Meet the woman behind the Muslim school project

A soon-to-be vacant call center in a West Henrietta industrial park will soon have a new purpose.

Al Wadood Academy will seek permission from the City Council next month to open a K-12 college preparatory school at 250 Thruway Park Drive.

The location, inside the Erie Business Park, is allegorical of the school’s visionary approach to life lessons: What’s around you is not as important as what’s inside you .

What is Al Wadood Academy?

Mimi Enadeghe, founder, CEO and president of Al Wadood, said there is a great need – and call – for moral and Islamic-centered education.

“Our community has been – for lack of a better term – forced to do a lot of damage control by doing our best to give appropriate guidance to our children in order to be a great asset to the community and the public. ” she says.

The non-Muslim community often views Islam from a “disconnected and uninformed perspective,” Enadeghe said. “We come with peace and tranquility.”

Having emigrated from Nigeria in the 1990s, Enadeghe’s path took her from California to Rochester about a decade ago. The single mother of three said she faced considerable challenges, including a period of homelessness.

“It’s definitely been a journey,” Enadeghe said of starting a school from scratch. “From someone who went from homelessness with my 2 year old, relying on God and only God Himself, I am a walking testimony that you must live in a way that pleases God. “

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New school set to open in Henrietta NY

The school will be the first of its kind. Scheduled to open in September if all permits and approvals are obtained, Al Wadood would be the only school for Muslims in the Rochester area that would serve students from kindergarten through high school.
With around 25,000 Muslims in the area, Enadeghe believes his school is able to fill a gap in the public education system.
More than 150 students are already on the school’s waitlist and Enadeghe expects this list of initial applicants to grow beyond the 210 Al Wadood students who will begin classes in the fall .
“Students do not have to be Muslim; we are open to all who seek a morally grounded education.