Islamic Relief USA Team Visits Orphans in Jordan

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

Jordan
With Islamic Relief USA Development Coordinator Belkacem Nahi returning to the U.S., Yousef Abdallah, regional manager for community development, joined Ayoub and the IR USA team in Jordan where they visited IR’s office in Amman and met with the Secretary General Ahmad Mohammad Al-Iman of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization. Ayoub informed Al-Iman that a $20 million shipment of medicine will be arriving in Jordan in about three weeks. The JHCO and IR Jordan offices will distribute the medicine. The two groups also discussed future projects they may collaborate on together.

The IR USA's team continued to have meetings with various organizations, including Alliance Against Hunger, who is an Islamic Relief partner in the U.S. Ayoub pledged to help the group’s work in Jordan succeed. The team also visited the al Baqa’a camp, where they conducted case studies on two orphans sponsored by donors in the U.S. One of the orphans has been physically disabled since birth, with shortened arms and legs. Donor sponsorship has helped in her treatments, but she expressed a desire for more help so that she could return to school.

The second case study was with a child who was a refugee from Gaza and had some mental disabilities. Her step-father was ill and out of work with no source of income other than the Islamic Relief USA sponsorship.

"It's so important for us to do these case studies to see where the orphan sponsorship money is actually being used and how it is helping the beneficiaries," Ayoub said. "It also provides that real connection for us to the people who are in need of our help."

After their time in the camp, the team returned to Amman to meet with Dr. Nayef Al Fayez of the Ministry of Health. Al Fayez expressed his appreciation for Islamic Relief's work in Jordan and around the world, and Ayoub said IR USA was interested in doing more work in Jordan’s health sector. The two agreed to further discuss Islamic Relief USA's offer to provide hospitals with medical equipment.

"Alhumdulillah it's been such an honor to meet with these officials and to hear that our work is having some real benefit for those who need it most. It inspires us to make plans for how we can do more," Ayoub said.

Check back to this blog to read more about Ayoub and Islamic Relief USA's trip, which will be concluding in a few days. Click here to read about their time in Ghana and here to read about their visit to Mali.

--Reporting by Yousef Abdallah

California School Children Raise Money for Orphans

This spring semester, 38 students from the Minaret Academy in Southern California helped raise more than $3,100 for Islamic Relief’s orphan projects.

The children, who range in age from five to ten years old, began gathering donations a few months ago when they decorated cans and took them home to fill with loose change. Last Friday, the students also organized a bake sale, which raised about $1,400. The Islamic Institute of Orange County, the mosque that houses the school, also donated $1,000 in support of the student-led project.

Many of the children contributed from their own lunch money and allowance to help reach their goal.

"I show my thanks to Allah for all His blessing by sharing it with the poor," seven-year-old Husna Farooqi wrote on her can.

The project was launched earlier this year by the students’ Islamic Studies teacher, Samar Labanieh. "I wanted to teach the kids about [the Islamic principle of] ithaar," Labanieh said. "Ithaar is when you have something you love and you give it to someone else who needs it."

To read more about Islamic Relief’s orphan projects, please click here.

If you are interested in organizing a similar project and want more information, please email us at info@islamicreliefusa.org.

--Zeyad Maasarani

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