Anwar Meets Gaza Families

Senior U.S. staff member Anwar Khan is in Gaza visiting Islamic Relief projects and beneficiaries. This past weekend, he met orphans Islamic Relief donors are sponsoring, and visited schools and hospitals Islamic Relief is supporting. He recounted and reflected on the experience in his latest diary entries, from which you will find some excerpts below.

November 6 - Today, we visited some of the most devastated areas from the war earlier this year. These areas are mostly in the north and east of Gaza. We visited olive orchards that were uprooted and cement factories that were destroyed. One of the olive orchards has been re planted, but it will take many years for them to grow back. The cement factory cannot be renovated until construction materials are allowed into Gaza and even then it cannot operate without raw materials.

There were children going inside destroyed buildings to scavenge for anything useful. We visited destroyed schools and damaged playgrounds.

We prayed Jum'aa (Friday prayers) in one of the largest mosques in northern Gaza. It was paid for by a ruler from the Gulf. It looked beautiful from afar, but when I entered the mosques I saw broken windows and broken fixtures. The locals are finding it difficult to find the raw materials to maintain this building.

We visited more orphans today, Suzanne, Iman and Amina. Suzanne is a gifted girl who lives in a refugee camp, but got a scholarship to go to a private school. Her favorite subject is English and she wants to be a teacher when she gets older.

When I asked her what her dreams were she replied "For peace to Gaza. For the ability to travel locally and internationally without problems." This from an eleven-year-old orphan.

Iman and Amina are seven-year-old twins. Their father died one year and three days after their birth. A few months later their younger brother was born. Their mother is remarried and they have to live with their maternal grandparents in a refugee camp. What shocked me the most was young Iman's favorite subject: human rights.

November 7 - We revisited Al Shifa and Nasser pediatric hospital. Al Shifa is overcrowded and desperately needs a new building. The new building is half done, the construction ceased three years ago when the sanctions were tightened.

We visited three-year-old Fayek who is in the Intensive Care Unit after he fell nearly forty feet. We were told he is stable, but not out of harms way. His spleen, lungs, liver and brain are partially damaged.

Nasser pediatric hospital is another old building, but the emergency unit has been renovated by Islamic Relief Palestine.

We also did some more food distribution today. One beneficiary, an elderly disabled man, was too weak to take the food package home. I helped him place the package on the back of his bicycle and he used the bicycle as a trolley to take the parcel home.

After nightfall, I visited the main shopping area which is on Omar Mukhtar Street. Most of the items were from China. The fake shirts were cheap quality, but the same price as the originals in the US. Before the siege there were very limited items to buy, now the shops are full with cheap quality items that were smuggled through the underground tunnels.

Gaza Convoy Presses On

Islamic Relief USA staff member Anwar Khan is in Gaza with an international delegation visiting some of our projects and beneficiaries. He shared tearful reflections with USA staff via teleconference, and is sharing his stories with supporters below.

November 3- Yesterday was physically and emotionally trying, but the human spirit in adversity was inspiring. We visited Al Shifa clinic in the South. The medical director was thanking us for coming to Gaza and he felt they were not alone. He thanked all the Arab, Muslim and friends of other faiths who had come during and after the crisis for their help.

He explained how the hospital was overflowing with patients in the first half hour of the bombing. Patients were placed on the floor, bleeding and waiting for help. Staff risked their lives to come to work. Some lost their families and took of the funeral and came straight to work. At this point he was interrupted by a local who mentioned that the doctors own 21-year-old son was killed in the bombardment. The doctor buried his son and continued treating patients in the hospital the same day. At this point, the doctor had a tear in his eye, but then showed us a photo of his son on his mobile phone. He smiled and then continued with the needs of the children in Gaza.

We then visited the blood donor ward, the fluoroscopy lab and the Intensive Coronary Care Unit. We visited many sick children and were told that because of the closed border this hospital was for many children their only hope.

The next visit was to a water pump. Islamic Relief Palestine had to drill with the local partner 90 meters to get water and treat the water with chlorine, before it was safe to drink. 90% of Gazans do not have access to drinking water from their faucets and 30% do not even have access to regular water, even if it is not drinking water.

Next was a children's center where Islamic Relief is providing fortified milk shakes and cookies, which are an essential source of calcium and vitamins to the children.

Our final visit was to a University where we provided science equipment. The campus had been damaged in the bombardment, this equipment was away being repaired at the time of the bombardment, so was not destroyed. Now it is relocated in a different building.

Our delegation was amazed at the can-do attitude and lack of complaining in the face of insurmountable odds. We don't need to pity them, but respect them for trying to make the best of a difficult situation.


November 4- The international delegation left today after we visited the Islamic Relief warehouses. We inspected the emergency items we have ready for the next emergency. We know it is a matter of when, not if the emergency will come. On this trip, we have seen some neighborhoods in the north that have been destroyed. It was as if a tsunami had washed everything away. In other neighborhoods, some buildings were destroyed and some neighborhoods were relatively unscathed.

The international delegation was delayed at the border on their return. That is not a good sign for me, but they made it back safely.

I had a meeting with some of our staff today and was told stories of how some had to bury their loved ones and then went immediately to work. I wish they could come to the U.S. to tell their stories of delivering humanitarian aid during the conflict, but they, like most of the Gaza population, are not able to leave.

November 5- Today, we visited some of the poorest families we are sponsoring in Gaza. We give them food rations for three months, but they consume them in two months. The food rations are for 7 in a family. There were between 11 and 15 family members in the families we visited today.
In one family, there were three generations living in one house. One of the daughters, 27, became a widow at the age of 19and now has moved back home with her seven-year-old twins. Her eleven-year-old brother has a hole in his heart and none of the adults are able to get jobs.

Ahmed and Younis are both orphan brothers that Islamic Relief is sponsoring. They are disabled and their mother has to look after them and their older brother who is suffering from cancer. Their sponsorship payment goes mostly to pay for their medical visits and medicine. Their building was damaged earlier this year during the bombardment. They are just surviving and cannot repair the one room they all live in.

You can help. Donate today.

IR Convoy in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA staff member, Anwar Khan, is part of an international delegation visiting Gaza and some of Islamic Relief's projects there. He arrived on November 1, and will be sending his reflections from the field. Below you will find an excerpt from his writings so far.

November 1- We left Cairo at 4 a.m. to escape the desert heat and arrived at the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian/Palestinian border just before 10 a.m.. We were expecting to pass the border in an hour. It took seven hours. We were very lucky - for some it takes days, if they cross at all. As I put my foot on the Palestinian side I felt I was in a special place. After eleven years I had stepped back into the holy land. Christian, Muslims and Jews all believe this land is special.

The sixteen hour journey had come after years of trying. Since the crisis happened earlier this year I have been longing to come and see the situation for myself and I wanted to see the people of Gaza, whom we saw suffering on television news every night in January. I had so many questions, including; how they were and what kind of people were they who stayed during and after the bombardment?

As we traveled from the border to our residence we saw some destruction, but not on the scale I had seen in the media. That was to come tomorrow.

November 2- Today, we visited one of the psychosocial centers Islamic Relief is running in Gaza, to help children affected by trauma. One of the children there, Mahmood, lost his mother and is still suffering from severe trauma. Through play, animation, role playing and other forms of therapy, therapists are slowly seeing improvement in his condition. After his session, we had to drop him off at a camp he is staying in since his home was destroyed earlier this year.

We then visited a clinic which had been converted to a hospital due to the conflict earlier this year. It is in northern Gaza, which took the brunt of the destruction. The hospital was waiting for funds for radiology equipment. They are not able to function properly without working equipment.

Next stop was a visit to the agricultural wells that help the local farmers. Islamic Relief Palestine had rebuilt five wells this year.

At the only artificial limbs center in Gaza, which Islamic Relief operates, we saw a patient who had lost his leg in the conflict and was now learning to walk on a prosthetic limb. Because it is the only center of its kind in Gaza, it was flooded with requests this year. In the past, some of the patients may have gone overseas for treatment, now they have no choice. They are not able to leave. The staff is working tirelessly with smiles on their faces and can see the positive side to any tragedy.

Islamic Relief's center for the hearing impaired was next and we visited kindergarten children who were learning through play. I and my colleague do not know Arabic and these children cannot speak English, but as my colleague was rolling on the floor with the children I saw them speaking through the language of laughter and smiles. I realized then that I was not watching Palestinian, or Gazan children, I was watching beautiful children playing and laughing. No labels. I thought of my own daughter in kindergarten in Dallas, Texas. Maybe one day these children will be able to go home and drink clean water from the faucet, maybe one day their parents can afford to feed them regularly, at least now we can help them with hearing aids. One act of compassion is not enough, but every act of compassion makes a difference. To these children it may make a world of a difference.

There was then a visit to another hospital where Islamic Relief had provided medical equipment. Before the improvements, the paint was peeling and you could smell the mold. The emergency department looked new and the equipment was new and was saving lives.

We then went upstairs to the neonatal unit to see tiny babies in incubators that were not working properly. The hospital was not able to get all the spare parts and was making do with what they could. The neonatal ward had mold and the paint was peeling. The building was forty years old and it is extremely difficult to pay salaries and get equipment, let alone maintain the whole building. No matter what we do, there are always more needs. As I looked at the sick patients, I felt some relief in that at least we've made a difference with these children. We need to help one child at a time.

We then visited another pediatric hospital and a school that had been devastated. This day had broken my heart several times after witnessing so much pain and destruction. In the evening I met a local man who explained how he was recycling some of the olive trees that were destroyed earlier this year. Instead of burning them he was constructing jewelry cases and tissue boxes. Broken glass was being recycled into plates. Nothing was to be wasted and the item would come back in a different form. This is also true for Gaza. It is so different from eleven years ago and the courage of the people in adversity is amazing.

From the Field: IR USA Staff in China

A team of Islamic Relief USA staff members are in China visiting Islamic Relief's field office. They are also visiting new and old projects in China to conduct assessments and audits. One of the team members, Ahmed Mostafa, reflects on the team's experience in Wang Bao Shan Village (Sichuan Province) below.

My team and I are on the road again in the same old fashion style: bright and early. I have not seen 7 a.m. so often since high school. Believe me, I have not missed it! We crossed four provinces yesterday, and the scenery is mixed- some polluted skies, some romantic sunsets, amazing mountain ranges rising right up out of open plains, foliage, cows, cars, the Yellow River, dry endless dunes and mountains, the starving, the weak and the Audi parked out front.

Today we traveled nine long hours to continue our journey for passion, truth and the fight against poverty. In the heart of China, Islamic Relief plans to demolish and reconstruct a school.

Atop a mountain, at heights so crushing they remind us of our own mortality, we find, tucked away, a school for about 70 students. The children greet us with a song and dance, and the parents (or grandparents) full of smiles and excitement, welcome us like a teary-eyed mother welcoming home her son who has been away for years.

The school is intact, but old and in need of replacement. Simply getting materials and labor to the schools location will be a feat. The large courtyard is surrounded on three sides by old buildings. There is a ping-pong table made of solid concrete.

The three teachers tell us stories and share exciting dreams of the building to come. It was rewarding to see the people we will be helping.

As we start the 45-minute drive down the mountain side, the host mentions one last stop. Natural gas burners have been installed to benefit the local mountainfolk. Now, residents no longer need to spend hours cutting wood. Some are too old to even perform the task.

We, an entourage of twenty people, practically ambush a 67-year-old tenant, in an attempt to gather some more field evidence. At first she is all smiles and warmth, a pillar of strength in a struggling world. She is adorable and immediately I think of my own grandmother. Moments pass, and laughter ensues. A few kind words and her smiles of gratitude turn to tears of joy.

Her emotional response is too much even for me to snap another photograph. I put the camera down, in a moment of shame, and hold back tears as she cries tears of gratitude, to a handful of messengers.

This is why we Islamic Relief exists. Those tears make everyday worth it. These beneficiaries confirmed the deliverance of the amana (trust) entrusted to us by the donors, they justify the overtime and weekends away from the family and they soften our hearts in a way we often refuse to allow.

She thanks us, and we thank her.

We have given her little, but in her eyes, we gave her the world. And she in return has given us more than she will ever know: those tears are the reminder of our responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves, they are the vehicle by which our hardened hearts are softened, they are the evidence of progress and they are the culmination of countless hours of the men and women, of all races and creeds, working side-by-side to fight for those who are forgotten.

Drip, drip…drip. Those tears are the fuel which inspire men to action.

To support Islamic Relief's work in China, click here to donate now.

Earthquake Victims Still Homeless

Heavy rains have raised concerns for homeless families in Indonesia that have not yet received emergency shelter.

Villages are also facing a growing risk of landslides, which is making it harder for families to go home.

Thousands of people are still in desperate need for aid and healthcare. Emergency relief efforts are underway, but some sectors are critically underfunded.

Shelter remains the biggest unmet need.

Help give a homeless earthquake victim food and a place to sleep- donate to Islamic Relief's "Pacific Earthquake Emergency" Fund today.

To read more about Islamic Relief's efforts since the launch of the emergency campaign in the Pacific Rim region, click here.

Fighting Poverty With Faith: A Collaborative Movement

This week Islamic Relief USA is partnering with 33 national faith-based groups in the 2009 Fighting Poverty with Faith: Good Jobs, Green Jobs initiative. We are working to amplify our collective voice to let Congress know that the term “working poor” is no longer acceptable, and that as we shape our new clean economy, policies must be in place to ensure that anyone who works full-time has the means to sustain his/her family.

On October 21, as part of the Fighting Poverty with Faith: Good Jobs, Green Jobs initiative we are asking you- our supporters across the country- to participate in a national call-in day to Capitol Hill.

Call your Senators and Representative and ask them to help low-income Americans during the “Great Recession” by advancing programs that invest in Good Jobs and Green Jobs.

Congressional offices can be reached through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Thank your Senator for including the Green Construction Careers Demonstration Project and funding for the Green Jobs Act in the draft version of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act and ask them to allocate allowance values for the Green Jobs Act for well beyond 2013.

Ask your Member of Congress to invest in workforce training to ensure that all workers benefit as the economy recovers.

Ask your Member of Congress to support legislation to improve access to education and training opportunities through community colleges and technical schools.

Ask your Member of Congress to cosponsor the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act (HR 2269), and ask President Obama to sign an executive order enacting the structure for Gulf Coast Civic Works (he will be in New Orleans during our week of action).

Islamic Relief USA is dedicating to alleviating poverty, and in that in spirit we encourage you to please take part in this campaign.

To read a press release sent to the media the day of the initiative, click here.

To learn more about Islamic Relief USA, visit http://www.islamicreliefusa.org/.

A Recurring Nightmare: The Africa Food Crisis

Saleh Saeed, CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide, returned from Kenya where he was visiting our humanitarian projects in the drought-stricken region of Mandera. Persistent drought and the rising cost of food have left the people of Mandera struggling to feed themselves, causing rates of malnutrition to soar to around 35 percent. In this diary entry written in the field, Saleh reflects on the resilience of local communities in the face of food shortages and other calamities caused by climate change.

I have just returned to Islamic Relief’s office in Mandera and sitting here reflecting on the last few days, my emotions keep swinging between hope and despair.

Lying at the northern edge of Kenya, bordered by Ethiopia and Somalia, Mandera is a dry region of red sand and scrubby trees. It is also at the very heart of the drought that has left a staggering 20 million people across East Africa in need of food and makes visible the very real effects of climate change.

Spiral of Despair
According to the Kenyan government, eight million people across the country need emergency food aid, most of them in arid regions like Mandera which has been hit hard by poor rainfall and rising food prices. You may think that you have heard this story before and you would be right. Last year, Mandera also suffered from shortages of water and food, but when the rains failed yet again it plunged the local
community further into a spiral of food shortages and rising malnutrition. That cycle is becoming increasingly difficult for them to escape.

As I drove through Mandera, I saw people moving with their emaciated goats in search of fodder, while the landscape around them was scattered with carcasses.

Worst drought for years
Mohammed Ali, Mandera’s water engineer, told me that this was the worst drought he had ever experienced in 20 years of working for the Mandera Water Office.

He said, “The lack of rain means the water pans are dry and that there is no pasture for people’s precious livestock. “In this region animals are people’s means of survival providing them with food and income, so when the livestock die so do people,” Mohammed said.

“People are now sharing their own small amounts of food with their goats in a desperate attempt to keep them alive.”

Oasis of hope
Despite all odds, out of the harsh and dry landscape I did come across an oasis of life and hope. En route from Mandera to Rhamu I saw lush farmland where people were growing tomatoes, maize, onions and even pasture for their livestock. This once parched land had been made green and fertile by a co-operative of agro-pastoralists with the help of Islamic Relief, and was now providing them with food and income.

Mohammed Diriye, a farmer from Yabicho village is one of the first 700 people to benefit from seeds, tools and training provided by Islamic Relief as part of its irrigation projects. Pointing at the bright green pump supplied by Islamic Relief he said, “This is the reason that my quality of life has improved so much.”

He told me, “We had lost our animals to the drought and did not have any money to buy food. We were relying on distributions of food but this was not reliable and many children had become severely malnourished.”

“But now I am able to grow enough maize to feed my family and my animals and am no longer dependent on aid. I am growing enough fodder to keep my animals alive and well, and also have enough left over to sell at market, along with the various vegetables that I am now able to grow,” Mohammed explained.

Turning the tide
I came away from this community full of optimism in their strength and resolve to turn the tide of despair into hope. By helping pastoralists with irrigation projects they are now able to grow their own food, to save the lives of their livestock and make money from their crops while supplying the markets with wonderful fresh produce.

Farmers like Mohammed were also determined that the good work would not stop here. He explained that after seeing what could be achieved with a little help, he now wanted to assist other families by extending the irrigation system further into the desert. “All we need is a little help to extend these irrigation canals,” he said.

Brink of survival
I found Mohammed’s enthusiasm and desire to help others the way he had been helped heartening. But I also knew that the task before local communities like Mohammed’s and before NGOs like Islamic Relief is vast. Climate change in areas like Mandera is a reality and has been for some time. The people here will tell you that drought used to visit them every decade or so, now it comes almost every year.

The situation in Mandera is now so desperate that pastoralists are moving across the border into Ethiopia, and most surprisingly into war-torn Somalia in a last ditch attempt to save their animals. But ultimately this is not a problem they can escape from. Across the whole of East Africa drought, food shortages and conflict have conspired to push people to the brink of survival.

This is my first visit to Islamic Relief projects since I became CEO and has driven home the fact that as an organisation we have huge responsibilities and face huge hallenges. It is our role not only to support individuals like Mohammed but to tackle the root causes of their poverty before it really is too late.

Support our efforts to provide food for those who don't have it and donate to the Africa Food Crisis fund today.