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When I Served The Homeless in ‘The City of Roses’
Laura McAdams is International Programs Coordinator at Islamic Relief USA. September 20—Portland, Oregon is famous for its natural beauty, world-class coffee, and funky arts scene. Less known, however, is that the City of Roses has almost 4,000 homeless men women and children. Many of these people are not able to predict when their next meal will be. They sleep on the streets as they struggle to find affordable housing, while the city’s population grows. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I was thankful to return to help out at Sunday’s Day of Dignity event, which aims to provide necessary services and supplies to the city’s most vulnerable. Laila Hajoo…
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‘ American Dream ‘ Achieved: Refugee Now Homeowner in Baltimore
In his home country of Togo, Akote Akwei was a top human rights activist. He came to the United States in 2005 to report on conditions there in front of the United Nations. While he was here, he received word that he was a wanted man. He couldn’t go back. Akwei applied for asylum and received permission to stay with his family in the United States. Now the man known by so many back home was a refugee. He never thought he’d own a house again. This summer, thanks in part to Islamic Relief USA donors, that dream came true. And this month – after his family prayed and sang…
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How to Be A Superhero: Show Up for Baltimore with Super Iman
Nada Shawish is Communications Specialist at Islamic Relief USA. This blog is dedicated to the superheroes doing the best they can for the city of Baltimore. What’s the difference between the superheroes in comic books and you and I? Not much. Human beings have a lot of potential. In The Holy Qur’an, Allah (swt) says: “Surely, We created the human being of the best of forms.” (Surat At-Tiin, 4) Every fictional superhero quality is a metaphor for a very human, but highly undervalued, underutilized attribute. Being a superhero in Baltimore City isn’t that far-fetched or super human, for example. It means being just a little bit more human—by showing up…
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Hurricane Katrina: Islamic Relief USA’s First Big U.S. Disaster Relief Effort.
When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, Elouise Kensey was traveling. Her home in New Orleans was destroyed, but she called herself lucky. “I have custody of my seven grandchildren, and had we stayed somebody would have died,” she told Islamic Relief workers after the storm. “A tree fell on the house. We were lucky, blessed , however you want to call it.” The Category 5 hurricane devastated large parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and its floodwaters surged right over and through the levees protecting New Orleans. More than 1,800 people were killed. Hundreds of thousands were left homeless, including Kensey and her family. Hurricane…
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#Sharehumanity with Islamic Relief USA on World Humanitarian Day
Nada Shawish is communications specialist at Islamic Relief USA. 19 August 2015 – There’s nothing connecting humanitarians and the world better than social media today—And on World Humanitarian Day the United Nations has launched a call to people around the world to share stories of humanitarian heroism on their social media feeds. At Islamic Relief USA, my colleagues and I are dedicating our feeds to humanitarian heroes for World Humanitarian Day—Are you? In 2015 nearly 78 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance @islamicrelief #Dosomething #sharehumanity Islamic Relief USA humanitarians are tirelessly working in some of the most dangerous places in the world to reach people who need…
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TechGirls Are Tech-Social for Humanitarian Action at Islamic Relief USA
Nada Shawish is communications specialist at Islamic Relief USA. Fatima and Khadija are scrolling through their phones, checking tweets and Facebook statuses during a short break. “I am addicted to social media,” Fatima exclaims, her big eyes growing even bigger. She’s fifteen years old from Lebanon and she tells me that she dreams about working in digital technology someday. The girls are visiting Islamic Relief USA headquarters as part of the job-shadowing aspect of the TechGirls exchange program. TechGirls is a 3-week, international summer exchange program hosted by the U.S. State Department that selects promising girls from the Middle East and North Africa region and empowers them to to pursue…
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From One Idea, Many Toys — And Many Smiles
Two weeks ago, on Eid, trucks headed out across the country, filled to the brim with colorful gifts packaged at Islamic Relief offices—making Eid brighter for thousands of children. Islamic Relief USA’s fourth annual toy drive brought together close to 150 volunteers in 16 cities to organize events collecting more than 3,000 toys for children who might not receive gifts otherwise … and it all stemmed from the initiative of one 11-year-old boy, just three years ago. Rauf’s family was sitting together one night in their brightly decorated living room, enjoying the Ramadan atmosphere and looking forward to Eid. The subject turned to the many new refugees in their community…
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IRUSA Bus Tour distributes food for Ramadan
Islamic Relief USA has long distributed food for Ramadan around the world. This year, for the first time, the program is bringing food to Americans in need. Volunteers packaged 3,000 boxes full of food in the two weekends before Ramadan, and these packages are now being delivered around the country. The first boxes were handed out on the first day of Ramadan in Virginia. “It felt very good to give the boxes to people, seeing thåe smile on their faces and hearing them say thank you in many languages,” said Naeem Muhammad. “We had people from many backgrounds and faiths.” Nicole was at the first distribution, picking up food to…
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The Double Legacy of the Young Muslims of Chapel Hill
Lina Hashem is Communications Specialist at Islamic Relief USA. The last time IRUSA board member Dr. Hamdy Radwan saw all three of the young Muslims killed Feb. 10 in Chapel Hill, N.C., they were helping others. Deah Barakat was selling toothbrushes at the masjid to raise funds for dental products for Syrian refugees. He wasn’t yet quite comfortable in the role of fundraiser. “You don’t have to pay for it,” Radwan heard him say. “Just make dua for the people.” And the last time he saw sisters Yusor and Razan Abu-Salha, they were at an Islamic Relief USA fundraising dinner, pausing for a photo with their proud father. Artistic Razan…
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Wish You Were Here: On MLK Day of Service
Nada Shawish is a communications specialist at Islamic Relief USA. I will start by saying this: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is for everyone. It’s not just an African-American holiday. It’s not just meant for those who have faced discrimination in this country. It’s for everyone. What that means is that it’s everyone’s responsibility to uphold Dr. King’s magnificent words. It’s everyone’s job to protect civil liberties and move our country in the right direction—away from social injustice and toward equality—away from discrimination and toward respect for each other. We do this by working together for a better world. At Islamic Relief USA, that’s what happened on MLK…
