Islamic Relief celebrates its 34^th anniversary last week on  Wednesday 17 January.

The international humanitarian aid organisation, which has saved and transformed the lives of more than 110 million people worldwide, was founded in 1984 by Dr Hany El-Banna and fellow students from the University of Birmingham in response to the famine in Africa.

Within a year of its first 20p donation from Bassem, Dr El-Banna’s nine-year-old nephew, Islamic Relief began its first project – sponsoring a chicken farm in Sudan and set up its first field office in Khartoum. That same year, 1985, its founders hired a small office in Moseley, a suburb in south Birmingham, and raised a further £100,000 in response to the Sudan famine.

Over the next five years Islamic Relief grew rapidly and began to work in countries including Mozambique, Iran, Pakistan, Malawi, Iraq and Afghanistan, where it responded to emergencies and distributed clothes and food, offered health support and began the long-term project that is now its One-to-One Orphan Sponsorship programme.

Islamic Relief has provided aid at the heart of many disasters over the past 34 years in the UK and worldwide, from the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London last summer to the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Yemen, the 2004 Asian tsunami, the Kashmir earthquake in 2005 and the 2010 Pakistan floods (see list below).

Our organisation now has over 100 offices in more than 40 countries. Last October Nepal became the most recent country to register Islamic Relief as an International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO), and IR Nepal is in the process of establishing a country office.

Tufail Hussain, UK Deputy Director of Islamic Relief, said:

“For 34 years, Islamic Relief has striven to alleviate suffering, hunger, poverty and disease worldwide in line with our Islamic teachings on the value of every human life.

“We are a community charity that was started by the community. We are very reliant on community support to enable us to continue to provide disaster aid and emergency relief in a compassionate and dignified mannerto whoever needs it most, regardless of their race, religion or gender.

“However, we believe disaster relief is just the beginning. Being a beneficiary-led charity helps us think about what would really make the best impact on the people we serve.

“This is why we also carry out long-term sustainable development work to provide water, food, shelter, healthcare and education. Our Sustainable Livelihoods Programme helps people by supporting them to start their own business as a means of alleviating poverty and empowering individuals and communities.

“Our ultimate goal is to give people the confidence to take ownership in their own development and to secure their future without the need for continuing external assistance.

“We could not have achieved what we have done over the past 34 years without the ongoing support of our donors and we want to thank you for your ongoing financial support.”

ENDS

 

For more information, please contact James Tweed, Media Co-ordinator, on 020 7593 3219, or emailjames.tweed@islamic-relief.org.uk.

 

Notes for Editors

• Islamic Relief is an international aid and development charity that aims to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest people in more than 40 countries, mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. As well as responding to disasters and emergencies, we promote sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities – regardless of race, religion or gender.
• Islamic Relief is one of the 13 UK charities that form the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) – seewww.islamic-relief.org.uk/AboutUs.aspx.
• In its 34-year history, Islamic Relief has helped 110m people worldwide.
• Islamic Relief is a signatory of the Red Cross Code of Conduct, an international standard on working with people affected by emergencies in a non-biased manner, and has acquired NGO status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council. We have signed a Framework Partnership with the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department, and a partnership agreement with UNHCR that reaffirms both organisations’ principles of giving aid without discrimination.

 

Islamic Relief highlights include:

Throughout: Islamic Relief responded to headline-hitting emergencies such as the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the 2010 Pakistan floods, the 2011 Somalia famine and the ongoing Syrian conflict

2017: Grenfell Tower disaster

2013: More than 30,000 orphans sponsored

2005: The first Muslim charity to join the UK’s Disaster Emergencies Committee

1999: Signed the Red Cross Code of Conduct, an international set of standards on working in disaster zones

1996: Began recycling and selling donated clothes in the UK

1994: The first Muslim NGO to receive UK Government funding (£180,000 for a training centre in Sudan)

1993: The Independent raised £37,000 for Islamic Relief’s Bosnia Appeal

1986: Began a number of major programmes that continue to this day, including orphan sponsorship and qurbani distribution, working in new countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Malawi

1984: Islamic Relief is founded with its first 20p donation

 

Source: Islamic Relief UK

Since 3rd January, heavy bombardment in southern and south-eastern rural Idleb has caused casualties and displacement amongst civilians, as well as severe infrastructural damage.

99, 569 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are scattered across northern, central and western parts of Idleb and surrounding areas (UNOCHA).

The IR Syria team has responded to the emergency situation by activating 4 mobile units who are providing urgent health assistance and also distributed NFIs amongst affected IDPs.

Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters in Syria.

Think Humanity, Think ISLAMIC RELIEF!

International humanitarian organisation Islamic Relief has added its voice to a global call urging the UK, the United States and France to demand an immediate ceasefire and lead on action at the United Nations to secure a new peace deal for Yemen.

The appeal by more than 350 high-profile individuals and organisations coincides with 1,000 days of a war that has turned the poorest country in the Middle East into the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 22 million Yemenis in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The statement warns that Yemen is “at a tipping point (and that) to prevent further catastrophe and famine, Yemen needs an immediate ceasefire; an end to all blockages on access for food, fuel and medical supplies; and investment in a new, inclusive peace process in which women, youth and diverse civil society meaningfully participate”.

Today (21 December) Islamic Relief is also asking British citizens concerned about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen to ask their MPs to raise the conflict in Yemen with the Foreign Secretary as a matter of urgency and ensure that the UK is doing everything in its power to bring a peaceful end to this horrific crisis.

Islamic Relief is calling on the UK Government to:

• Increase its efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire
• Ensure Yemeni civilians have access to life-saving aid by pressing all parties to guarantee humanitarian access, and to remove restrictions on imports of food, fuel and medicines; including re-opening Sana’a airport
• Lead on action at the UN Security Council to urge all parties to the conflict to engage in a new inclusive peace process led by Yemenis.

Imran Madden, UK Director of Islamic Relief, said:

“We are calling on the UK Government to work through the UN Security Council to stop the fighting in Yemen and bring all parties to the conflict back to the negotiating table. Millions of women, men and children are at risk of starvation – the people of Yemen can’t wait any longer.

“The war has had a devastating impact on the lives of Yemeni civilians. Thousands have died from the violence and millions more are in need of urgent humanitarian aid as the country’s economy has virtually collapsed and its infrastructure destroyed.

“The recent blockade and escalation in violence has made an already catastrophic situation worse – there are now over 8 million Yemenis at risk of starvation. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, we call on the UK Government to play its part in saving the lives of millions of women, men and children caught up in the conflict through no fault of their own.”

ENDS

 

For more information, please contact James Tweed, Media Co-ordinator, on 020 7593 3241, or email james.tweed@islamic-relief.org.uk.

Notes for Editors

• Islamic Relief is an international aid and development charity that aims to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest people in more than 30 countries, mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. As well as responding to disasters and emergencies, Islamic Relief promotes sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities – regardless of race, religion or gender.
• Islamic Relief is one of the 13 UK charities that form the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) – see https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/AboutUs.aspx.
• In its 33-year history, Islamic Relief has helped more than 110m people across the world.
• Islamic Relief is rated 20^th in the Top 500 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the world by the Swiss-based independent media organisation NGO Adviser – see https://www.ngoadvisor.net.

Source: Islamic Relief UK

* The situation in both Gaza and the West Bank remains volatile with rockets continuously being fired from both sides.

* The Palestinian Red Crescent has said that it has provided medical assistance to over 1,795 people across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Two teenage Islamic Relief volunteers offered a helping hand to FareShare’s annual food collection to help those in need this Christmas.

Two of our keen volunteers, Hosaam Safdar and Muhit Chowdhury, both aged 19 – supported this year’s FareShare’s food drive at Tesco in Whitechapel, East London, which took place over three days in early December.

Working alongside FareShare, our volunteers were in store greeting customers as they came in with a list of items most needed by charities. The aim was to encourage shoppers to buy items and donate them to FareShare at the end of their shop.

In just three hours our volunteers collected 32 crates of food. FareShare estimates that equates to enough food to make 600 meals.

Hossam said:

“I felt absolutely amazing. It was great to see how many people just looked at our stall, and immediately brought food without us asking.

“So many people from different faiths, just coming to support the cause. I think visually, when people saw how much food was being donated, it inspired people to take part which really demonstrates the fruits of our efforts and how our efforts really inspired people.

“A lot of Muslims said to us ‘Jazakullahu khayran’ (May God reward you with good), as they were touched to see how confident we were in putting ourselves out there to people and getting them engaged in the cause.

“Alhamdulillah this is something I would love to do more often, to really get people involved in helping the homeless in our locality.”

FareShare is a national charity who work with all sectors of the food supply chain – producers, manufacturers and retailers – to help feed those who are vulnerable and in need.

Islamic Relief’s National Community Fundraising and Volunteering Manager, Zia Salik, said:

“We are pleased to support FareShare and its commitment to helping charities provide much-needed food to those in need.”

FareShare will now distribute all the groceries collected to local homeless shelters, food banks, hostels and refuges across the country to help those most in need this Christmas.

Steffie Clement, Partnerships Officer at FareShare, said:

“At FareShare we’d like to thank Islamic Relief for helping to support our annual food drive. Volunteers across the UK collected an incredible amount of food donations from the public – all going to help feed people in need.”

FareShare not only help the homeless but those experiencing food poverty, regardless of religion, race or gender. They give food to homeless hostels, children’s breakfast clubs, lunch clubs for older people, domestic violence refuges and community cafés.