Organised by Children of JannahOur mission has remained the same since we launched in 2011: To provide high quality, expert grief support services to families whose children have died or are dying. Help us to support even more bereaved parents for the next 10 years and beyond.
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Did you know that although the UK has one of the most advanced healthcare systems, we have one of the highest child mortality rates in Western Europe? That over 2000 babies a year die in the first 4 weeks of their life, that 3500 are stillborn? Or that 6,000 children and young people die in the UK each year?
Death has a huge, lasting and deeply profound effect on the parents and families of these children - we know that it leaves parents numb, shattered, heartbroken and reeling from the loss.
Parents' questions usually start with the practical:
What happens now? What should I tell my other children? What should I do about my child's funeral?
Questions then rapidly turn to the spiritual:
Why me? Did I do something wrong? Why did Allah allow this to happen to us? Could I have prevented it? Will it happen again? Will I ever find joy, peace and happiness? Is there really hope when I feel so lonely? Where is my child's soul?
Children of Jannah was founded in 2011 to help fill the void of bereavement support when a Muslim child dies. With the Children of Jannah Support Services, bereaved parents can feel the comfort of faith-based grief recovery support whenever they need it.
Our mission has remained the same since our launch: To provide high quality, expert grief support services to families whose children have died or are dying. Help us to support even more bereaved parents for the next 10 years and beyond.
Since we launched in 2011, we have supported hundreds of bereaved parents. Here we share the stories of two such parents who highlight the vital support we provide. Each parent has provided their consent to share their story and pictures.
Fauzia is a bereaved parent who has benefitted from Children of Jannah's Support Services. Her son, Saqib, tragically died in 2021.
These pictures are of Fauzia with her son, Saqib.
Please click the video to hear the impact Children of Jannah has had on Fauzia.
Jessica is a bereaved parent who has also benefitted from Children of Jannah's Support Services. Her daughter, Jasmine, tragically died in 2020.
These pictures are of Jasmine, Jessica's daughter.
Please click the video to hear the impact Children of Jannah has had on Jessica.
Shamaila is another bereaved parent who has benefitted from Children of Jannah's Support Services. Sadly, her daughter, Safoora, died in 2015.
Please click the video to hear the impact Children of Jannah has had on Shamaila.
Zakia is a bereaved parent who has benefitted from receiving Children of Jannah's Gift of Hope pack. Sadly, her daughter, Amelia, died in 2017.
Please click the video to hear the impact Children of Jannah has had on Zakia.
Saira experienced the devastation of a miscarriage in 2022. Miscarriage is such a hidden loss that many people suffer in silence and never get support. Thankfully, Saira reached out to Children of Jannah for support and shares her experience in the video below.
We aim to help bereaved parents and families cope, heal and find peace after the devastation of their child's death. Our Support Services are designed around three key pathways: Non-directive Support, Directive Support and On-Demand Support.
Non-directive support includes our one-to-one and group Specialist Support Sessions with a trained Children of Jannah Support Specialist. Normally between 6 and 12 sessions, each typically lasting up to 60 minutes, are booked by each bereaved parent with the focus on being present with them as they are, with minimal direction or specific instructions on how to cope with the grief. Instead they provide a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space for bereaved parents to share their story of loss and express their deepest thoughts, day-to-day struggles, challenges, feelings, triggers, fears and pain. Follow-up between sessions helps to create a round-the-clock channel of communication between the Support Specialist and bereaved parent, thereby reducing the feeling of isolation.
The idea of non-directive grief support is to help bereaved parents to explore their emotions, memories and experiences related to their loss. This process can help them to gain insight and clarity into their feelings and challenges and to find their own path to healing and recovery. Our non-directive one-to-one and group Specialist Support Sessions may involve talking, journaling or other creative activities that allow the bereaved parents to express themselves in a safe and supportive environment.
This non-directive approach is based on the understanding that everyone's grief experience is unique and that each person must find their own way to cope with their loss. By providing a safe and supportive space for bereaved parents to express themselves, our Specialist Support Sessions can help bereaved parents to navigate the grieving process in their own time and in their own way.
I didn't know what to expect from the Support Session, I didn't even know what I was going to say, I just saw the number and rang. For weeks I have been feeling lost and as if I am carrying the weight of the world, but I can truly say I feel lighter, my heart feels lighter and I now feel like I have somewhere I can turn when I need to talk.
Thank you for never making me feel like I should be 'over it'. Thank you for affirming all my messy feelings. I always feel welcome to book a session or send an email - no matter how much time has passed since the last session. Thank you for making me feel like you are always there for me. The journaling you encourage me to do has helped me find purpose in this pain. The Islamic reminders that only Children of Jannah give as a Muslim bereavement service are so important to stay on the straight path in this journey of grief. You are always in my prayers.
May Allah reward you all for your amazing work in supporting bereaved Muslim parents. There is nothing that can prepare a parent for this loss or take away the pain - life has become the unthinkable and unimaginable. But these calls give me such comfort that I can't wait for the next. I will laugh and cry and learn and won't want to put the phone down. Thank you Children of Jannah and all the team.
Children of Jannah Support Specialists are trained to listen actively, yet sympathetically to bereaved parents. Sessions relating to the death of a child are difficult, and some are very traumatic or resonant with Support Specialists, no matter how well trained they are. We provide peer-to-peer supervision sessions for our Support Specialists which highlights our commitment to help safeguard their wellbeing following the trauma of multiple sessions.
Directive support provides specific guidance and strategies for coping with grief and loss experienced by bereaved parents and includes our Sorrow To Serenity Coaching Programme and Life After Loss Bereavement Support Meetings. Through directive support, Children of Jannah Support Specialists take an active role in helping bereaved parents work through their grief, providing specific advice, direction or instructions on how to cope with their emotions, thoughts, feelings, triggers, fears, pain, struggles and challenges.
The idea is to help bereaved parents process their grief in a structured and focused way with the help of a Support Specialist and may involve the use of specific coping strategies or techniques, such as mindfulness, cognitive-behavioural therapy or solution-focused coaching. Support Specialists may also provide education about the grief process and offer guidance on practical issues such as dealing with burial matters and supporting siblings at school.
This approach is based on the understanding that some individuals may benefit from more structured support and guidance as they work through their grief. By providing specific strategies and tools, directive support can help bereaved parents to feel more empowered and in control of their grieving process and may also help them to make progress more quickly in their healing journey.
Directive support may involve more active guidance from a Support Specialist but it is still a collaborative and supportive process with bereaved parents. Their needs and feelings remain at the centre of the support with Support Specialists working to create a safe and non-judgmental space for them to express themselves and work through their grief.
All the sessions have resonated with me in a deeper way, but the Visualising Jannah one really hit me hard. Because I documented what I have been feeling since my loss, every word, every breath, every second. To be honest, I haven't reread it. It is probably 3 pages long, but I have not read it again once I was complete. The session of Visualising Jannah touched my heart, it dragged my feelings back to surface. It made me put what I have visioned into words. I've never said it loud until this session. I was always too scared, I never even told my husband about it. So the fact that I have spoken about it and everyone in the group understands me, makes me feel whole.
Loved to see so many bereaved parents together. It's good to be on a platform where others have similar situations like yourself and see how they are coping.
I am benefiting tremendously from the programme as I have had 6 years to process my grief. This is excellent what you are doing. I sincerely hope new bereaved parents take advantage of everything you are doing to get comfort faster and quicker.
I know people tell you all the time how much they appreciate you doing this, but I want to tell you that the work you do I recognise to be very exhausting. What I mean by that is I think about how exhausting it is to live what Im going through everyday. And what you do everyday is you continue to lift people up in there darkest times. If I can imagine it, its like all of the bereaved parents are constantly rolling down a hill with their tragedy and youre there to pick up back up and roll up back up the hill. Thanks for all you continue to do.
On-demand support refers to support resources that are available to bereaved parents at their convenience, allowing them to access materials whenever they need to, in their own time, place and schedule.
Oftentimes, bereaved parents are not ready or able to speak to or actively engage in being supported by a Support Specialist. Our on-demand support offers flexibility, comfort and convenience to bereaved parents and is provided through a variety of methods, including online video courses, books, ebooks, blog posts, support packs, online guides and fact sheets. Much of our on-demand support is accessible from a computer or mobile device.
The Children of Jannah Gift Of Hope Pack has helped me to come to terms with the loss of my son. It's exactly the comfort any grieving parent needs and, what's even better, it's backed up with the Qur'an & Hadith. Everyone deals differently with death and so the Pack can be opened as and when the time is right for you. The literature provided says everything family or friends want to say at times like these, and can be re-read whenever the need arises.
Journeying through the box helped me move on and accept that death is a part of life that we all must face at some point in our lives; it offered me the light of the Qur'an & Sunnah, and undoubtedly, I would recommend this to anyone who has suffered child loss. It has everything you need, and more mashAllah, and it is an initiative worthy of our support. [Gift of Hope Bereavement Support Pack Receiver]
A breath of fresh air. Exactly what I needed to allow me to move forward after my loss. [Parent's comment after reading Return To Him.]
Our mission has remained the same since we launched in 2011: To provide high quality, expert grief support services to families whose children have died or are dying. Help us to support even more bereaved parents for the next 10 years and beyond.
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Thank you very much.
May God bless you.
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