ASSALAM RAMADAN 1440 (3)
“Those who are merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One in the heavens will have mercy upon you.” – Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) We today continue our series on Ramadan and Charity where we highlight NGOs making a difference in […]
“Those who are merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One in the heavens will have mercy upon you.” – Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
We today continue our series on Ramadan and Charity where we highlight NGOs making a difference in the lives of the poor in this blessed month. Iftar Sa’im (i.e. Feeding the Fasting Person) is of course the first qualification of the participating NGOs, but the emphasis is on SUSTAINABILITY (as a hungry fasting person will continue to be a hungry non-fasting person AFTER Ramadan). The intent of this series is to link philanthropists with causes they may want to support fisabililLah, as the NGOs to be featured here will in sha Allah have been vetted by the Columnist (to the best of his ability) to ensure they are above board. So if your NGO is doing such activity, send a 100-word email to [email protected] that answers the “Five W’s and H” (What, Why, Where, When, Who and How) of your work. The key words are SUSTAINABILITY (does your work extend beyond Ramadan?) and UNIQUENESS (in what way is your activity different from all the others?). The third set of entries of the month are presented below:
“The best amongst you is he who offers the most service to humanity” – Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
NIGERIANS UNITED FOR SUSTAINABLE ACTION ON THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED (NUSAID), 19A GUDA ABDULLAHI ROAD, FARM CENTRE, KANO: This Humanitarian Initiative is an NGO formed in 2016 to join the race for assistance to the internally displaced persons. Its focus has been the victims of Boko Haram particularly in Borno State. Through mobilisation of donations from the general public, NUSAID has been able to bring succor to Borno IDPs. So far, a total of four visits and interventions have been made since November 2016. Over Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira have been expended in support of over one hundred thousand families. This Ramadan 1440 intervention will be the fifth and is scheduled for the last week of May 2019, Allah willing. Most of the items to be distributed came from a single individual, the proprietor of Garba Karfe Investments in Kano. He donated assorted wares for 80,000 women, 300 cartons of shoes for women and children, 180 cartons of sanitary pads, 750 pampers for children and 700 bottles of perfumes. These items, plus the bits and pieces given by the masses of the people which cumulate over time, are what will constitute the consignment of this fifth intervention. An estimated sum of N2.5m shall be spent in the logistics. Again, the money comes from the small donations which several individuals make to NUSAID. Details of NUSAID activities can be accessed via its website, www.nusaid.org and by email to [email protected]; or through the contact persons DR. SA’IDU AHMAD DUKAWA [email protected] and 0701 211 9622 or ENGR. BASHIR ADAMU ALIYU [email protected] and 0801 573 3838.
“Feed the hungry, visit a sick person and free the captive if he be unjustly confined…” -Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
THE KWANDALA FOUNDATION, 8 CLUB ROAD BY INDEPENDENCE ROAD, BOMPAI, KANO: This NGO was set up with a focus of freeing people who, by ACCIDENT OF POVERTY, find themselves in prison. Poor, destitute and unfortunate people who are imprisoned for one to ten months for failing to pay court fines of as little as a few thousand Naira – some of them for traffic infractions, some for civil squabbles, some for a human foible here and there. They are arrested, prosecuted, convicted and jailed with an option of fine. Alas! As they can’t raise the Two Thousand to Five Thousand Naira, they are sent to jail. So they are spending their Ramadan in jail and, if they don’t get help, they will also ‘celebrate’ Sallah in jail, away from their families. Hence the Project Name ‘PRISON-FREE RAMADAN/EID 1440 (2019)’. Kwandala Foundation, as the name implies, used to collect donations in ‘Kwandalas’ (the old One Naira coin) in the belief that drops can make an ocean. The Foundation freed several prisoners last year, and this year it is out to repeat its unique Ramadan intervention. Many of these unfortunate souls are there in various prisons across the country waiting, hoping, praying and anticipating your gracious compassion and intervention to become free and celebrate Eid with their families. For those in Kano, the Foundation has a list of potential freedom-bound prisoners languishing in Kano Central Prison in Kurmawa. Time is not on their side as they have until June 3, 2019 to pay their fines to make their exit to freedom. To make the dreams of this accidental prisoners come true, everyone should be a ‘Kwandalight’, and ‘shine’ the way. The Foundation solicits donations from a minimum of One Naira (or Kwandala, hence the slogan ‘Give A Coin 4 Life’) and a maximum of infinite millions. For more information on how you can help free some prisoners who are in jail for no more than Five Thousand Naira fine, contact Foundation Founder TIJJANI MUHAMMAD MUSA at [email protected] and 08067062960.
“Allah is kind and He loves kindness in all matters.” -Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
ILMAN NAFI’AN EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (INEDI), KANO: (IN THE VOICE OF FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HAUWA EL YAKUB) “While we are all thinking of feeding the needy during Ramadan, let’s remember our sisters and brothers in the rural areas. They eat only the very little they have in total darkness with no hope of eating the delicacies we are privileged to break our fast with. A little love extended to them goes a long way. A few days ago, INEDI Team visited Behun Fulani village to have Iftar with the rural dwellers. The best Iftar ever! Behun village is situated some 12 kilometres off Kano-Maiduguri Road in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area of Kano State. My first encounter with Behun was in 2004 when I went into the remote settlement as a student researcher. The area during my first encounter with them was sparsely populated with fifty-three households and a rough estimate of at least five hundred children and one thousand five hundred adults in the area. There was high infant mortality rate, low life expectancy, almost 99% illiteracy level amongst their adults, 100% illiteracy in females and all families were dependent on subsistence farming. They had no health centre, no market and no school within the area. The immediate surroundings were served by three open wells that were dug a very long time ago, and which are still their main source of water in the area fifteen years on. The level of poverty in the area was and still is below human dignity. And this is what made me determined to be the voice that they do not have. I was able to get help and secured them the only school in the area. Now almost 98% of their children are going to this nomadic school founded by INEDI. For further information, email [email protected] or call 08037038163.
“Whoever is given his portion of kindness has been given his portion of goodness, and whoever is deprived of his portion of kindness has been deprived of his portion of goodness.” -Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
May Allah list us among the forgiven this Ramadan, amin.