A Mother’s Dream
Saba Maroof is a busy mom of four and a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
“I want a bright future for each of my children. I want to see them thrive. I want them to wake up excited every day and get ready for school, just like millions of other American kids. I want their teachers and classmates to support and understand them. I want them to know that they can be anything they want to be,” Saba says. “I know that the dreams I have for my own children are reflective of the dreams that every mother has. And yet, I have seen the impact of Islamophobia, religious-based bullying, and ignorance in general on my family, community, and patients.”
Saba says this is why she and her husband have supported ISPU as donors since its inception.
“As a mother, I see how ISPU is changing the atmosphere my children are growing up in. As a professional, I use ISPU’s work to educate residents who are training in the field of psychiatry to help them think about the issues that might impact their patients of color and their patients who are religious minorities. I use ISPU’s work to increase cultural competence, so that these future specialists might be a little bit better equipped the next time they are treating a Muslim patient who has been admitted for psychiatric reasons.”