IIET Renovation

Fund Raising for Renovation Project

21 years ago, the Islamic Institute of Education and Training (IIET) was officially inaugurated by Dr. Sulaiman Shamsaldeen, representative of the Islamic Development Bank of Jeddah and Mr. Cassam Uteem, President of the Republic of Mauritius.

Since then, the centre, which houses the secretariat of the Société Islamique des Mascareignes et de l’Océan Indien (SIMOI), also known as SIM, has been used for educational and training activities, workshops, conferences and other seminars, as well as for social events. It has hosted many famous Islamic personalities and this has in turn generated many ideas and projects within the Muslim community such as the Muslim Citizens Council, SOS Poverty and Quranic Arabic courses among many others.

Given its social inclination, the institute’s revenues have not made it possible to develop an adequate maintenance regime. This explains the somewhat deplorable state of the building and surroundings. Major defects have appeared. The building has lost its freshness and appeal. Today, the institute urgently requires a new lease of life. Our vision is to convert the IIET into an appealing, high standard, “integrated educational, social and recreational complex”. The centre will continue to host conferences, lectures, seminars, workshops, classes, social events and leisure activities but will also be an icon of Moka, with respect to its appearance and the services it delivers. Although the main user will be the Muslim community, the facilities and events proposed by the centre will be opened to the Mauritian community at large. Furthermore, the project will comprise as many fund generating activities and infrastructures as possible, in order to sustain the organisation, its social, educational and poverty alleviation actions as well as attend to the care and maintenance of the entire premises, including the salary of employees.

Project Proposal

The project will be implemented stage wise depending on availability of funds.

Stage 1

will concentrate on the restoration and upgrading of the existing IIET facilities to make it a pleasant place to attract people, either for courses or for workshops, for small receptions – weddings, engagements, family reunions – or other events, including residential activities. It is also about exploiting the facilities that the centre can offer in order to glean enough financial resources to operate, maintain and eventually develop it further. The estimated cost for stage 1 is Rs 3.75 m.

Stage 2

concerns new infrastructure which would guarantee sufficient income to meet employees’ salaries and ensure the regular maintenance of the institute. This includes the building and renting of a mini soccer pitch and the construction of an office block, which will be rented, on the existing classroom block which runs along the southern boundary of the premises. A small swimming pool to be used by our Islamic Kids Club and Muslim Ladies principally is also proposed. This may be coupled with indoor or outdoor gym facilities at a later stage. An esplanade will be further constructed on the tarmac area to optimize the usable space for major events. This is all the more viable as the IIET has now a very large car park due to the recent backfilling of part of the river gorge. As the available facilities would have by that time substantially increased, it is considered that the presence of a Watchman cum Caretaker would become highly desirable hence provision is being made to construct a Caretaker’s house and a guest house to accommodate our visitors from abroad on our premises. The estimated cost for stage 2 is Rs 5.2 m.

Stage 3

concerns the environment. It is intended that the IIET becomes a role model of environmentally friendly development for the region. SIM has always advocated sustainable development that maximizes the use of natural light and ventilation, rainwater harvesting, solar energy and recycling. This is particularly suited to Moka’s cool climate. In addition to the transformation of the existing building to meet ecological standards, the parking area and the surplus land adjacent to the building and up to the river will be transformed into an exemplary garden, which would respect the environment, exploit the topography, consolidate the newly built embankment and combine the beauty of flowers and the production of fruits and vegetables whilst harvesting natural resources such as rainwater, wind and sun. The estimated cost for stage 3 is Rs 3.05 m.

Stage 4

will consist of the construction over the esplanade of a large multipurpose/convention hall of 625 square metres that can accommodate more than 600 people. The hall will be used to host weddings, receptions, conferences, workshops and sports activities. This will allow the existing multi-purpose hall to be redeveloped to accommodate other classrooms, whilst an upper floor on the main block will accommodate prayer rooms, offices and other facilities for SIM. The estimated cost for stage 4 is Rs 12 m. The overall cost of the project including professional fees of Rs 1 m has been estimated at Rs 25 m.

Our Appeal

Dear brothers and sisters, we now turn to you in order to help us to materialise this project.
As you can see we have been striving to serve the community through our training courses and provide space for all, big and small, brothers and sisters. We had our Young Muslims and Young Muslimah. Now we have our Kids Club, Teens Club and Senior Citizens Association. We engage with others to tackle the scourges that harm society, such as materialism, excessive consumerism, drug abuse, gambling, extremism and its excesses. We care about the problems of poverty. We say no to injustice. We will continue to work wisely for the Islamic ethos to prevail and with the conviction that Allah is with those who have no other goal than to please Him and seek His forgiveness. We call on your generosity. If you agree with our project, help us. Add your stone to this building. Allah will reward you. « The best among mankind is the one that is most useful to mankind » Investing in our project is investing for the afterlife, it is investing to continue to harvest even after death – thawaab jaariyah May Allah grant us His mercy and guide us. Ameen

If you would like to help us,
please call on: (230) 433 6848
or email at: secretariat@simoi.org

For bank transfer:

Account Name	Bank Name	Bank Account No
Société Islamique des Mascareignes et de l’Océan Indien (SIMOI)	MCB	00022-0514399

 

List of person to contact for Donation: