[Recap] Senior Eid Celebration Mushaira

MAS-SSF Al-Afia for Seniors hosted a lively and successful Mushaira (poetry) event for seniors that garnered 100 attendees on July 9th, 2023.

This event encouraged seniors to share their favorite poetry, joke, or story in their preferred language with the audience. The audience was also given the opportunity to win many prizes through a raffle wheel, by answering quiz questions, or by simply participating. This program’s focus was to engage our senior audience and to encourage as much participation as possible.

The venue for this event was the beautiful Town and Country event center in Rancho Cordova which included an extensive lunch menu.

The emcee, Br Mohammed Khader, started the program by inviting a young Hafiz e Quran for a beautiful Quran recitation. A warm welcome by MAS SSF president Br Tamer Ahmed followed this. Lead staff member Mirwais Saqeb shared a beneficial presentation on how our seniors can access services through different MAS SSF programs.

Sister Durriya Syed, from the California Department of Insurance, who is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, presented a brief overview of the stages of depression and the importance of recognizing and overcoming these challenges. The Mushaira part of the event was hosted by Br Naeem Syed, who brought lots of laughter and fun and energized the program by engaging the audience.

Al-Afia for Seniors is a wonderful and active program through which events are regularly organized with the goal of alleviating challenges that may come with aging; depression, anxiety, isolation, and feelings of helplessness.

Al-Afia team strives to bring beneficial and engaging programs to enhance the lives of the senior community with education and fun. In the past, Al-Afia has provided services such as COVID assistance during the COVID shutdown, online programs on Zoom to keep seniors active, Senior Day in-person events hosted at masajid around the Sacramento area, visits to local senior housing facilities, and much more.