Emmanuel College Receives Second Major Gift for Muslim Student Scholar

^{Sajjad Ebrahim, CEO of Lark Investments, has made a $100,000 gift to establish the Sajjad Ebrahim Awards of Excellence in Emmanuel College’s Master of Psychospiritual Studies program, Muslim focus. (Photo by Neil Gaikwad)}

By Leslie Shepherd

When Sajjad Ebrahim was talking to Emmanuel College about new ways he could support its students, one opportunity stood out. The college’s Master of Psychospiritual Studies program, with its focus on counselling, chaplaincy and spiritual care, trains graduates for roles urgently needed in the community.

Ebrahim, CEO of Lark Investments, responded with a $100,000 gift to establish the Sajjad Ebrahim Awards of Excellence. The new scholarships will provide financial support to Muslim students in the MPS program, Muslim focus.

“The psychospiritual approach is quite unique,” Ebrahim said. “It prepares graduates to counsel the faith-based community in a much better manner.”

Ebrahim has a long history with Emmanuel College. He donated the area for the ablutions in the college’s Muslim prayer room, which opened in 2012 through a collaboration between Emmanuel and members of Toronto’s Muslim community. Emmanuel’s Acting Principal Pamela McCarroll says students say the quality of the ablutions facilities, as well as the Muslim prayer room, make them feel a deep sense of belonging and welcome at the college.

Ebrahim was also involved in the Canadian Dawn Foundation’s earlier contribution that helped establish the Muslim focus of what is now the Master of Psychospiritual Studies program. That program includes an option for a Certificate in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy, recognized by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario.

^{Photo by Neil Gaikwad.}

Graduates go on to work in counselling, psychotherapy, chaplaincy and spiritual care, fields that combine professional training with a deep understanding of spiritual well-being.

Ebrahim said he also wanted to help students with financial need to pursue these studies.

“We want people who cannot afford tuition not to be deprived of these opportunities,” he said. “The program also gives students an opportunity for employment very quickly and we need them in the community.”

Ebrahim’s latest gift follows a $100,000 donation from the Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat of Toronto last year, led by his fellow Jaffari Community Centre member and chair, Rizwan Khalfan Vic 9T5. Khalfan also serves on Victoria University’s campaign cabinet. Both donations were established as expendable awards, meaning the funds are distributed over a set period rather than held in perpetuity as an endowment.

“These generous awards of excellence respond to a deep need for financial support geared toward Muslim students,” McCarroll said. “They enable students to have more time to focus on their studies and to complete their degree programs sooner so that they can move into their professions of providing care and counselling to those in need.”