Jeewan Chanicka accepted Islam at the age of 11. His journey to Islam and continual learning has enabled him to understand its beauty and compassion for all peoples regardless of differences.
Jeewan was born in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in Calgary, Alberta and went on to live with his family in the beautiful Caribbean island of Trinidad. From there he journeyed on to Toronto, where he met his wife and worked with the youth in education and social services.
He graduated magna cum laude in the top 10 of his college, with his Bachelors Degree in Arts hon. in Individualized Studies at York University with a focus on conflict resolution and culturally appropriate forms of mediation. He completed his Bachelors degree in Education at the University of Toronto. His Masters Degree in Education from York University focused on the role of Islamic epistemology as a potential site for enriching public education.
His focus has been working with at-risk youth both in and out of the school system. He has done much work with both youth and adults, especially around parenting, teenage/youth issues and bridging the gap between generations.
While working as a teacher in the public school system, he lectured and ran workshops across North America on various issues of Islamic relevance: youth, domestic violence, family, self-esteem, conflict-resolution, and da`wah, among other issues. Jeewan has counseled both youth and adults in areas dealing with employment, housing, mental health, suicide, drugs, racism, physical and sexual abuse, immigration and integration issues, marriage, and family problems.
As a program counselor, Jeewan worked with at-risk students in high school and middle school, to develop new and healthy habits that would eventually lead them to academic success. His other passions include writing, art, poetry, public-speaking, enjoying the beauty of Allah’s creation in nature, traveling, climbing, swimming and hanging out with his friends.
Jeewan has had the benefit and opportunity to study and learn from numerous teachers including: Shk. Ahmad Kutty, Shk. Abdallah Idris Ali, Shk. Abdullah Hakim Quick and Imam Siraj Wahaj. He is the member of the Chapter Youth Department of Muslim Association of Canada – Toronto, a member of the Executive Committee of Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association and works actively with numerous other associations and groups.
Today Jeewan continues to work in the field of education in the International School environment in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He hopes to continue working in the field of education and hopefully be blessed to continue doing work with under-privileged and disadvantaged children around the world.