School programmes

At the tail end of my Form 4 year, something truly unbelievable happened. Our school organized an exclusive student exchange program, and we were handed the opportunity of a lifetime which is the chance to study at one of the most prestigious Islamic universities in the world, Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah!

But this wasn’t just an ordinary study abroad trip. Alongside our academic immersion, we were deeply blessed with the chance to perform our Umrah together.

The academic side of the trip was fascinating. We completely immersed ourselves in the rich Arab culture and learned how to actually communicate in Arabic right from the source. Being surrounded by the language and the locals was an entirely different experience than just reading from a textbook back home.

But beyond the language lessons, it was the spiritual journey that completely captured my heart.

As someone who had never stepped foot in the Holy Land before, carrying out our ibadah (worship) there was a feeling I can barely put into words. It was purely magical. There is a specific kind of peace that washes over you when you are there. Standing in Makkah, looking around, I realized how incredibly lucky I was.

Not many people can say they spent their high school years doing this. I got to open my mind to entirely new cultural perspectives, share the most profound, tear-jerking memories with my closest friends, and most importantly, I found a beautiful, quiet space to truly get closer to Allah.