2020 Achievements

2020 Milestones & Achievements in Serving Muslim Prisoners

The world may have slowed down this year due to the pandemic, but we at Tayba have not just continued our work, but set important milestones in 2020 as well!

Here are the most important highlights from the last 12 months:

Overall

  • Established a new office branch in San Bernardino in order to have a physical presence for re-entry assistance in one of the most critical areas of the US

  • Hired two new staff members: a teacher and a Life Skills Program Manager

  • Presented a Tayba Research Paper at the 5th Annual Black Muslim Psychology Conference

  • Secured over $120,000 for our head office purchase down payment

Islamic Education

  • Served 2,299 students in over 500 federal and state prisons across 42 states, despite the pandemic and lockdowns in many prisons

  • Published a new edition of Islam 99 based on feedback from students (it remains extremely popular, with over 1,500 textbooks shipped this year)

  • Launched FIQH100, a much-requested introduction to the science of fiqh that many of our students requested

  • Hired an education expert to review our curriculum to improve learning outcomes and experience

  • Upgraded our email system so that students in prison could have a direct line to teachers if they have questions about course material

Life Skills

  • Served 215 students (compared to 40 in 2019) with a variety of Life Skills courses

  • MAJOR MILESTONE: Publication of our very first in-house Tayba Life Skills course book, based on Motivational Interviewing, an approach that helps students bring about change in themselves and their communities

  • Expanded our reference library to facilitate Life Skills course development

  • Added 2 new Life Skills courses (Leadership & Financial Intelligence) in addition to our existing curriculum of 4 courses

  • Helped incarcerated Tayba students develop an Islamic 12-step addiction recovery program, which is in final stages of completion now

Re-Entry

  • Supported 15 Tayba students in their return to free society

  • Continued development of the Detroit halfway house in collaboration with DREAM

  • Trained & certified several staff members in offering counselling and mental health services

  • Established connections with key organizations throughout the US in order to quickly find the help for clients when and where they need it