Plight of IDP on TV spurs “zakat”

The plight of thousands living on Abuja’s camps for internally displaced people pushed the Lagos-based Zakat & Sadaqat Foundation to donate food, clothes and consumables estimated at more than N2.5 million. The foundation’s name stands for “charity and alms”—both requirements in Islam. “Going by what we see on television every day from our end in […]

The plight of thousands living on Abuja’s camps for internally displaced people pushed the Lagos-based Zakat & Sadaqat Foundation to donate food, clothes and consumables estimated at more than N2.5 million.

The foundation’s name stands for “charity and alms”—both requirements in Islam.

“Going by what we see on television every day from our end in Lagos, we feel we can’t wait any longer,” said Suleiman Olagunji, executive director of Zakat & Sadaqat.

“Coming here ignites us to do more. What you see on TV is not like coming here and seeing physically.”

Donated items include battery to power the camp’s water supply, which is routinely hampered by electricity outage.

The camp also needs “temporary structures to educate their children,” said Olagunju. “What they are using now is not proper. When it rains, there won’t be any studies that day.”