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.

The Syria crisis has reached its fifth anniversary. A conflict which many thought would stay within the confines of the region has had an impact all over the world leading to the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Islamic Relief has provided over £130 million worth of aid and assisted 6.5 million Syrians since the conflict began.

Millions of Syrians have been displaced and lost their homes and livelihoods, with many making the dangerous and often life threatening journey to Europe. Those who have chosen to stay in Syria are amongst an entire generation of five-year-olds that have known nothing but war.

(Click on picture to download report)

We are running or supporting camps and providing livelihood programmes, education psychological and social support for refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. In Europe our teams are assisting Syrian refugees in Greece, Italy, Macedonia and Germany.

Our operation inside Syria is difficult and dangerous and we have faced many challenges over the last five years. Our staff and volunteers have suffered a lot, with some killed or seriously injured in the line of duty as they deliver aid.

This report looks at our work in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq over the past five years, as well our plans for the future and the challenges that we face.

In one week, the number of people living in camps at the Turkish border has increased by 30,000 to around 100,000 people. Many families were displaced from Azaz city, in the far north of the country, where hospitals and schools were the targets of airstrikes.

A further 40,000 people lost their home on Monday when Tell Rifaat, a city in the north, was targeted.

“Monday was a dark day for women and children in Syria,” said Ahmed Mahmoud, an Islamic Relief staff member working in Syria. “The people killed included pregnant women and new-born babies in incubators. This is simply unacceptable.

“Civilians have been displaced several times in the last five years, some of them for three, four or five times. These people left their homes because of bombardments and moved to displaced people camps; the camps were hit so they moved to collective centres in schools; the schools were hit and many of the injured people were taken to hospital. And then the hospitals were hit. So where else can people go to protect themselves?”

Ahmed Mahmoud speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about the situation in Syria

The blast from airstrikes in Azaz blew out the windows of a kidney dialysis centre that Islamic Relief is running in the town centre. The machines are still functioning but many of the patients who desperately need the dialysis treatment are now too scared to come to the centre, which is the only functioning dialysis centre in northern Aleppo. Instead, dialysis will be provided through the night when airstrikes are less frequent.

Around Azaz, Islamic Relief has stopped distributing food parcels at centres as the risk of people being injured or killed while travelling to or gathering at the sites was too high. Instead of asking people to come to distribution sites, Islamic Relief teams are now distributing food parcels door-to-door.

Ahmed added: “Going door-to-door has increased pressure on the team as well as the cost of distribution, but it will protect the lives of the people who are possible targets to the airstrikes.”

“Leave no diplomatic stone unturned”

Many families at the border with Turkey have very little food, clothing and utensils with them. In the next few days, in coordination with the Turkish authorities, Islamic Relief plans to deliver 25 sanitation units to the new camps that have been set up inside Syria near the Turkish border. Each unit will include seven toilets and sinks and are designed to help with hygiene.

Islamic Relief strongly condemns the targeting of civilian infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, markets and bakeries.

“All parties to the conflict must respect international humanitarian law,” says Ahmed. “Everyone can see civilians, health care workers and ambulances entering and leaving these hospitals. They are in highly populated areas, a long way from the frontline. The targeting of civilians has to stop right now.”

“This conflict has continued for five years. More than 11 million have forced to leave their homes and over 250,000 killed. The situation is dire and there seems to be no real prospect of a solution. The international community must leave no diplomatic stone unturned to find a solution to this conflict.”

Over the last year, Islamic Relief has provided food, medical items, warm clothing and shelter for more than 3 million people inside Syria.