Islamic Relief's Microcredit Program Thriving in Mali

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

Ghana Wrapup
In Ghana the team announced that IR USA will be opening a new office in the country. The team was also 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. Ayoub said they looked forward to establishing the new field office in Ghana.

Mali

From Ghana, Ayoub and the IR USA teamtraveled to Mali where they began their time in Bamako and met with Country Director Abdelmagid Naciri, who heads Islamic Relief's Mali office. Naciri told the team that "Islamic Relief is the best NGO which understands the needs of the people and work closely with them." He encouraged IR USA to do more developmental relief work all over Mali.

Ayoub shared IR USA's strategies in Africa and said the relief organization is interested in doing more work in the fields of education and health, but that the team was there to listen to the Malians and study the needs of the country. Following the meeting with Naciri, Ayoub and Islamic Relief USA Development Coordinator Belkacem Nahi met with the IR staff working in Mali and fielded questions on how projects will be financed and how IR USA can develop a system to make funds available as soon as they are needed.

"I am very proud of the work that the Islamic Relief team is doing in Mali and inshallah we will support it in the best way possible," Ayoub said.

Ayoub and his team then met with Omar Ibrahima Toure, Mali's minster of health, who reiterated Mali's commitment to work closely with IR USA and his hopes for a growth in funding. Toure and Ayoub discussed the need for updated hospital equipment and medicines. Ayoub asked Toure if the Mali government can help IR USA by donating land or a building for a new hospital, to which the minister replied that he would form a team to work on this request and see if it was feasible.

Microcredit in Mali

One of the last stops for the IR USA team was at a house in the outskirts of Bamako to meet with the director of a widow’s microcredit program, where the mothers of former IR-sponsored orphans process nuts, peanut butter and ginger in small packets to sell in a local market. Ayoub was heartened by the work and encouraged the women to keep it up.

"It is so good to see the hard work of these women and what they are doing for their families. Inshallah IR USA is willing to help them more in their endeavors," Ayoub said. The program director said that in the eight years of the program, 350 women had benefitted from it and the entire cost of living for their families was covered from the revenue of the sales.

One of the beneficiaries of the program told Ayoub that the work had saved the life of her kids by allowing her to buy food and clothes for her family and save for their future education. "I say Jazak Allah Khair to the donors [of IR USA]," she said.

Islamic Relief USA will be blogging more about Ayoub and his team as they travel to the United Kingdom and Jordan. To help with Islamic Relief’s work in Ghana, Mali, and other areas, click here.

--Reporting by Belkacem Nahi

CEO Abed Ayoub Visits IR Projects in Africa and Middle East

Islamic Relief USA’s CEO Abed Ayoub is in Ghana and will be traveling to several other countries in Africa and the Middle East over the next few weeks to visit Islamic Relief projects, forge new partnerships, and open up a new office where the organization can engage in more relief work for those in need.

Ayoub is set to meet Ghanaian President John Atta Mills today. Yesterday Ayoub and IR USA Development Coordinator Belkacem Nahi visited Al Diaa, a socio-cultural association in Ghana, to discuss Islamic Relief projects in the country. They also visited the site of the future Madina University, which will have 5,000 students living on campus. Nahi said that Islamic Relief will be providing supplies to the university’s health clinic. They also met with a group of teachers and students and discussed the need for a technologically advanced school with an efficient computer lab. Their day ended with Ayoub speaking at a local graduation ceremony, where he emphasized the role of education in developmental work.

In the coming days, Ayoub will visit a school in Benin. Then he and Nahi plan to embark for Mali, and later Ayoub will go to Jordan. They will also be meeting with a number of officials from various ministries in Ghana and Mali. Ayoub said he is looking forward to seeing the work being done in the field offices in those countries.

“We know how our donations are being used, but to see it with our own eyes, to see the hard work going on to help those in need--that helps us move forward in planning how we can fund more effective and useful projects,” Ayoub said.

Islamic Relief USA will be blogging more about Ayoub’s trip in the coming weeks. Check back here to read more. To donate to IR USA, please click here.

Staff Video Diary From Mali

Communications Writer Zeyad Maasarani shares his first impressions of Mali via video.

Mali Trip Day 4 - "It's 4 a.m. but I can't sleep."

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

It's 4 a.m. but I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes I keep recounting things I can't make sense of.

Yesterday, our Islamic Relief USA envoy visited 5 orphans that are sponsored by donors back in the U.S.

When we arrived to the first orphan's house, a boy named Suleyman, I was so appalled to see the living conditions he and his family endured. Despite the living conditions, they were very hospitable, kind and proud.

We had to step over sewage to walk in, but that didn't stop the family from welcoming us. Children from around the neighborhood flocked to greet us and show us their toys. Most of them were covered in dirt and I could tell some of them were very sick. I remembered the head of the envoy, Anwar, warning us that what we would see would be horrific. But seeing is different than hearing.

No human should have to endure what these people were enduring. And still, they were better off than most in their neighborhood. One-to-One Orphan Sponsorship through Islamic Relief had allowed Suleyman to go to school instead of working a backbreaking job like many young boys we had passed on the streets of Bamako. Although I was very sad to see what I saw, I couldn't believe how happy and positive Suleyman and his family were.

He told us that the last time he ate meat was around Eid al-Adha, when Islamic Relief conducted Udhiyah/Qurbani distributions in his area. I felt guilty to have a full stomach as I heard this. Then, I was given a tour of their humble home. An inoperative refrigerator was one of the few pieces of furniture inside the 3-room shack. A tore-up hammock and dirty sheets on the ground made up their bedroom, but I wondered how they could sleep in a room with no windows. I was holding my breath the whole time. But, they seemed so thankful for what they had.

I pretended that what I saw was normal, so I didn't insult the family. Inside, I was crying. I hope they couldn't tell.

-Zeyad Maasarani
Communications Writer