Refugee Camps in Lebanon Tell a Sad Story

In the last leg of their six-week trip into the field, CEO Abed Ayoub and an Islamic Relief USA team went to Lebanon last week after wrapping up portions of their trip in Jordan, Mali, and Ghana. In addition to meeting with government officials, the team had been visiting schools and Islamic Relief programs in the countries.

Jordan

Before leaving Jordan, the team visited a camp filled with refugees with Palestinian backgrounds. The camp had been established in 1967 and populated with Palestinian refugees who had fled their homes in 1948, went to Gaza, and then fled again to Jordan in 1967, settling in tents in the Jarash area before the camp was established. None of the refugees ever registered with the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA).

According to Yousef Abdallah, Islamic Relief USA’s Northeast Regional Manager, who traveled with the team, only 8 out of 20,000 refugees have a Jordanian social security number and residency rights.

The only medical clinic at this camp of 20,000 refugees sees about 450 cases a day, and the poverty level is quite high, Abdallah reported. At one pre-K school, 90 students are divided into two rooms, and no more children can join due to limited space. Walking through the streets, the team witnessed above-ground sanitation canals and houses with asbestos. Ayoub pledged to help the camp with medicine and medical help.

Also while in Jordan, Ayoub signed a Memorum of Understanding (MOU) with the Jordanian Alliance Against Hunger and signed a grant agreement with the UN World Food Program for a school feeding program. A draft MOU was also sent to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization for review and approval. Once that is signed by both parties, IR USA plans to ship medicine to Jordan to be disseminated by the JHCO and the Islamic Relief Jordan office.

Lebanon
After arriving in the country, the IR USA team went with a UNRWA team to northern Lebanon to visit the camps of Albadawi and Nahr al-Bared, near the city of Tripoli. At the Albadawi camp, the team visited an UNRWA school and was briefed on the situation inside the camp. An Islamic Relief representative, Nabil Namani from the IR Lebanon office, said they were planning drill a well for the school.

As the team toured the camp, they witnessed poor living conditions, an unorganized expansion, and exposed electrical wiring, according to Abdallah. Some of the homes they visited were for families who had fled the fighting in Nahr al-Bared.

"It's extremely poor [living conditions]," Abdallah said. "You can see the frustrations in their eyes. They left their homes in Nahr al-Bared in their night gowns, barefooted, without being able to take any of their belongings with them. They have no jobs, and Allah knows what's awaiting them.”

From the Albadawi camp the IR USA team went to the Nahr al-Bared camp after going through numerous checkpoints. Once inside, they saw that a camp that used to house 17,000 refugees was in rubble and ruins. The whole camp was destroyed, Abdallah said. UNRWA is planning to rebuild the camp, but is unsure if they will be able to finish due to a lack of funding.

"No matter how much we are trying to help, there is always more need,” Ayoub said. "All the things I've seen on this trip, as hard as it’s been to see, has only strengthened the resolve of Islamic Relief USA to work harder and do more inshallah."

--Reporting by Yousef Abdallah

Islamic Relief USA: What Matters Most are Those in Need

With any job, even if you are passionate about it and love it, there are moments when we need extra motivation to perform the very best that we can. And especially when you work for a relief and development agency like Islamic Relief USA, those reminders of who your true "employers" are can be humbling and welcoming at the same time.

I’ve been with this organization for nearly four months now in an editorial capacity. I know that my employers are not just the CEO, or even the Board of Directors. The employers who matter most are the people we are trying to help: those in need, those who go without basic necessities of life, those who suffer during emergencies and crisis.

But knowing that, I still need to be reminded. At our weekly office staff meeting, Belkacem Nahi, IR USA's Development Coordinator, briefed the staff on what he saw during his recent travels with our CEO Abed Ayoub and the IR USA team in Ghana and Mali. The stories he told brought tears to my eyes. He related how he spoke with a mother in Mali, who has eight members in her family. He asked her how she fed the family. She replied that four people ate at lunch, and four people ate at dinner – and it was a very spare meal.

Anwar Khan, IR USA’s Vice President of Fund Development who has traveled extensively in the field, said, "One in four children in Mali die before their 5th birthday. It is one of the worst human development situations in the world." He added, "Every time you go into the field, you carry some of that pain back with you, and you come back determined to do more for these people."

Khan said that it was the job of IR USA to "give [those we are helping], at the very least, the minimum of help. And no matter how much we think we are doing," he said, “we can do more than that.”

"The war [in African countries] is against starvation and disease," he said. "And the best we can give them is our unlimited help and our love."

At the same meeting, Karim Amin, IR USA's Domestic Programs Coordinator, and Seyed Mowlana, IR USA's IT Systems Engineer, spoke about their experiences at the annual Day of Dignity event at the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota last weekend. Mowlana said it was an experience he would never forget: "This is one of the forgotten places," he said. "I saw Native Americans living in the most broken-down places, having contaminated water to drink – water that wouldn’t even be safe if boiled. This is in our own country."

Their day spent at the reservation was a hard, but uplifting one, Amin said. Those on the reservation were happy to see them, and the IR USA team of volunteers was able to distribute food and medical kits to hundreds of people.

I've come to learn in my time with IR USA that the need out there is very, very great indeed. There are many people who need help, who need sponsorship, who need healthcare, who need education. It motivated me to do my job well, and to get the word out. Your help is needed always. Your donations are needed. Your volunteer time is needed. To donate, please click here.

--Dilshad D. Ali

Islamic Relief Opening a New Office in Ghana

Islamic Relief USA CEO Abed Ayoub and his team continue their trip through several African countries before departing to the United Kingdom and Jordan. Their time has been busy with visiting government officials, high schools, and Islamic Relief programs in the countries.

Ghana
Ayoub and the IR USA team had a 45 minute meeting with Ghanaian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. al Haji Mohammed Mumuni, during which Ayoub discussed Islamic Relief USA’s plans to open an office in Ghana.

“We are so impressed with the government of Ghana for the freedom and peace it has provided its citizens,” Ayoub said. “We are hoping to help the education of Ghanaian children, especially girls, by establishing schools. We also want to develop the capacity of hospitals in the area by providing hospital supplies.”

Mumuni thanked Ayoub and IR USA for their work and spoke of the challenges that Ghana face because of the harsh conditions of the land. Mumuni said that he was among the minority who benefited from a good education, and that he wanted that for other children in Ghana. Ayoub presented Mumuni with an IR USA souvenir .

Ayoub, Islamic Relief Development Coordinator Belkacem Nahi, and others on their team also met with the Ministry of Education, who detailed the need to develop computer, biology and other laboratories in high schools and universities. And lastly the Islamic Relief team was invited to the home of Vice President John Mohammed, where Ayoub explained IR USA’s history and its work with international NGOs. Mohammed spoke of the challenges that Ghana faces, especially in strengthening its educational infrastructure.

“Alhamdulillah we look forward to establishing our office in Ghana,” Ayoub said. “There is much that Islamic Relief can do here, and with the support of Ghana’s government, inshallah we will be able to help the people of this country in many ways.”

Islamic Relief will be blogging more about Ayoub and his team as they travel to other African countries, then the United Kingdom and Jordan. Check back tomorrow to hear about their time in Mali. To help with Islamic Relief’s work in Ghana, Mali, and other areas, click here.

--Reporting by Belkacem Nahi