IR USA Staff Members Travel to Haiti for Earthquake’s One-Year Anniversary

One year ago, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the island nation of Haiti and nearly destroyed its capital city of Port-au-Prince. The January 2010 quake claimed more than 200,000 lives, according to the Haitian government, and left nearly two million people homeless.

In the days immediately following the earthquake, Islamic Relief launched a fundraising appeal and coordinated an aid shipment with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The shipment contained $293,000-worth of food, water, filtration systems and medical supplies. As one of the first responders on the ground, Islamic Relief staff began distributing food and water in the wake of the disaster and also opened one of the first makeshift camps to house displaced people.

But now, a year later, despite ongoing international support, an estimated 1.3 million Haitians are still clustered in makeshift camps and relying on foreign aid for survival. This week, Islamic Relief USA has sent two staff members to Haiti to assess the situation, conduct case studies, and visit IR programs. IR USA will also be launching a new $1.5 million initiative to rehabilitate a school and build 400 transitional shelters. Finally, the organization will be starting a Cholera Prevention and Control project to address the current cholera epidemic.

In the coming days, check back with our blog to read posts from IR USA’s Media Relations Coordinator, Asma Yousef, and Karim Amin, IR USA’s programs coordinator. They will also be tweeting and providing updates on our Facebook fan page about the trip and Islamic Relief USA’s work in Haiti. Amin was part of IR USA’s emergency response team post-earthquake last January.

Find out how you can help the people of Haiti -- because they need our help now more than ever.

At Last Day of Dignity, A Community Comes Together

As I walked up to the Oak Crest Community Center in Capitol Heights, Md., the cold wind hit me in the face. But the chill was soon replaced by a warm chant—“Day of Dignity, Today is Your Day”—sung by the volunteers as they welcomed beneficiaries at Day of Dignity event in mid-December.

It was the last event of Islamic Relief USA's 2010 Day of Dignity season, the final city out of 22 we visited this year. And the time spent at Oak Crest was as meaningful and special as the first 2010 Day of Dignity event in South Dakota last June.

Recipients were lined up throughout the community center, waiting patiently to receive their passport, which signified their entry into the Day of Dignity event. The beneficiaries’ first stop was the gym, where they were treated to a large cadre of services and gifts, ranging from International House of Pancakes coupons to community college registration forms.

After they left the gym, they went into the next room where they were welcomed with warm meals, cotton candy, and children’s activities, including entertainment from local school bands.

The next room housed a medical clinic. Dentists and doctors provided checkups while volunteer nurses administered flu shots. The journey ended in the clothing lounge, where recipients choose whatever they wanted from racks of clothing, including shirts, coats, and socks. The beneficiaries who came out to this last Day of Dignity event left with smiles on their faces and bags of goods.

One gentleman stopped me and said, “Thanks I really appreciated this,” and then walked away with his groceries. But the funny thing is, I appreciated him giving me the opportunity to give to others. It is a beautiful way to live.

This was truly a community affair—a symbiotic relationship between the volunteers and the beneficiaries, and I felt truly blessed to be a part of Day of Dignity 2010.

-- Karim Amin, Domestic Programs Coordinator at Islamic Relief USA

Haiti, Nine Months Later

It’s been nine months since I last stepped onto the island. I still remember the devastation caused by the earthquake, the camps of injured and newly orphaned children, the thousands of tired people standing in endless lines to receive a minimal quantity of aid, the brick and mortar homes reduced to piles of rubble, the lingering smell of corpses that received no burial and the ever-increasing demand for aid that simply could not be met.

The earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12 killed 200,000 people, injured 300,000, displaced 2.3 million and caused $8 billion in damage. I witnessed the ensuing emergency chaos that shattered the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Walking through the camps, I heard victims’ stories of trials and tribulations; and when I landed in a makeshift hospital myself from dehydration, I heard screams echoing around me. It was a trip I’ll never forget.

Since I left Haiti, Islamic Relief USA has continued to provide support for over 8,000 Haitians through relief and recovery programs focusing on shelter, camp management support and water and sanitation IR USA is also working to ensure that people have access to food and basic needs through cash-for-work programs.

More than 450 people were hired by Islamic Relief to clear 20,000 tons of rubble from destroyed and damaged buildings, allowing more than 100 families to return to their homes. Damaged schools are being provided materials and labor for repair so an estimated 2,500 students can return to school. And over 600 youth are being trained in computer and trade skills through Islamic Relief USA’s vocational training center.

While the initial emergency chaos has waned, Haiti is not recovering from the quake rapidly or smoothly enough. Poor infrastructure, an excessively dense population, a lack of adequate building standards, an unbalanced division of economic activity, and other factors have hindered Haiti’s recovery.

Haiti still needs our help. Now more than ever. Please donate to Islamic Relief USA so we can continue our work there.

--Karim Amin, Domestic Programs Coordinator for Islamic Relief USA

Day of Dignity in Dallas: Helping People Survive Another Day

The sun was blazing. But that didn't stop the hundreds of underserved and vulnerable locals from lining up hours before the gates opened at Dallas' Masjid al-Islam. Many of them were sweating, hungry and thirsty.

You could see the desperation in their eyes. Still, they waited patiently as scores of volunteers rushed around, readying hot plates, carefully arranging distribution stations, and laying out heaps of clothing in hopes of helping the less fortunate in their neighborhood.

With Ramadan in full swing, many of the volunteers were observing the daylong Ramadan fast and the scorching heat was audibly parching their throats. Their voices cracked when they spoke and many of them had dried saliva on their lips.

"I can't think of anything better to be doing on a fasting day," Nahida Ahmed told me. Ahmed, 28, was helping pass out food trays despite being hungry herself.

It was Islamic Relief USA's Day of Dignity – an event characterized by love, compassion and sacrifice. And volunteers flooded into the mosque at 8 a.m. to be apart of the event as if they were the ones benefiting.

For people in need, the warm meals, fresh fruit, socks, shirts, caps, hygiene kits, and all the other items available for distribution at the Day of Dignity are a beacon of hope. One less worry for mind plagued with the most difficult of stress: "Will I survive another day?"

"Every day is a challenge," 45-year-old Glenn Black told me as he munched on some rice and beef provided at the event. He balanced an Islamic Relief tote bag full of clothes between his knees. "I need these clothes because it's getting close to wintertime," he said. His skin was thick and calloused, probably from sleeping in the street.

Another beneficiary told me just how much events like the Day of Dignity impact his community. "It helps out the neighborhood a lot," Alfred Burney told me. “Especially the kids.”

The 54-year-old was impressed that Muslims were spearheading the cause. “I’m surprised that it’s Islamic Relief,” he said.

Dennye Mills, a 55-year-old toothless and homeless widow, was there for the fresh fruit because it was easier to eat than the food she was used to receiving at food banks. "God bless Islamic Relief," she said between bites.

"The need here is huge," said Islamic Relief USA’s Domestic Programs Coordinator, Karim Amin. Amin is a strong supporter of helping fellow Americans in need. "Islamic Relief USA organizes the Day of Dignity because you must help your neighbors first before you help people afar," he added.

After the event was over and the bustle died down, I made my way across the street and noticed that one of the beneficiaries had picked an abandoned building's front step to lay his head. With his arms sprawled beside him and his newly acquired shoes cordoning off his territory, I realized what was going on.

He probably couldn't sleep all night from hunger. Now with a nutritious meal in his stomach, the man could finally rest. It broke my heart to see his condition, but I was happy we could serve people like him. Without a Day of Dignity, he might have starved another day.

To learn more or to donate to Day of Dignity, click here.

-- Zeyad Maasarani

Slideshow: Day of Dignity 2010 in South Dakota at the Crow Creek Reservation

Day of Dignity in South Dakota: Scenes from Crow Creek Reservation

The kick-off of this year's Day of Dignity campaign was at the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota last week, and it was a sobering, yet satisfying day that we spent there. There is beauty in the land and people of the reservation, but not in the conditions they are living in.

Driving through South Dakota is like driving through time--a time when America was a much simpler place. As I rode through this scenic state, I passed countless farms with grazing cattle and general stores. You could ride for hours and not see a stop sign. For a city guy like myself, this was very different from what I am used too.

Then suddenly the scene changes. The picturesque farms are replaced with trailer homes and temporary housing. Joblessness and poverty plague Crow Creek and many other reservations. Reservations were intended to give the Native Americans their own sovereign land. But instead they have become outposts where the original people of the Americas have been sent to and generally ignored.

As we drove through the reservations, we saw the homes that had been built for the mostly Sioux population. Some of the people live in dilapidated structures. Jobs are scarce and also the opportunities for many Sioux people are limited on the reservation. Despite the difficulties on the reservation the people of Crow Creek are very welcoming.

We wound our way through the reservation up to the parking lot of the community center. From there our Islamic Relief USA volunteers, who had taken the two and a half hour ride from Sioux Falls to Fort Thompson (where the Crow Creek reservation is), hopped out of the bus eager to assist. They quickly unloaded the van and began to stuff the Islamic Relief bags with goods, including food, hygiene kits, blankets, and other basic living supplies. Next to the supply van the volunteers set up a small kid’s carnival equipped with a variety of children’s games and prizes. More than 800 recipients stopped by; enjoying the games and the goods that Islamic Relief and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had donated to this cause.

Members of the community and the tribal council thanked IR USA and its volunteers for their efforts. We left the day hoping that we made a small a difference, if just for one day. Inshallah, I pray that we can do more to assist these people, whose ancestors lay the foundation for this land that we now know as America. Click here to learn more about the Day of Dignity campaign, when it is coming to a city near you, and how you can help out.

--Karim Amin, Islamic Relief USA Domestic Programs Coordinator