Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem.
Jummah Mubarak.
Firstly may I say that I am not affiliated to this agency in any way. However, I came across it this morning via an email subscription to an unrelated newsletter and my curiousity was tickled. So I looked them up, and it really touched this human and muslim heart to see that charity, compassion and kindness are not dead. For all that we go through as human beings regardless of race or creed, for all the violence and suffering that washes onto the shores of each of our lives, there are buffers of pain such as this organisation. I felt it important, if not an absolute
duty, to showcase them however I can. This blog seems to be a good place to start. If any good work is out there, and anyone can further contribute to such good work, I feel its important to speak about it. Al-Imdaad is not the only organisation out there, and I will review islamic organisations that do such work as I believe it would make our Nabi (saw) smile to know they are doing it, Insh'Allah. May Allah keep them from pride and give them the right Niyat in what they do, and bless their endeavours, Insh'ALLAH!
Al Imdaad can be found on: www.alimdaad.com
As their website says: The Al-Imdaad Foundation is a non-profit humanitarian aid relief organisation (NGO) registered in the Republic of South Africa, dedicated to providing humanitarian services in crisis and non-crisis situations to most needy orphans, widows and destitute, irrespective of race, religion, culture, creed and geographical boundary.
Al Imdaad is active right around the world, in fact in every continent!
Some of their services: Al Imdaad can be found on: www.alimdaad.com
1) They provide emergency relief for natural and manmade disasters, for example:
- the floods in India
- the genocide in Burma
- Flash flood relief in Comoros
- Humanitarian Crisis in Syria
- Cyclones Giovanna & Irina (Madagascar)
- Xenophoibic attacks in Welkom
- Turkish airquake
- Floods in Pakistan
- Droughts in the Horn of Africa
- Japanese Tsunami
- The Lybian Crisis
- New Zealand Earthquake
- Mount Merapi Volcano - Indonesia
- Haiti Earthquake
- Padang Earthquake
- Gaza Crises
- Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh
- Many problems right around South Africa, from floods to fires
2) The have teams ready for Disaster Preparedness -
"In the event of natural disasters and conflicts, a rapid response is essential to assist victims and provide aid. The Al-Imdaad Foundation’s relief team is equipped to deal with such situations immediately should they arise. We have emergency plans in place and we stockpile essential items such as non-perishable food items and blankets for distribution. We are also a member of the government’s Emergency Operations Committee and run advocacy programmes to educate vulnerable communities about how to prepare for and mitigate disasters"
Besides these, Al Imdaad cater for Islamic programmes, orphans and child welfare projects, water and sanitation projects, health and medical projects, health and nutrition programmes, education programmes, social programmes, widow care programmes, and the list goes on.
So the next time you see something devastating on the news or hear about it in the press and you wonder "why doesn't someone DO something" - know that someone IS. And when you then ask yourself "what could I POSSIBLY do to help, little old ME?" know that there is always something you can do - be it to spread the word, physically contact them, donate, or make duah..
Al Imdaad can be found on: www.alimdaad.com
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Whoever of you sees something wrong should change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart, and that is the weakest form of belief.'" [Muslim]
(with his heart - in other words, with duah (prayer))
Pictures - please note: All the pictures below are available from Al Imdaad website, courtesy of various newsbroadcasters - please visit the site for proper credit to copyrights.
Please visit Al Imdaad's website and view their galleries, from where these pictures have come. Only someone with no compassion would not be moved.
Al Imdaad can be found on: www.alimdaad.com
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Flooding in the Comores
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| Devastation caused by the Cyclone in Madagascar |
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| Relief packs for Drought in Horn of Africa |
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| A Man observes the damage after the Japanese Tsunami |
