tips:

 

1) We must raise them on the teachings of Islam which emphasize the importance of bringing good to this world and aiming for excellence (ihsan) in all we do in the hope that we gain Allah’s pleasure.

 

2) We should teach them about our history and the great accomplishments that Muslims had in the golden ages so they are proud of their roots and of their identity.  We should read to them the stories of the sahaba when they are young and encourage them to continue to read as they grow older.

 

3) We should increase their confidence by taking them seriously, especially as children, and allowing them to express their views and have input on family matters – even as small as what they would like to eat, or where they would like to go on the weekend.  And when they are youth, we should continue to listen to them, and encourage them to take positions of leadership in our community.

 

4) We should believe in them and help them believe in themselves by consistently encouraging and mentoring them.

 

5) We should be role models ourselves, demonstrating our abilities to dream big and to actualize our dreams and we should encourage them to support us so they can learn from our experiences.  We should also expose them to other positive and influential role models and surround them with positive people and companionship.

 

6) A wonderful idea recently mentioned by Shaykh Mohammad Yaffa, who was visiting fromHalifax, is to encourage them to save a small amount each month for their big dream or project idea that they want to accomplish in 10 years, whether it be to build a school, an orphanage, or to sponsor a scholarship program that educates Muslim scholars.

 

7) We should continue to make duaa for them that Allah gives them success both in this world and in the hereafter.

 

We cannot afford to wait for another generation to start dreaming big and accomplishing great things.  This must be that generation.  As Al-Hasan Al-Basri says beautifully: “The dreams of yesterday are the realities of today and the dreams of today will be the realities of tomorrow”.

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