#Empowerment
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The Campaign isn’t about Water, It’s about Life
Water projects take center stage in preserving life Water is a gift from Allah, a blessing for all of us, every man, woman and child. A form of sustenance that allows us to stay hydrated, and healthy. This is highlighted by the fact that the human body is made of up to 60% water. There is no way around it, water is crucial to our survival, water is life. Now, imagine you didn’t have readily available access to water, to this most basic, most crucial of commodities. Imagine every day, you have to worry about how you’re going to find water, and when you find the water you have to…
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Until We All Win
Thousands of hot meals in partnership with Nike “We underestimate that when a hot meal comes it’s so much easier for families to come together than have them worry about how to make a meal. It’s something that I thought was impactful,” said Ahmed Aduib, IRUSA Midwest Regional Manager. We have been working with Nike to deliver hot meals in the Chicago area. Islamic Relief USA is among 20 nonprofit organizations across North America to receive a Nike Until We All Win Grant that will help our communities to navigate the difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic. This funding will help us distribute more than 2000 hot meals, via a pre-approved…
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Poem: Water for Life
Award Winning Poet Tariq Touré pays tribute to the impact of water projects. For the dried mouths of newborns And the cops that wait ages To taste the moisture of rain As the clouds form to perform And dance of hope above the heads Of entire communities thinned out From famine and drought and thirst That earthquakes them awake In nights that feel like eternity We work for water Water for life Water for now Water for forever For families that have forgotten The taste of fresh mango and yam And the farms waiting With trembling hands For the first field to be fed Hoping that beads of water Give…
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Srebrenica: A Look at our Beginning in Bosnia
IRUSA reflects on Bosnia and families looking for hope this Qurbani season. In 1995, one of the most harrowing tragedies took place in Srebrenica, Bosnia. Over 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were massacred, in just 5 days. Thousands of women went missing and were the victims of mass rape and torture. The children of those rape victims still have no legal recognition to this day. The Srebrenica genocide is one of the most brutal and horrifying events of our lifetime, but it is widely erased from our collective memory. Till this day, bodies continue to be excavated and buried, giving families an opportunity to finally pray Janaza on their loved ones and bury them honourably.…
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One-on-One with Congressman André Carson
Indiana representative provides a window into policy decisions in the pandemic Watch recording here A Sliver of Hope Indiana Rep. Andre Carson (D-7) said on Wednesday, April 8, that he hopes to have another bill of the CARES ( Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act enacted to address some of the issues that weren’t included in the first round. The CARES Act is a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill recently passed by Congress to address the various social and economic aftereffects of the coronavirus outbreak (formally known as COVID-19) that have brought much of the worldwide economy to a standstill. The holding pattern has caused record unemployment (more than 10…
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Revisiting the Syrian Refugee Crisis: Hopes and Frustrations with Marwa Aly
A journal entry from Trinity College Muslim Chaplain Marwa Aly during her time in Jordan with Syrian refugees IRUSA invited a group of dynamic women community leaders on a visit to Islamic Relief USA’s Projects in Jordan serving Syrian refugees. It expose them, and educate them first hand about IRUSA’s women’s empowerment projects in Jordan, as well as the refugee projects. It was an opportunity to not only meet the staff and volunteers who make the delivery of humanitarian aid possible, but to come face-to-face with the very people we serve. How Perspectives can Change Today was both an uplifting and perspective-shifting day as we traveled to both Ramtha and…
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The Right to Vote: Black History Remembered
IRUSA highlights past and present change-agents in the fight for voting rights in America. Fannie Lou Hamer “You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.” – Fannie Lou Hamer A Decision During the summer of 1962, a young African American woman made a decision to attend a local meeting held by the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which was responsible for organizing younger African Americans in the charge for voting rights. Her interests was piqued, and she would go on to become one of the most impactful advocates for equitable access to…
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4 Life Lessons from IRUSA’s Peru Challenge
We reflect on a life-changing expedition for a life-changing cause 1 “The goal is not simply for you to cross the finish line, but to see how many people you can inspire to run with you.” ― Simon Sinek If we told you we could bring strangers half-way around the world to climb endlessly and walk on the edge of cliffs all while depending on each other just so we could support life-saving water projects, would you believe us? In the beginning there were doubts about what, when, and how it would even happen but the Peru challenge did what all IRUSA challenges have been successful at doing, it brought people together…
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First-Ever IRUSA Meal Pack Out IN Harrisburg, PA, Shows Power of Love
IRUSA, Rise Against Hunger, Islamic Society of Greater Harrisburg, and volunteers come together to serve those in need Coming Together Aligning with five of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations has empowered IRUSA to be able to focus intensely on areas of concern for vulnerable communities. One of those goals is to end hunger. Though ending hunger in the world is an effort many in humanitarian spaces see as a challenging effort, requiring belief and commitment, it is a priority that we have put our collective hearts into. On November 9th, almost 100 hearts from Rise Above Hunger, Islamic Society of Greater Harrisburg, and other members of the…
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Women’s Empowerment in Pakistan: Meet Nabila
Nabila, a Pakistani woman, is making great strides as a professional now, but that wasn’t always the case. At 16-years-old, she was married. Within a year of marriage, she became a widow with a baby boy to care for. Her husband had fallen ill and was on his deathbed for 16 days. While she waited at his bedside, his family grew suspicious. They eventually put her and her young son out, believing that it was Nabila who caused her husband’s illness and ultimately death. She had nowhere to go but back to stay with her father. Although he worked hard as a driver, his salary still wasn’t enough to support…
