Esperanza Community Hub

"A Communal Hub where Education, Inspiration, and Hope are being Served Everyday"

Mission: A Communal Hub where Education, Inspiration, and Hope are being Served Everyday.

​Vision: To create a space where human beings and community matters.  It will be a space open to all who are seeking to be educated on various subjects.  A place where individuals will use their real-life experiences to inspire and mentor our youth and those in need of it.  A center where Esperanza (Hope) will be found, given, and nurtured.

Location: Esperanza Community Hub will serve as an integral communal hub for the city of Passaic, NJ and the surrounding areas.

Wesley (AbdurRazzaq Abu Sumayyah) Lebron who is the Founder of Esperanza Community Hub felt it was necessary to return back to his barrio (neighborhood) to focus and spend time giving back to the very place where he was born and raised after serving for the last 20 years in various communities across the U.S.  Many forget about where they come from, but it was important to Wesley to serve his community which ultimately aided him in finding his mission and purpose in life. 

We want Esperanza Community Hub to be a safe space where all who feel disconnected, confused, and frustrated with the trials they are facing in life to find a place filled and led by people who have been in their shoes, travelled the same path, and escaped the grips of depression, confusion, self-deceit, and the likes.  It is a place they can call home, where they will find friends who they will consider family thereby filling whatever voids currently exist in their life inshAllah (God willing).

​Activities: The following are activities that Esperanza Community Hub seeks to carry out:

1. Spanish Dawah / Classes - Esperanza Community Hub will be the 1st official Dawah space that does not function within a masjid, but functions at its own physical location in Northern Jersey which dedicates resources to Dawah and giving classes, specifically in the Spanish Language and generally in English. The citizens of Passaic are mostly of Hispanic descent.

2. Youth Programs - Youth nights where they can unwind and enjoy time together playing a game of dominoes, foosball, etc.  Poetry nights where they would demonstrate their talents of spoken work and/or to use it as a source of expression where they release their frustrations on topics that are important to them.  Youth counseling and mentorship.  And much more....

3. Interfaith Dialogue / Working Relationships for Good - Provide a judgement-free zone where people of different faiths can come together to discuss how they can work with one another for the benefit of their city and humanity in general. A place where joint projects can be planned and carried out.  

4. Educational Community Engagement - A place where people can learn how to address issues in their local communities, how to deal with crime in their neighborhoods, and how to keep their homes and families safe, thereby learning about fire prevention and safety, neighborhood watch, etc.  Provide ESL and citizenship classes, help immigrants fill out paperwork if they do not understand English, after school programming, and much more.

5. Islamic Education - Weekend program focused on middle and high school students where they come to learn their faith in a program that is not focused on rote learning, rather it will focus on action based learning and critical thinking. We will study text in a way that creates conscious human beings who utilize what they have learned to positively affect and impact society. 

Arabic language learning for Muslims and non Muslims.  Quran studies and memorization. 

6. Workshops / Group Counseling by Professionals and Advocates - Focused on marital and youth counseling, dealing with death, stress, racism, bullying, drugs, relationships, etc.

7. Empowerment of College Students & Young Men and Women in General - Provide a space where they can meet for their MSA's.   Provide leadership courses, mentorships, and space for programs that they create which contribute back the society.

​8. Classes that Develop a Healthy Mind, Heart, and Soul - Provide a gender based space for Zumba, yoga, and the likes.  

9. WiFi Enabled Space - A space where professionals can come and get work done in a peaceful, serene environment. 

In Conclusion, Esperanza Community Hub, is not a space, nor an organization that seeks to separate itself from the mainstream mosques, community centers, or educational centers; rather, we see Esperanza Community Hub as a space that COOPERATES, COLLABORATES, and WORKS WITH all of our local communities.  

We are not setting this space up as a competition of services, rather as supportive services for what's being done, cannot be done (for whatever reason), and what needs to be done.  We are seeking full support from the leaders in the Northern Jersey area specifically, and from Central and Southern Jersey in general.

Allah commanded us saying: "And hold on to the rope of Allah ALL OF YOU TOGETHER."   

ALL TOGETHER is the MOTTO of Esperanza Community Hub. 

​Founder: Esperanza Community Hub was founded by Wesley (AbdurRazzaq Abu Sumayyah) Lebron who was born and raised in Passaic, NJ.  He was raised by his parents and grandparents just a few blocks away from where the community hub will be established.  His grandparents migrated from Puerto Rico to this city when his father was young.  It was in this very neighborhood that Wesley learned about religion, culture, and family values. 

At the tender age of 10, his parents divorced, which affected him greatly as he loved both of his parents dearly. By the time Wesley was 13 he was drinking alcohol, dating, and selling drugs.  His life for the next 7 years was full of many challenges and trials.  At the age of 17, he dropped out of school, commenced working full-time and continued to sell Marijuana as he had done since the age of 14.  By the age of 20, he had two kids (a boy & a girl) and was feeling the strain and difficult responsibilities that his life choices had presented.  Lost in the trials of life, Wesley took to drinking and smoking Marijuana often, joining a gang, while seeking the meaning of life and his purpose here on earth. 

It was during this very trying year for him that he ran into someone who taught him about the religion of Islam.  After studying, questioning, and seeking answers in the Christian faith, Wesley decided months later that Islam was the solution and way of life that he had been seeking.  He embraced the faith of Islam and soon pulled away from the life of drugs, alcohol, and illicit relationships. 

He dedicated himself to learning and studying the faith while trying to be a man who lived a life of action.  "Action" was the very characteristic he wanted to be part of his life.  His favortite statement quickly became "Action is the fruit of knowledge."  He went on to get a BA in Islamic Studies while living a life that was action based.  Through this action based life, Wesley has been able to touch many lives by:

1. Leading as the President of the Latino Muslims of Chicago where he helped to lead the Latino Muslim Community in terms of education.

2. Leading as Vice President of Islamic D.O.O.R which focused on relief work in Rockford, IL thereby touching many lives by caring for the needy and destitute.

3. Being an educator for middle and high school in an Islamic School where he mentored his students thereby providing them with education, inspiration, and hope.

4. Lectured at various colleges for MSA programs thereby helping to guide our young men and women who are now discovering freedoms away from home which come with many challenges.

5. Being a National Speaker who sought to inspire the souls he came in contact with.

6. Co-Led a team of volunteers for Dawah during the World Cup in Brazil while also carrying out a successful relief mission in the slums of San Paolo, Brazil.

7. Co-Founded the 3 Puerto Rican Imams project which served thousands of families within 30+ municipalities with the basic necessities of life after the terrible after math of Hurricane Maria. 

9. Has been a 1st responder after the occurrence of natural disasters in Ecuador, Guatemala, and Puerto Rico, thereby taking immediate action in helping to restore normalcy to people's lives. 

10. And much more which can be seen on the following facebook pages: 

      @AbuSumayyahLebron, @Esperanzacommunityhub, @3PuertoRicanImams

Below are letters of Appreciation and proof of projects that  we have carried out:

Translation of the Letter of Appreciation:

3 Puerto Rican Imams of Puerto Rico

Greetings and Blessings from those who work in the Office of Community Affairs. The purpose of this message is to give you the most expressive thanks for your work and dedication in favor of our citizens who were affected by Hurricane Maria.

You came from far to visit our island and lent us a hand during an emergency. We sincerely wish you many blessings and health and we hope to greet you once again on another occasion in Puerto Rico.

May God Bless you always,

Sincerely
Joyce M. Negrón Vásquez

Administrator
Office of Community Affairs in the Senates Office of Puerto Rico