Our Mission:

Many of the world’s poorest people do not have access to education, clean water, adequate food, or decent shelter. Without these basic necessities, it is difficult to lead a decent and fulfilling life.

Our mission is to change the lives of the poor for the better, particularly underprivileged children and the elderly, through our work in rural Gambia, India, Zimbabwe, and Palestine.

Our Values:

Our values reflect our mission and our work which is for we know for:

Compassion. We care passionately about people less fortunate than ourselves and want to do what we can to help them achieve a better life.

• Empowerment. We aim to provide people with the tools to transform the quality of their lives.
• Respect. We understand the importance of respecting and protecting the life and dignity of others and treating everyone the way we expect to be treated ourselves.
• Sustainability. We give people a hand-up rather than a hand-out. We want to enable people to provide for themselves on a long-term basis.

We are a faith-based but work with people of all faiths and none to deliver social justice. We believe all people are of equal worth.  And that everyone has the right to a fulfilling life.

Our Aims:

For Muslim aid UK we aim to take people out of poverty and reduce the need for Charity by helping them take control of their lives and build a sense of self-reliance.

We do this by providing the poor and the needy with practical ways of tackling poverty. Providing them with access to clean water, education, food, clothing, healthcare, and shelter.

All are designed to reach those most in need via a set of carefully targeted projects. Helping them escape the extreme poverty, often found in remote areas of less developed countries, which blights their lives.

Our Impact:

We measure the success of our work by the impact it has on the lives of beneficiaries. This means looking at outputs as well as outcomes. The number of people helped as well as the amount of transformational, long-term change which has occurred because of our intervention.

We undertake a range of successful projects over the years. These are described below.

• Background: Food poverty has been a real issue for many people in Birmingham for years because of the significant economic deprivation that exists in parts of the city.
• What We Did: In July 2012 we distributed food parcels worth £50 each to 25 poor families in Birmingham. £1,250-worth of food was provided in total.
• Outcome: This was greatly appreciated by the recipients who were struggling to provide a meal for their families because of low income and/or unemployment. It provided them with breathing space while they tried to rebalance their family finances.

Project 2 – Providing Education to Disadvantaged Children

• Background:  Education in India is often seen as a luxury for the better-off. A rapidly growing population, limited public funds and endemic poverty means that many children in India do not have access to even basic education.
• What We Did:  Between April 2014 and March 2017, we provided an education programme to a group of poor children in Visapur, India. A total of £15,000 was spent on paying for the school fees of 30 children.
• Outcome:  We ensured that a group of disadvantaged children received the chance of primary education, improving their employment prospects, enabling them to apply for more skilled jobs and giving them the opportunity to transform their lives.

Project 3 – The Greatest Journey on Earth

• Background:  The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. All adult Muslims must undertake it out at least once in their lifetime (provided they are physically and financially capable of carrying out the journey).
• What We Did:  In 2017 we funded a trip by Maqbool Pathan, a 67- year-old man from a remote village in the State of Maharashtra in India, to undertake the journey of a lifetime and travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. A total of £5,000 was spent on funding the pilgrimage.
• Outcome:  The journey is a life-transforming event, helping pilgrims to grow in confidence and self-esteem, and giving them the ability to take control of their future. Maqbool would not have been able to make the trip without our support. He expressed his sincere gratitude for the sense of religious and spiritual accomplishment he received from the journey.

Project 4 – Housing Repair, Pimploli Village, Maharashtra, India

• Background:  70% of Indians still live in remote rural areas. Poverty is widespread and many lack access to safe and habitable shelter.
• What We Did:  Over a six-month period from December 2017 to June 2018 we helped Amina Abdullah Karbellkar save her house from collapse and rebuild it before the monsoon rains started in May. The cost of restoration and repairs totalled £500.
• Outcome:  With the completion of the renovation, Amina’s family were provided with significantly improved living conditions and a stable basis for family life. #

Project 5 – Water Supply, Pimploli Village, Maharashtra, India

• Background:  Access to clean water is something we take for granted in Britain. But in India, millions still live without a source of safe drinking water. This causes a variety of waterborne diseases, which can be fatal, particularly for young children. Fetching water from distant sources can also take up a significant amount of people’s time, a burden which often falls on girls and women, reinforcing gender inequality.
• What We Did:  In early 2018, we delivered a project to provide access to clean water and improved sanitation for the 200 households of the village. The total cost of the project was £2,000.
• Outcome: The provision of a new water supply has improved the health of the people of the village. It means they no longer have to walk long distances to collect water. And it has given them the opportunity to break free from poverty and transform their lives.

Project 6 – Fatima Jamisa Masjid Community Centre, Jamisa, The Gambia

• Background:  Community centres in poorer towns and villages bring people together, help build relationships and provide a common space for community activities. They provide a base from which to deliver a wide range of services to communities, such as education, health clinics and nutrition advice.
• What We Did: Between February 2019 and March 2020, we built a new community centre for the village of Jamisa. The village has a population of c.900 and lacked any facility of this type. We also used the opportunity to improve their electricity supply. The project cost £20,000.
• Outcome: The new community centre has transformed a village that was struggling financially, building community spirit and contributing to its economic development. It has unleashed the energy and passion of the people who use it – staff, volunteers, and village inhabitants alike (young and old).

Project 7 – Water for Life, Jamisa, The Gambia

• Background:  Like the water supply issues experienced in India, many people in Africa lack access to a source of safe drinking water. Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea, which cause illness and death.
• What We Did:  In 2019, we completed a project to drill a new borehole for drinking water and install a 2,000-litre water storage tank for the village. The total cost of the project was £1,500.

• Outcome: This project has made a real difference to the community. They now have access to clean water, essential for good health. And no longer have to walk miles to fetch it. It was wonderful hearing a child responding to the sight of the new water supply with the remark, “Now I am going to have a nice bath”!

Conclusion:

Providing charity to others is central to our sense of humanity.

We are pleased with the successful outcomes of these diverse projects. They have changed people’s lives. And given them hope.

We have also learned from the work about how to deliver our projects with the maximum efficiency, targeting resources to where they are most needed. And deploying effective financial planning to secure value for money.

We are currently engaged in an exciting set of new projects and look forward to reporting on these in due course.

We are continuing to work tirelessly to raise essential funds to support our work. If you think you can help, please visit the Donations page on our website.

Throughout the Covid 19 lockdown period we have been busy working behind the scenes to further develop our charity and its charitable impact. We engaged with Cranfield Trust to help develop our business plan and subsequently guide us in our marketing efforts.

We have had two volunteers work with us firstly on the business plan and subsequently on a marketing plan. The result is a number of actions to keep us busy over the coming months.

One of the actions from this work has been a slightly revised website and in particular this news feed so we can keep you regularly updated on new projects.

We are truly grateful for the time and knowledge these volunteers gave.

Please feel free to comment and support the work we are doing.