Updated 28 July 2008

As part of its Post Madressa Youth Development Programme, The World Federation's two annual summer short courses, Madinah al-Ilm and Bab al-Ilm, cater for the academic and spiritual needs of youths between the ages of 14-24 from across the world.

Since 2007, The World Federation has also initiated a student-helper scheme whereby suitable and qualified youths from around the world are recruited to accompany the students and assist in their Islamic development.

Based upon feedback from last year's helpers, The World Federation designed a three day intensive training course for the 9 student-helpers.

Day 1 provided the helpers with a history and context of the course, as well as seeking to define their roles and responsibilities in a structured and defined manner.

Sister Fatima Zahra Datoo of Leicester, UK, commented, "The information was really helpful and has made me prepare for the camp thoroughly. It was useful to define the responsibilities in depth so that there are no uncertainties. I feel much more motivated and I understand I need to prepare myself so that I can be of help to the students."

Sister Anisa Rajbhai of Birmingham, UK, commented, "The three days were organised brilliantly. There was a good selection of relevant topics and ample opportunity to ask questions."

Day 2 gave the helpers an insight into their preferred ways of working and interacting and helped build the team spirit amongst the 2 gender segregated groups of helpers. It also covered interview skills and covered the schedules in detail.

Mohamed Zamin Alidina of Stanmore, UK, stated, "This training helped to put us in the right frame of mind. It was excellent in building rapport amongst the brothers and gave us confidence and inspiration. I particularly enjoyed learning more about myself and how our preferences can impact on others."

Sister Fatema Khimji of Birmingham, UK, commented, "I found the approach to be very professional and learned a lot about myself. It also gave me a helpful set of skills. I found the role plays really useful as they helped us to tailor our reactions to situations."

Day 3 allowed the participants to use their knowledge in skills based activities including giving and receiving feedback, questioning skills and rapport building.

Kumail Shariff of Stanmore, UK, reflected, "I feel much better equipped to deal with situations. I feel confident that I can relate to the students and their needs."

The training was organised and led by Sheikh Abbas Ismail, with sessions also conducted by Kassam Jaffer and Dr Akber Mohamedali.

Sister Aliya Datoo of Stanmore, UK, summed up the training, "It was especially useful to go through the objectives and the MBTI activity. This has been an excellent training course for first time mentors, especially the realistic situations that we were presented with. Compared to last year I feel much better prepared. The three days were well designed to meet the needs of the helpers."

For more information, email islamiceducation@world-federation.org