In the Life of a Caseworker: Meet Sagal from NZF

A sit down interview with NZF’s most experienced community worker

“Oh Allah, help me find something in this field so that I can help my community,” Sagal prayed last year. “Oh Allah, I want to stay in this field and grow.”

For Sagal casework isn’t just about social services, it is a divine responsibility assigned to her by her Lord. She considers herself to be a tool of Allah when it comes to assessing individuals for distribution. Because of this, Sagal tries not to take cases too personally and works hard at all times to remain level-headed and sensible.

With five years of community work under her belt, Sagal has amassed tons of experience in social services and community relations. Before joining NZF, she worked in the field of healthcare for sometime, specifically dealing with community services, mental health, and addiction in low-income communities. Although she had previous education in the field of Information Technology, Sagal opted to pursue Social Services after she took a course about interpersonal studies and enjoyed it immensely. After her work in low-income communities, Sagal realized that there were so many resources that can be used to help the local Muslim community as well. She understood that it was time to take action and contribute to her people, as she stated during the interview, “I enjoyed pulling people in and providing resources that they needed. I knew that working in this sector was a great opportunity to connect my people to private services.”

In 2016, Sagal and her husband decided that they would switch their children from their current school to an Islamic school in Mississauga. Sagal, who was residing in Toronto at the time, was finding the hour long commute to drop her children off and pick them up, in addition to juggling two jobs very difficult. In the end, Sagal chose to leave her job for the sake of her children’s Islamic education.

This didn’t stop Sagal from praying for Allah’s guidance in finding a career that would fulfill her own aspirations and fit into her hectic schedule. She knew that Allah would rectify her affairs, but she never thought it would work out the way it did.

To use her time in a purposeful way, Sagal had started volunteering at Nisa Homes. When she found out that Nisa Homes was a project of NZF, her interest piqued and she decided to research more about what this foundation was about and if they were looking to hire anyone. She describes the life changing moment, saying, “I approached NZF inquiring about information regarding another position, but by the grace of Allah, NZF was in need of a caseworker.” This was exactly what she was looking for!

The Distribution Manager reviewed her resume, and shortly after, she was called for an interview. As soon as she received a job offer from NZF, there was no question about what she would do; she knew she had to take the offer up. Not only was the job flexible enough for her schedule, the position matched up perfectly with her education, experience, and career interests.

“Allah has answered my dua alhamdulillah.”

After dealing with cases and meeting clients, Sagal only felt more confident about her role in NZF. Despite the heavy emotional requirements of the job, she realized that casework was fulfilling her in ways her previous positions had never. Knowing that she was finally working for a Muslim organization with a good cause, she felt like she was on cloud nine. Describing this feeling, she said, ”I enjoy working for organizations with a good cause. [NZF], being a faith-based organization that distributes Zakat, is exactly that. There is no better feeling than working for such a place.”

However, there were times when she had to make difficult choices. Sometimes, there were inquirers who were in need, but they weren’t actually eligible for Zakat. Such cases would cause conflict between with her desire to help others and doing the right thing. With especially difficult cases, Sagal always resorts back to the principles of faith that she knows directed her to this point her life.

When I asked her what the cases have taught her, Sagal responded,

“Everyone of these cases shows me that we should be more grateful that Allah has protected us from this kind of life. These cases have rooted me back to two essential aspects of Islam, Iman (faith) and Zakat (obligatory annual charity). As Muslims, we should always reach out to Allah first and have faith that Allah will always provide, regardless of the means to address our needs.  And secondly, as a community we always need to be mindful of the importance and the need for Zakat, to strengthen our community and our ties with Allah. I urge and encourage both our recipients and donors to be mindful of how Iman and Zakat go hand-in-hand.”

Written by: Aisha H.