Last year Islam21c started a campaign with Ethar Relief to raise money for the many refugees suffering unspeakable atrocities in the likes of Yemen, Eritrea and Sudan. Ethar Relief was founded in 2006 to serve “the world’s forgotten refugees” from Eritrea—three generations blighted by famine and civil war. It is the main UK charity working primarily in the heart of East Africa aiming to alleviate suffering of refugees, reduce poverty via student sponsorships and empower and assist women so they can actively participate in their communities and make a livelihood for their families. [1]
Some of your successes (by the tawfīq of Allāh) are as follows:
Ramadan Programme
In Ramadan 2018 more than 100,000 people benefitted from our Ramadan programmes as we distributed food packs and provided hot meals for Iftar as well as giving Zakat al-Mal (cash) and Zakat al-Fitr (wheat). You donated £100,000 in Ramadan alone, mashaAllah.
Yemen
As for the crisis in Yemen, the United Nations (UN) warned that Yemenis are on the brink of the “worst famine in a century”,[2] and in November it was estimated that 85,000 children below the age of five have died as a result of acute malnutrition in Yemen.[3] Furthermore, the economy has collapsed as a product of the ongoing war causing a cholera outbreak that has affected over 1.1 million people.[4]
Ethar Relief raised over £6,000 in medical aid for the cholera outbreak from Islam21c readers, equipping their teams in the field with various medical operations and medications to allow them to carry out emergency and regular medical checks allowing over 5,000 people to benefit.
Islam21c readers donated over £26,000 for the food crisis in Yemen, helping to provide “over 3,150,000 meals to refugees and misplaced citizens since the beginning of 2018,”[5] and benefitting over 10,000 people. One food pack provides a family with 25kg of flour, 10kg of sugar, 10kg of rice, 4.5l of oil, 3kg of dates, 5kg of peas and 2kg of tomato sauce. You can continue to make a difference by donating £50 to provide 450 meals or £100 to provide 900 meals. [6]
Sudan
For Sudan, £6,000 was raised allowing Ethar Relief to provide food comprising of 20kg of flour, 10kg of sugar, 5kg of lentils, 4.5kg of oil, and by the grace of Allah, over 12,000 people have benefited.
In addition, donations surpassing £4,000 have allowed them to supply over 8,000 people with medicine, environment cleaning tools, clean water, household tools and nutrition for kids and vulnerable people.
Qurbani
Approximately £12,000 was raised towards Hajj and Qurbani allowing over 25,000 people to benefit from Qurbani distributions in Sudan, Yemen and Djibouti.
Gift of Sight
Ethar Relief was able to restore the eyesight of hundreds of people by the permission of Allāh, and then the generous donations of Islam21c readers. They carried out medical checks, administered eye medication and carried out 300 cataract operations.
Ethar Relief will be running a medical convey to benefit more than 500 people bi’idhnillāh. For just £75, you could literally restore someone with the “gift of sight” by the permission of Allāh. Your donation will contribute towards the transportation of patients to and from the hospital, as well as the treatment they need for the complete restoration of their vision, whether it be through medical checks or giving medications such as eye drops or simply corrective glasses.
“He who does not thank the people is not thankful to Allāh.”[7]
This was just an update on some of the progress Ethar Relief made with the generous donations of Islam21c readers.
We at Islam21c call on our readers to contribute whatever they can towards the refugees in Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere. One of the reasons why it is important to donate to these brothers and sisters in particular is that they receive far less media coverage and thus Muslims generally know much less about their plight, compared to refugees and those in need in other areas of the world—who are rightly given charity to, which must also continue.
And what better time to donate than Eritrean Orphans’ Week
You can be part of Ethar Relief’s legacy. Bring a lasting difference to the lives of three generations of refugees and be counted amongst the righteous servants Allāh describes in Qur’ān. May Allāh grant them ease and patience, and forgive us all for our shortcomings in our responsibility towards them. Āmīn.
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Source: www.islam21c.com
Notes:
[1] https://www.etharrelief.org/about/who-we-are/
[2] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/15/un-warns-yemen-could-see-worst-famine-century-coming-months/
[3] https://www.islam21c.com/news-views/85000-children-may-have-died-from-malnutrition-in-worlds-worst-humanitarian-crisis/
[4] https://www.islam21c.com/news-views/yemen-ceasefire-hodeidas-shaky-deal-takes-hold/
[5] https://www.etharrelief.org/appeals/yemen-food-appeal/
[6] https://www.etharrelief.org/appeals/yemen-food-appeal/
[7] Narrated in al-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abi Dawud
