JEDDAH: A clear vision is essential for the success of a public awareness campaign, said Necva Ozgur, founding director of Muslim Educators’ Resource, Information and Training Center (Merit), at a workshop at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday.
The clarity of Ozgur’s personal goals led her to found the New Horizon School in Pasadena, California, in 1993. “From the very beginning I had a very clear vision,” said Ozgur in an interview with Arab News. “I wanted to have a top-notch American school that taught Islam. Keeping that balance wasn’t easy.”
Ozgur moved with her husband from Istanbul, Turkey, where she was born and brought up, to the US. He wanted to get his green card and she thought they would be there for a short time. As their stay became longer, she started thinking, “What am I going to do with my life?”
“Set SMART goals for your public awareness campaign,” explained Ozgur to a small audience of women attending the workshop. “SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable and tangible.”
After settling in America, Ozgur volunteered at the Islamic Center in Southern California and became a board member. Muslims were concerned about maintaining their religion, culture and values. “The Islamic center made a commitment to open a school. They assigned me to it even though I had no knowledge or experience,” she said.
Ozgur started educating herself and earned a master’s in leadership and education. She played an important role in establishing the New Horizon School in 1993 and she felt she had found her passion. The school was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the California Association of Independent Schools. The school offered the children of the Muslim community in America a high-quality education. In addition to Islamic studies, Qur’an and Arabic were taught every day.
“It was the first and only Islamic school to earn the Blue Ribbon recognition from the Department of Education,” said Ozgur.
Many people turned to Ozgur for advice and assistance due to the success of her school. She left the school in 2005 and opened her nonprofit Islamic organization Merit: Muslim Educators’ Resource, Information and Training Center (www.meritcenter.org). The center promotes excellence in American Muslim schools and empowers Muslim educational leaders.
“Now what I do is to go to any Islamic school in the US that needs help and work with them in areas of weaknesses,” said Ozgur.
From her experience, Ozgur learned that the board of directors is usually the weakest link in schools. She said that schools usually bring the highest levels of intellectuals, businesspeople or doctors and give them the power to run the school.
“However, they have no clue about school realities. Knowing the dynamics of being a board of trustees member, I wanted them to understand, without making them feel bad, that we have certain expectations from board members and then I start training them,” said Ozgur.
When asked about 9/11, Ozgur said that at the time the most heartwarming experience was the response she got from the people around her. “My phone was full of messages and people were calling from different organizations asking how they could help,” she said. “There was a point at which they formed a human chain around the school just to protect us.”
Ozgur said that she and her team had established relationships with people, giving without expecting anything in return. “And finally it was time for them to show their feelings,” said Ozgur.
She also said that 9/11 encouraged people to ask questions about Islam, wanting to know more.
Being a successful Muslim woman, Ozgur said women must be empowered and they must learn how to trust themselves.
“Women are raised to please the husband and the children,” said Ozgur. “Years ago I learned that if you stay in your comfort zone, you won’t grow. You need to push yourself even if it’s not easy. You learn to cope with the challenge and it will get easier.”
As for the reasons why she visited Saudi Arabia, Ozgur said she received an invitation from the US State Department to conduct public awareness campaign workshops in Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah.
