Dear Friend of Ihsan,

Assalamualaikum!

It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the news of our bereavement at Ihsan.

Sister Shabana Patel, a simple but determined servant of the communities of San Francisco, and most recently of the Sacramento area, passed in a car accident on Thursday July 18.

Inna lillah wainna ialihe rajioon .

In 2010, Sister Shabana started a school at the village of Rogbap in Sierra Leone, the place of my birth. It was Rogbap’s first school. Very quickly the school was filled with students from surrounding villages, most of whom would not have otherwise had an education. There was no school in their area. Other children transferred from better funded Mission schools that were located further away. Thus all six grades of her school became filled all at once. It cost her and her supporters $5000.00 to start this school.

A few years ago, she raised more funds to build a bigger school to accommodate the many village children who were drawn to the school.

This year, nine of her first African “children” took their university entrance exams. They are all orphans supported by Ihsan. They are now awaiting their results.

When I shared that news with her she wrote back saying

“They, in sha Allah, will become trees that shade others and serve others, while having deep roots in the ground like you Sir.”

Much was said about Sister Shabana at her Janaza in Sacramento, but little was known about the seeds of hope and change that she planted in Africa and continued to nurture with her love and selflessness over the years.

The news of her death was a great shock to the children and the communities she served in Sierra Leone, Janaza prayers were performed for her in nearly all regions of Sierra Leone by people she never met, and communities she never visited

I have so much more to say about this special woman.

My family and I were expecting Sister Shabana to visit us anytime last week, to bring donations she had collected for the establishment of a secondary school for her children. That visit was never meant to happen.

Her family and friends are, however, determined to continue her legacy and have just launched a crowd funding campaign to support her dream.


On behalf of the Ihsan team, I move to name the prospective school “The Ihsan Shabana Academy (ISSA)”

We ask you to join us, her family and friends in asking Allah to forgive her sins, accept her work, and grant her the highest place in Jannah .

She left behind a husband and three young children. Thirteen-year old Issa, her oldest child, led her Janaza prayer. Let us pray for Allah to grant them Sabr as they cope with this unexpected loss.

Allahu Yarhamhuha

Ahmed Bangura
Chair, Ihsan Foundation for West Africa