Following a month of relative calm, Aleppo has, again, fallen victim to violence.

Barrel bombs, artillery shells and SSMs (surface-to-surface missiles) are battering the already beleaguered city of Aleppo.

The bombardment, which continues to this day, has heavily hit markets, hospitals and mosques, resulting in over 260 lives lost and even more severely wounded. Five volunteer rescue workers have been killed and strikes on hospitals have resulted in the death of both medical staff and patients. One of the most fatal attacks occurred on Al Quds hospital, the only remaining paediatric centre in Aleppo, causing 65 deaths – two doctors and five nurses were killed in this attack alone, including the city’s last remaining paediatrician.

Life has come to a complete halt for the quarter of a million people still in areas of Aleppo not under blockade. With all schools and educational institutions suspended for fear of being the next target, hospitals and medical centres heavily hit, and the destruction of the city’s main water purification facility, Aleppo is in dire need of aid.

Islamic Relief is one of the very few NGOs with an operational office inside the city, and the field team in Aleppo is continuously monitoring the situation and reporting back the city’s requirements.

Right now, Aleppo is lacking food, clean water and medicine.

With the most recent round of bombings having crippled the healthcare system, Islamic Relief’s field team has been mobilising the delivery of medical supplies in the city. Providing basic materials like rice, flour and water to bakeries will allow them to continue feeding the local community. With just one route into Aleppo, a very dangerous road prone to attack by snipers and bombs, getting these bare necessities inside the city is risky but fundamental.

Islamic Relief has been providing essential humanitarian assistance in Aleppo since 2012.

Let’s donate through our campaign SAHAM AKHIRAT

The continued bombardment of Aleppo has caused widespread destruction to markets, hospitals and mosques.

Following a month of relative calm, the recent wave of violence has resulted in the death of civilians, doctors, nurses and even rescue workers. The constant strike on civilian infrastructure has crippled the already fragile city, with life coming to a complete halt for the remaining residents.

The Aleppo emergency at a glance:

• 263 have been killed and a further 550 injured
• 281 airstrikes have taken place over the past week
• 15,000 have become internally displaced
• 250,000 are living under the threat of airstrikes, barrel bombs and snipers

Islamic Relief has been in Aleppo since 2012, working day and night to provide communities with food, medicine and shelter. Since the most recent escalation, however, the humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic proportions. To meet the increased demand, Islamic Relief’s front-line team has been:

Mobilising medical equipment and medicine

• Three large containers of medical supplies have already been delivered to 51 medical points in the past two weeks
• Patients with severe injuries are being sent to Turkey for medical attention

Distributing food

• 12,000 individuals in Aleppo have already received food parcels
• Bakeries are being given flour and vegetables so they can continue to feed local communities

Meeting the fuel shortage

• Diesel and gas allow medical centres, ambulances and bakeries to continue operating

As well as helping vulnerable people still in the country, Islamic Relief has been offering vital support to families that have fled their homes.

Let’s donate through our campaign SAHAM AKHIRAT

Islamic Relief and Frankfurt School are developing an e-learning course in Islamic microfinance.

Together with Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) and Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, the Islamic Relief Academy is developing an online certification course in the growing area of Islamic microfinance.

The Certified Expert in Islamic Microfinance (CEIM) e-learning course will advise participants on the technical aspects of retail banking, as well as the ethics of Islamic finance and relevant compliance and regulation issues. This joint development, which was made possible through IRW’s partnership with the UK Department for International Development, will be available on Frankfurt School’s LinkEd – an e-learning platform that allows students to study full-time subjects in accordance with their own schedules.

Dr Hossam Said, Managing Director of Islamic Relief Academy, underlined the important contribution this course will make:

“Islamic Relief Academy is delighted to partner with Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and Islamic Relief Worldwide in developing this unique online programme. This e-learning course will be an important contribution to building up capacities of the Islamic microfinance sector and to fill the educational gap that exists in this sector. Through the agreement with Frankfurt School, the Islamic Relief family, and the wider NGO and financial sector, will be able to provide better financial inclusion for the poor and thus help them to embark on a better future.”

Aimed at all development professionals working in the area of Islamic microfinance, the six-month course will be launched in September 2016 for €650.

Naser Haghamed replaces Dr Mohamed Ashmawey who left the organisation at the end of 2015 as the new CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide. One of his first duties in the role will be to represent IRW at the official signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in New York this week, as part of a delegation handing in an Islamic Declaration on Climate Change.

Haghamed has a long history with the Islamic Relief family, working in several positions over the past two decades including IT, Support, International Programmes, Islamic Relief Academy and TIC International – a trading subsidiary of Islamic Relief which encompasses clothes recycling and charity shops.

Naser Haghamed

Commenting on his appointment Haghamed said:

“It is humbling to be appointed as CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide and given the opportunity to continue serving the millions of people this organisation supports around the world. Gender justice, climate change and reducing the risk from disaster are areas where I believe we can make great strides and impact. I especially look forward to continuing our different relationships with the UK department (DFID), UN, EU and others as we continue to work on the important issues of our time, such as supporting the victims of the Syrian crisis and humanitarian reform.”

Monday 18 April 2016

Source : http://www.islamic-relief.org/naser-haghamed-appoi…

For five years I have watched my people lose their homes and lives to war. For five years I have watched as they scattered around the world in search for safety. From country to country, refugee camp to refugee camp, year after year.

For five years, in six different countries and in dozens of camps, I have witnessed first-hand the effects of war and conflict on the people from the same nation my mother, grandmother and her mother were born in—Syria.

I’ve seen my fellow Syrians in Lebanon, living in makeshift homes wherever they could find, a masjid construction site, a building boiler room and a leather factory near the city garbage dump.

In Jordan I saw them in the Zaatari camp as they tried to survive the dust, dirt and heat of the desert.

I’ve visited Syrians in Iraqi camps, where some had gone after being displaced twice—first from Syria and then from other places in Iraq as their new host nation became unstable too. Kurdistan in the north was now the only safe place they could flee to.

I’ve watched Syrians, Iraqis, and others risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea on tiny inflatable boats that washed up on the shores of Lesvos, Greece.

I’ve watched Syrians come off the trains in the rail stations of Germany as they searched for family who had made the journey before them.

I’ve seen Syrian children trying to catch up on their lost educations in apartment buildings turned schools in Istanbul, Turkey.

I’ve seen my people struggle. I’ve seen my people survive. I’ve seen my people in too many different places. I have heard a familiar dialect in corners of the world where the people never wanted to be. I’ve been warmly embraced for speaking Syrian Arabic where it wasn’t expected, a comforting and painful reminder of home for both of us.

I wonder how many more years and in how many more places do I need to visit my people. For as long as they are there, I will keep going, and I will keep bringing back their stories to the masses. The most common thing I hear, no matter where I see my people is, “Please let people know what has happened to us,” “Please remember us in your prayers,” and “Please don’t forget us.”

“Please don’t forget us.”

I won’t, I can’t—your stories and faces are ingrained in my memory forever.

So I ask everyone reading this:

On behalf of all of my people that I have met in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Greece, Germany and Turkey …

On behalf of the mothers, the fathers, the doctors, the lawyers …

On behalf of the children most of all …

Please do not forget them.

Don’t let our attention fade. Don’t turn away as we cross off another year of their suffering.

They are counting on us.