Recently our team member Beenish Mahmood interviewed Zahida Rizvi from Sakeenah Homes.

Zahida Rizvi is the house manager at Sakeenah homes Brampton location. In her own words:
I am a Child and Youth care Counsellor and a former teacher. I have been in Canada for the past 20 years, came here as an immigrant from Pakistan along with my family. I live in Mississauga with my 3 boys and my husband. For my past time activity, I volunteer with The Region of Peel Family Literacy Program and enjoy telling stories to children and educating their parents in making them reading enthusiasts. During my studies at Humber college I did an internship at a pregnant teen group home and really found myself useful working in a group home setting and counselling women at a very basic feminine level, which brought me to Sakeenah Homes and I was inspired by the work of the people working here and making a difference in someones life day in and out.

Sakeenah Homes

Sakeenah Homes is a transitional home for Muslim women and children, we have 4 locations in Ontario, we provide shelter and a safe haven to Muslim women facing homelessness due to domestic abuse, intimate partner violence, financial crisis and unemployment or any other reason. We are a point of contact for Muslim women to be connected with the resources needed for them through the Government of Canada and Ontario to help women become independent and self sufficient.  Through casework, our residents are connected to the appropriate resources that will help them achieve their goals and get back on their feet.  We also provide remote casework for anyone who needs support but not necessarily shelter.  We also have a mental health program and we provide free counselling to all of our residents and any remote client who requests it. We are a registered charitable organization and solely run on donations and support from our donors.

Sakeenah homes has been operating for 2 years (since 2018) this organization became functional, we have helped over 5000 women and children with safe housing, free counselling and access to our services. Through our transitional shelters and remote case work, we have helped hundreds of women and children who would not have anywhere else to turn to. Please visit our website to donate/ volunteer and for more information at Sakeenah Homes.

Here is a video of the interview:

About the Interviewer:

Beenish Mahmood is a member of the contributors team for MuslimMoms.Ca. She is an Administrative professional with years of experience working with children with special needs. She also volunteers at Literacy South Halton tutoring adults with Down Syndrome and Learning Difficulties. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, travelling, and serving the community.