A global effort that grew from a viral Instagram series in Lubbock began with the phrase, “I just bought this elementary school, and that’s kind of crazy.”
This phrase became the intro to a six-part series where Mohamad Altabaa, a third-year Texas Tech medical student, shows the transformation of a former Lubbock elementary school into a community center and masjid (mosque) open to everyone.
In just over a month, the student-led effort to build The Unity Center, 701 E. Queens St., completed this weekend. Here’s what to know about the space, inspiration, and what it means to the people involved.
How did The Unity Center Lubbock begin?
Altabaa bought the former elementary school, which closed in 2011, in January with the goal of having it renovated and ready by Feb. 17, the start of Ramadan. That gave Altabaa 45 days to transform the abandoned building.
“The school and gym, they were abandoned and not in the best condition when we bought it,” Altabaa said. “But we bought it because we saw the vision with it, and we saw how much stuff we could do with it for the future.”
In the series, which received more than 91,000 likes on one part on Instagram, Altabaa shows the journey. Featuring volunteers, local organizations, and plenty of humor, the series and support went far beyond Lubbock. Donations and volunteers started pouring in.
The Unity Center put out a call for artwork, receiving more than 30 pieces from around the world.
“Yesterday, I opened up a piece of artwork, and it was from a little girl in London,” Altabaa said. “I love the space. But the cooler thing – the really nice thing about this place isn’t necessarily the place – it’s the people, what it’s been able to do in bringing so many people together. It’s become this really cool community project, but also a worldwide project.”
The local community in Lubbock has helped as well, including a hotel donating the use of 20 rooms for The Unity Center’s volunteer event over Valentine’s weekend. More than 150 volunteers, some flying in internationally, traveled to Lubbock to help put the final touches on the Unity Center on Feb. 14 and 15.
“One thing that’s been really interesting is that, as we’re looking for contractors to help us, a lot of them are coming in and saying ‘oh, I used to go to the school,’” said Saad Habbal, a Texas Tech medical student and volunteer. “They have a lot memories with it. Then seeing the project that we’re trying to put in place, it’s getting people from outside the Lubbock Muslim community to open up to us. They’re making an effort because they see what this project is shaping up to be.”
What is The Unity Center Lubbock?
The Unity Center is for everyone, no matter their faith or background, according to organizers. It was built with community in mind.
“It’s just been beautiful, watching this turn into a community center that hopefully our kids and our grandkids will get to enjoy,” said Sewar Ali, a Texas Tech alumna and volunteer. “We want not only our kids, but all the kids and everyone in the neighborhood, to have somewhere safe to go. That’s why this is so important to me. It gives them something safe to do, somewhere safe to be, and if they need someone to talk to, they can walk into a place full of others who have gone through the same thing that they’ve been through. I think that’s what it means for me, is a sense of community that I really didn’t have growing up.”
The center itself was built by Texas Tech students with that goal in mind. The group asked fellow students what they wanted in a community center and created a wish list, which included giant Jenga, Catan, gaming consoles, ping pong tables and a water bottle refill station. A soccer field, using the former turf from Texas Tech Football’s practice field, will be built.
“Our goal has really been to show people that we are one,” Habbal said. “Our goal is for all of us to benefit, for all of us to have a good time and coexist happily. This center is for everybody and it’s for the benefit of everybody.”
Altabaa was also particularly excited for the soft-serve ice cream machine.
“We want people to have a good experience,” Altabaa said. “We went and bought an industrial soft-serve ice cream machine, and you might be asking why. There’s multiple reasons, but imagine just having ice cream every day. We doing that because we really want to focus on the experience.”
The center also fills a need for Lubbock’s Muslim community by offering a gathering space for events, according to Habbal and Aditee Zinzuwadia.
“It’s been a really big relief for us to find such a nice, inviting space to invite people to come to for our events,” said Zinzuwadia, vice president of the Muslim Student Association at Texas Tech University. “This is a great place to host events, especially since we love to invite other organizations and people to our events. I would love for my kids to be able to see this place and see the work that me and my friends have put into it.”
Along with being a community center to all, The Unity Center will host speakers on the weekends and have meals to break fast during Ramadan. The four encouraged people to visit, no matter their faith.
“I want to extend an invitation to everybody to come meet us,” Ali said. “Whether you’re Muslim or not, this is for everyone. If you see us out there having fun, come by. It’s just somewhere that we want us all to be a Lubbock community, together. Our kids love other kids. The boys love playing soccer with others. It’s just a really good community, and I would love for everyone to get to meet us as a Muslim community.”
Altabaa and Habbal also encouraged people to come join their soccer games and the facility.
“It, for me, is special because the people here in the community are different, it actually feels like a community, like you have a home,” Altabaa said. “I think the ability of this space can bring out this trait even further.”
The Unity Center currently has an Instagram account that people can follow for information on events.
Alana Edgin writes about business for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Got a news tip? Contact her via email at aedgin@lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech student bought abandoned school to create The Unity Center
Reporting by Alana Edgin, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
