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Getting Gaza’s children off to a “Right Start” at school this year with IRUSA and ANERA
Laura McAdams is International Programs Coordinator at Islamic Relief USA. Back-to-school season is approaching and while many parents are preparing themselves for their children’s first day of school, only about a third of all four and five year olds in Gaza will be enrolled in preschool in the fall. The preschools that are available to children in Gaza are overcrowded and expensive: There are only four public, no-fee preschools in all of the West Bank and Gaza. Moreover, the quality of education children receive at these schools is reportedly poor. During school hours children have neither the opportunities or materials to be creative. They don’t even have places to play…
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From the Heart: Loving the Yateem
Islamic Relief USA’s Lina Hashem reports how one dedicated Islamic Relief USA donor has dedicated a significant part of his life to helping orphans in Afghanistan. Ahmad Sohail Ayam has an extra motivation to get to work every morning. Well, more like 41 extra motivations. They’re the orphans he sponsors. Ayam is from Afghanistan and so are his orphans, but that’s not why he sponsors them. It’s because he’s seen how the poor are living there, right now in the 21st century, after decades of war. Especially the yateem—the orphans. “There are people living in the 10th century,” he said. “I saw them last year when I was there. Poor…
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IRUSA Makes Education for Syrian Children a Priority
Enas was nine years old when her and her family fled Syria more than a year ago in January 2014. Their home is now a simple tent in eastern Lebanon in one of the more than four hundred informal settlements that are scattered throughout the country.
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One TechGirl inspires with a special message to leaders everywhere
Islamic Relief USA’s Nada Shawish writes on a special letter she received from one very special TechGirl who is working hard to become a leader in a male-dominated field. I’ve read so many pieces of writing here at Islamic Relief USA. Some are from the field, some are from donors, some are from staff members, and some are from community leaders. But the ones that mean the most are the ones we receive from the people we support with your donations and volunteered time. One particular piece we received from a high school girl makes me so hopeful for the future of our world. Kenza, from the group TechGirls, believes…
