Rohany Nayan
Dr. Rohany Nayan is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Muslims Green Team (CMGT). She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in Language Education (TESL) and a bachelor’s degree in English Education (ESL) from Indiana University-Bloomington. She is passionate about her work that focuses on minority and immigrant families and their children’s experiences in their adopted country and how the interwoven issues of culture, language and meaning-making act upon their identity and literacy development. She has taught, designed programs and trained teachers, community leaders and youth on topics related to education, culture, identity, English as a Second Language (ESL) and Islam at Indiana University in Bloomington, the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Internationally, she has also taught ESL at the Mara University of Technology in Malaysia and the King Saud University in Riyadh. Dr. Nayan has been a teacher, school principal, researcher, university lecturer, educational consultant and an assistant professor. Her current work as the CEO at CMGT focuses on nurturing and growing the vision of CMGT especially in empowering people through knowledge, raising awareness of ecological responsibility through education, encouraging sustainable community practice, and planting the seeds for a mindful, eco-friendly lifestyle based on Islamic guidance and practices.
The Plarn Project
Welcome to “The Plarn Project” by Rohany Nayan
In the name of Allah (The One God)
Ar-Rahmaan (Most Compassionate), Ar-Raheem (Most Merciful)
Enough already! STOP!!!
The “I’m not good enough” argument is really tiring to hear
No matter where and when it is really a sneer
Just take it to your clay vessel and drop it in there.
Remember, Allah gives us nothing that we cannot bear
Our problems are solved largely because of His care
So when I have worries, I lay them all bare
I take them to my clay vessel and drop them in there.
What is plarn project and why do I care?
Plarn (plastic yarn) - made from plastic bags as a noble fare
Crocheted into a sleeping mat gift for those in despair
Through plarning I grabbed each despair and wove it in there.
The plarn mat upcycles dirty trash into purposeful things of beauty
Saving plastic bags from landfills, comforting and neighbor friendly
Bad thoughts that impair which our neighbors painfully share
I take them over to the clay vessel and drop them in there.
Plarning is cleansing, reduces littering - a noble act of caring
A creative way of rethinking, reusing and upcycling
“Homelessness and plastic waste….” sighs a world in disrepair
I take the sighs over and weave them in there.
Regarding 9/11, how did I fare?
My 9/11 experiences - incredible and rare
Different form, different place, different kinds of painful affair
I take all the pain over and drop it in there.
In Malaysia, a school smart, yet not pretty enough
Poverty was scary, depressing and rough
A tsunami of feelings that still easily scare
I take all of them over and drop them in there.
In London, a Hijabi was judged on her body
Given glares and frowns by men; they were NOT really funny
Their glares gave such a scare that made my heart declare
Take all the insolent stares over and drop them in there.
Saudi Arabia in the 90s really gave me the heebie-jeebies
Just because of my facial features
You think I deserve your arrogant gestures?
I take those arrogant petulant gestures and drop them in there
Back to the US as a foreign student in the 80s
Those people were acting like a bunch of babies
Laughed at, yelled at, a water balloon moving target
Racists’ arrogance and cruel affair, I take all of them over and drop them in there.
Fast forward to two thousand and eight
Not allowed to board a train due to the engineer’s hate
9/11-like experiences wreak havoc and despair
Just scoop all of them and throw them in there.
Immigrants’ dilemmas are sure around aplenty
Like Catalano’s sculpture that’s called "I Viaggiatori" (ee viajator-ri)
Filled with voids, incomplete, straddling worlds, painful and rare
I gather the pains over and drop them in there.
“Not being good enough,” a label that’s so nasty
Your cruelty achieves nothing but shows that you’re ugly
Ignore the labels - don’t give them any care
Kick them hard over and throw them in there.
When I was leaving, Mak was transmitting:
“Always leave a place better than you found it.”
“Be smart and kind in your words, your thoughts and your deeds”
Words of wisdom to adhere, I hold them closely and very near.
Mak, your words and advice I heed as a creed.
The Plarn Project is a solution to my complaints indeed.
As I strive to succeed in Chicago I swear
I’ll summon your courage over and spread it everywhere.
The plarn mats symbolize my metamorphosis
Loud and clear in seeking justice
Each strand’s unique identity weaving thoughts and dreams into a beautiful reality
I embrace each mat and cherish it very gently.Instead of complaining, I believe in taking actions.
Learning, growing, and transformations
Rehumanize, not dehumanize, honor humanity and differences.
Attack the problem, not the people.
Lessons these precious, I keep them really regal.
Faith and self-knowledge say goodness and greatness lie in all of us
It is better to light a candle than darkness we curse
These inspirations are now embedded in me
I gather them all close and a part of me they will be.
O dear Lord! Make us among those who have more than enough.
The grateful when in blessing, patient in hardship and in constant remembrance of you at all times.
Ya Kareem (The Generous One),
Ya Samii’ (The All Hearing),
Ya Baari’ (The Evolver)
YOU are the Reliever of grief, the Remover of distress!
Truly, You are able to do ALL things.
Hear us O Lord!
Allahumma ameen (O Lord, hear this truth)