Bismillah…

I want to share something really personal with you all.

Last year, my daughter, Cherry Ann, cried to me… and she cried because she wanted to become Muslim. As a mother, that stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t something I expected, but it was something I couldn’t ignore.

So I did what any mother would do — I started exploring Islam with her.

And what started as me supporting my daughter… slowly opened my own heart.

The more I learned, the more I understood. The more I understood, the more I felt peace. And this month… Alhamdulillah… I took my Shahada.

I became Muslim.

SubhanAllah, I never imagined this would be my journey. But Allah guides who He wills.

Recently, as many of you know, our family travelled to Jamaica to do hurricane relief. And that was only possible because of all of you — your donations, your shares, your love, your support from all around the world.

While we were there, we visited a masjid in Spanish Town. It took us 45 minutes to an hour to get there. And although it was beautiful to pray there… it really touched my heart that some families have to travel that far just to attend the masjid.

Our original plan for the last eight years has been to migrate to Jamaica this June. We’ve been preparing for this for so long. We built a chicken coop in our garden with the intention of farming when we moved.

But since taking my Shahada… my intentions have shifted.

I thought — if we’re going to farm, it has to be halal. It has to serve Allah. It has to serve the community.

And then something bigger was placed on my heart.

Why should anyone have to travel 45 minutes to an hour just to pray? Why shouldn’t there be a masjid closer to the community?

So with that said… we want to build a masjid in Jamaica.

A small, humble masjid. Nothing extravagant. Just a place for salah. A place for children to learn. A place for community. A place where no one feels far from Allah.

Behind it, we want to build a halal chicken farm — one that supports the masjid with water, food, and sustainability for the community. A project that feeds people physically and spiritually.

We have been speaking with the organisation 876 Muslims, who have kindly said they will help guide us on this journey. They also have a masjid in Negril, which is three and a half hours away from where we would be based.

And we also have the support of Solomon from Masjid Noor in Barking — someone strong in the community who is willing to back this project and help make it a reality.

But we cannot do this alone.

Cherry’s journey started with tears. It led to my Shahada. It led to hurricane relief. And now… it’s leading to building a house of Allah.

With your help, we can build something that benefits generations. Imagine the sadaqah jariyah. Imagine every prayer made there. Every child who learns to recite Qur’an. Every family that finds community.

We can do this together, Inshallah.

If you have supported us before — thank you. If you have followed our journey — thank you. If you make du’a for us thank you.

And if you would like to be part of building this masjid and halal farm project in Jamaica… join us.

Let’s build something bigger than ourselves.

May Allah put barakah in this intention and make it sincere. Ameen.