#Service
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Pakistan is under water: how IRUSA is advocating for climate adaptation and resiliency
By Zana Sahyouni Monsoon rains, caused by rising temperatures related to climate change, have caused flash flooding across Pakistan including the areas of Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab, leaving over 33 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The death toll has surpassed 1,200, and more than 6,000 people have been injured according to Pakistan’s Natural Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The floods caused damage to vital infrastructure including over 3,000 miles of roads and bridges, damaged or destroyed over 1 million homes, and caused over 800,000 livestock to perish. The damage is still not done—heavy rains are expected to continue, increasing the flooding even more in weeks to…
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Celebrating Islamic Relief Volunteers
The Power of Our Blueshirts By Nabeeha Shah Our vision at Islamic Relief USA is a world free of poverty. We work to provide relief and development to help empower communities in need. And our volunteers help make it possible. Our Blueshirts are the lifeblood of our organization. They come from all walks of life, dedicating their time and energy to help their brothers and sisters both around the world and here at home. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “Be merciful to those on the earth, so the One above the heavens will be merciful to you.” Across the US, our team has helped contribute to Afghan refugee resettlement, meal packs,…
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Islamic Relief in Asia – Our Commitment to Providing Relief to those in Need for Almost 30 Years
By Yusuf Azimi Since 1993, Islamic Relief has been working in Asia, committed to providing emergency relief and integrated programming to those in need. During this time, the region has experienced numerous floodings, landslides, droughts, earthquakes and recurrent disease outbreaks, as well as conflict and economic related disasters. Throughout that time, we’ve established a base in several countries throughout Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Building teams on the ground capable of providing effective and efficient support rapidly, whenever a crisis arises. As we look towards our 30th year of working in Asia, we recognize that although considerable progress has been made, there are…
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The One Journey Festival: A Refugee Advocate’s Dream Event
By Aseel Elborno On June 25, 2022, Islamic Relief USA sponsored and participated in the One Journey Festival for their third annual celebration of refugees. The day was filled with music, dance, storytelling, food, arts & crafts, technology, and more. One Journey was founded in 2017 by Wendy Chan and Vanda Berninger, two American immigrants who wanted to share their positive, welcoming experiences as newcomers with others. Today, the One Journey Festival is an annual event that attracts greater visibility and larger crowds each year. The entire event is organized and run by volunteers and supported by NGOs, multicultural communities, faith communities, government and academia work. IRUSA advocates and volunteers…
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National Volunteer Week with The Blueshirts
April 17 – April 23 marks the celebration of volunteers Yusuf Azmi This National Volunteer Week, our volunteers will continue raising funds and awareness for our brothers and sisters in need across the globe through our IRaise Ramadan campaign. They will be assisting with hot meals distributions, meal pack events, hygiene kit assemblies, packaging food boxes, and supporting our fundraising events. National Volunteer week is taking place during the blessed month of Ramadan, one of the busiest times of the year at IRUSA. With the help of our volunteers this Ramadan, our aim is to assemble around 500k meals inshAllah! IRUSA carries out vital work around the world and here at home, responding…
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A Fatal Bronx Fire
Communities, led by West African families, mount responses and mourn A fire unseen for over 30 years It had been over three decades since a Bronx nightclub was set on fire claiming the lives of 87 people. The culprit spent his last days of a life sentence in 2016 behind bars. Early this January, countless families experience the horror of losing loved ones as a fire consumed the Twin Parks NW apartment building in the Bronx. Built as low-income housing in 1974, the building was home to ranging ethnicities. It most prominently featured West Africans who championed a tight-knit community. A Sunday morning of horror All residents of the complex…
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Turkeys for All
Some 82,000 people will be served this season via IRUSA’s turkey distributions One of Islamic Relief USA’s most popular seasonal programs took place just days before Thanksgiving. The 2021 U.S. Turkey Distribution strives to provide turkeys to families and households experiencing food insecurity or other difficulties. During a time of rising food costs, these turkeys can make all the difference between a festive meal or just getting by. The estimated price for a turkey this year across the country is a whopping $28! Partners across America worked with IRUSA to place turkeys in the hands of as many people we serve as possible. As is IRUSA’s custom, all of the 16,000-plus turkeys are halal,…
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Oct. 23 Proclaimed ‘Islamic Relief USA Day’ by Harris County Commissioner
Proclamation made during the Grand Opening ceremony of IRUSA’s Houston facility and Day of Dignity event. The City of Houston has a lot going for it. A vibrant downtown, great diversity (Muslims will feel very welcome with its numerous halal restaurants and mosques), and relatively low gas prices (just $2.89 per gallon of regular unleaded at one Mobil station not too far from the George Bush Intercontinental Airport). Now, the city has something else to celebrate; a new Islamic Relief USA building. The nonprofit humanitarian and advocacy organization held a grand opening ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 23, for its new volunteer dormitory on Lee Road in North Houston. The facility…
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Behind the Vest: Emergency Response to Hurricane Ida
IRUSA’s own Araif Yusuff discusses Hurricane Ida relief August 2021: One of the most challenging disaster response months IRUSA has faced since the inception of our humanitarian mission and effort. On one hand, more than 500,000 Afghan refugees were suddenly displaced in Afghanistan or in foreign countries that were put on notice of their arrival just days before–they fled turmoil and increased violence that came on the heels of the U.S. withdrawal after 20 years in the country. On the other hand, category 4 Hurricane Ida slammed against the southern shores of America, with the gusto of the second most-damaging hurricane in Louisiana history. More than 1,000,000 people were left…
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IRUSA Rep Send Dispatch from the IFG20
IFG20 conference features triumphs and challenges recorded by IRUSA staff By Director Public Affairs Christina Tobias-Nahi WATCH WHAT A RELIEF POD INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS CHRISTINA TOBIAS-NAHI HERE NOW The Interfaith G20 Summit “Time to Heal: Peace among Cultures, Understanding between Religions” took place in mid September in Bologna, Italy and IRUSA was proud to have not only been an advisor to the local organizer of this event FSCIRE (a research institution that publishes, trains, serves, organizes, welcomes and communicates research in the field of religious sciences, with particular regard to Christianity, Islam and the religions with which they have been in contact) but also an active participant…
