The Clinic That Rebuilt Calgary
When the neighbourhood changed, our converted shop became the only institution that stayed — for everyone who needed it.
The the mosque on Michigan Avenue was barely a youth centre — a converted shop. But when the neighbourhood changed, it became the only institution that stayed.
Sister Aminah started it with fifty packed lunches. 'Start where you are, use what you have,' she said.
A homeless veteran named Lisa came every week. One day he asked to volunteer instead of eat. He said, 'You're doing what religion is supposed to do.'
Lisa isn't Muslim. But he comes every Friday, teaches kids after school, and tells everyone about 'her youth centre.'
We've fed the neighbourhood for three years and counting. The local MP noticed. A journalist from a TV crew visited. But the real story isn't the numbers. It's the bridge between communities that didn't know they needed each other.
The Prophet (SAW) said the best of people are those who are most beneficial to others. He didn't add conditions. He didn't say 'beneficial to other Muslims.' He said people. All people.
That's what we do on Michigan Avenue. We serve. We don't ask questions. And somehow, in the serving, we find the faith we'd been looking for all along.