Kids building roads and towers with the buildings blocks

Dina Rashed, IOL Chicago Correspondent

CHICAGO, September 4 (IslamOnline.net) - When steering committee members gather to discuss how to organize about 30 thousand participants coming from all over North American to a four-day convention, they may not spend enough time on how to care for the younger participants, and in many cases child care programs remain to be overlooked.

This was not the case in this year’s four-day 40th annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which kicked off Friday, August 29.

This year, the convention’s child care arrangement has been a success by itself.

From as young as six month up to 12 years of age, many participants including speakers and organizers have left their loved ones very well cared for and attended to within the two sections of the Children’s Program.

"We have all sorts of kids in program," said Imam Haj Ibrahim, of Umar Mosque of Umar, Inc, and Chairman of the Children’s Program.

"Kids who want to stay away from the parents as long as possible and kids who do not want to separate from their parents," added Ibrahim, also member of the convention’s steering committee.

The program was divided into two sections classifying children according to their age.

One room offered preschool care, where infants as young as six months till the age of six years were placed under the supervision of Salma Habib, a professional care giver.

While the other section accommodated children from six till twelve years of age, which was under the supervision of Hajja LaEla A. Atig, of Umar Mosque.

In Habib’s room, with well over 20 kids; some children were occupied watching videos, some regrouped with one of the Habib’s aides to build roads and towers with the buildings blocks, while others seemed to engage in simple crafty projects.

The program was run for about 12 hours from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m. and was only interrupted during the meal hours, as parents were asked to pick up their kids for lunch and dinner.

Challenging

Older children engaged in simple crafty projects

Because a number of families who joined the program were traveling from several U.S. states and even Canada, the task to entertain their kids was even more challenging.

"Some of the kids are tired because of the long trips that the family has traveled and also the convention’s schedule interferes with their nap and meal times, so they tend to be a bit cranky," said Habib, who has been running her own preschool for 10 years in Mount Prospect, a North West suburb of Chicago.

But the challenges do not entail only caring for the children, but just as much caring for the parents.

"Some mothers were feeling uncomfortable leaving their kids at the beginning and they would come into the rooms several times to check on the children," said Habib, "especially the non-working moms who are not used to leaving with kids with others, but as they find them having good time, they gradually start to relax and enjoy the sessions."

Several years ago, Habib was asked to help with the convention through a relative, who was working with its organization, and since 2001 she was asked to supervise the younger section of the child care program because of her professional experience in the field.

"I find our job more difficult than other committees, because other committees handle adults. We have to handle adults and kids, and kids are harder to deal with," said Habib.

Parents Satisfied

Parents’ rating of this year’s child care arrangement has been higher than in previous years.

One parent expressed great satisfaction with the level of organization and security that the program has been handled with.

"It was a wonderful experience; I found them to be very reliable and professional, they took great responsibility and great care of all the children," said M. Mohamad of New York, a mother of a seven-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl who signed both into the program for three days of the convention.

In Atig’s room, where the older children got to do more arts and crafts projects, a free Islamic studies class was being offered every day.

"We practice Islam; we make Salat, we teach them how to make Wudu`. We simply try to reiterate what the parents at home are telling them," Said Atig.

Many children enjoyed the songs in praise of Allah and Prophet Muhammad that she was teaching them.

"My kids did not want me to pick them up," said Bina Raheem, a Chicago local who signed in her three children, "they were having great time."

Teaching Islam for beginners at the South Side of Chicago since 1973, Atig has been part of the ISNA’s Children Program whenever the convention was being held in the city.