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Bismillah, we have good news from our last update....Alhamdulillah, we have purchased a new building in a better location, with better facilities for the orphans. Due to some serious complications with our previous building and land that it was built on, we had to sell and buy a new building, which is in the benefit of the orphans, insha'Allah.
We a now in the process of selecting staff and taking on orphans.We hope to be operational after this ramadaan coming insha'Allah. Jazakum Allahu Khaira to all those who helped this project, Please continue in your efforts.
Please go to our 'Gallery' page for pictures of new building.
(May 2010)
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PAKISTAN & KASHMIR CHILDREN'S EARTHQUAKE & ORPHANAGE APPEAL UPDATE AUGUST 2008.
Bismillaah was salaatu was salaamu 'alaa rasoolillaah, wa ba'ad,
AS’SALAAMU ALAIKUM WA RAHMAHTULLAH WA BARAKATUHU,
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING SO FAR?......
ALHAMDULILLAH, AS YOU MAY BE AWARE FROM OUR PREVIOUS REPORTS WE HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING LAND FOR A SMALL HOUSING COMMUNITY AND ORPHANAGE TO BE BUILT IN ISLAMABAD FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ORPHANS OF PAKISTAN AND KASHMIR, ESPECIALLY THE AFFECTEES OF THE HUGE EARTHQUAKE THAT STRUCK THESE REGIONS IN OCTOBER 2005.
WE APPRECIATE THAT MANY PREVIOUS DONORS MAY BE CONCERNED REGARDING THE TIMESCALE THAT HAS LAPSED SINCE INITIATING THE BUILDING OF THE PROJECT. THEREFORE WE WOULD LIKE TO REMIND/EXPLAIN THAT THIS IS A LARGE PROJECT WITH HIGH OBJECTIVES LONG TERM. TRUSTWORTHY AND RELIABLE RESOURCES ARE SCARCE IN PAKISTAN, HENCE THIS HAS BEEN A MAIN HINDRANCE AND CAUSE FOR THE DELAY OF PROJECT.
ALTHOUGH MUCH PROGRESSION HAS BEEN ACHIEVED SINCE THE LAND WAS PURCHASED OVER 2 YEARS AGO, AS THIS WAS A RURAL AREA WITH NO ELECTRICITY OR WATER, BUT NOW THESE ARE IN PLACE, ALHAMDULILLAH. THESE ARE TWO OF MANY ACHIEVEMENTS SINCE THE PURCHASE OF LAND.
PAKISTAN IS A DEVELOPING COUNTRY WITH A VERY UNSTABLE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SITUATION. THIS HAS AFFECTED EVERYBODY IN RECENT MONTHS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, INCLUDING US AND OUR PROJECT AS PRICES HAVE GENERALLY BECOME THREE TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE FOR EVERYTHING. THIS INCLUDES BUILDING MATERIALS, WHICH IN TURN HAS INCREASED THE BUILD COST OF THE ORPHANAGE. THIS ALSO MEANS THINGS ARE EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE FOR THE POOR AND NEEDY, WHICH MEANS MORE HELP AND FACILITIES LIKE OURS ARE NEEDED TO BE SETUP IMMEDIATELY.
WE HAVE NOW BEEN ABLE TO EMPLOY CONTRACTORS TO START THE BUILDING PROCESS, THIS HAS BEEN AN ARDIOS TASK, AS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT, FINDING TRUSTWORTHY AND PROFESSIONAL CONTRACTORS HAS BEEN A KEY PRIORITY, AS THE ECONOMISING OF THE ZAKAH AND SADAQAH FOR THE ORPHANAGE IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY AT THE PRESENT MOMENT WITHOUT COMPROMISING STANDARD AND QUALITY OF THE BUILD.
THE DIRECTOR AND CO-ORDINATOR OF THE ORPHANAGE PROJECT HAS NOW, ALHAMDULLILAH, MOVED FROM LONDON, U.K. TO ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, FOR THE OVERSEEING AND RUNNING OF THE WHOLE PROJECT. THIS HAS A BEEN LONG AWAITED MOVE, SO THE ACTUAL RESPONSIBILITY CAN BE TRANSFERRED TO HIM FOR THE SPEEDY COMPLETION OF THE BUILDING OF THE ORPHANAGE AND RUNNING OF THE EVERY DAY TO DAY AFFAIRS, INSHA’ALLAH.
THE DIRECTOR HAS BEEN BUSY RESEARCHING AND VISITING VARIOUS PERSONS AND AREAS RELATED TO THE PROJECT, AMONGST THIS HE AND HIS COLLEAGUE RECENTLY WENT BACK TO MUZZAFARABAD TO INVESTIGATE THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE ORPHANS AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE. AFTER MEETING VARIOUS OTHER NGO’S SET UP IN MUZZAFARABAD, WE FOUND THAT MOST OF THE ORPHANS HAD RETURNED TO THE VILLAGES IN THE MOUNTAINS OF KASHMIR. THEIR LIVING CONDITIONS ARE BASIC AND VERY POOR, WITH LITTLE TO HOPE FOR IN LIFE. THIS WAS THE GENERAL SITUATION BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE, BUT AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE, LIFE SEEMS EVEN MORE BLEAK FOR THEM DUE TO THE LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE OF SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS ETC THAT WAS DESTROYED IN THE EARTHQUAKE. FAMILIES CAN HARDLY PROVIDE FOR THEMSELVES AND WITH THE ADDED RESPONSIBILITY OF TAKING CARE OF NEPHEWS OR NIECES THAT HAVE BEEN ORPHANED, CAN BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT.
SOME MORE FORTUNATE ORPHANS ARE TAKEN INTO FACILITIES, TO BE RAISED AND CARED FOR, BUT AS WE HAVE WITNESSED FOR OURSELVES THE CONDITIONS A MAJORITY OF THE TIME ARE APPALLING AND OF A VERY POOR STANDARD. IN OUR TIME SPENT IN PAKISTAN, WE HAVE BEEN VERY DISAPPOINTED AND HEART BROKEN AT THE CONDITIONS THE ORPHANS ARE LIVING IN. THESE BUILDINGS ARE VERY DAMP, DIRTY, CHILDREN MOST OF THE TIME ARE REQUIRED TO SLEEP ON THE FLOOR, AND EVEN IF THEY DO PROVIDE THEM WITH SINGLE BEDS, THEN THE CHILDREN ARE REQUIRED TO SHARE WITH 2 OR 3 OTHER CHILDREN, AS WITNESSED WITH OUR ON EYES. THESE INSTITUTIONS ARE VERY UNDER STAFFED, AND HENCE THE CARE AND EDUCATION PROVIDED IS AGAIN VERY POOR. EVEN WITH LESSONS SUCH AS THE READING OF QURAN, WHICH IN MOST CASES IS THEIR MAIN FORM OF EDUCATION, THE ATTENTION GIVEN AND STANDARD OF TEACHING IS VERY LOW.
AS STRESSED PREVIOUSLY, WE ARE AIMING TO BUILD A STATE OF THE ART BUILDING WITH MODERN AMENITIES AND FACILITIES FOR THE ORPHANS. WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE IT AS COMFORTABLE AS POSSIBLE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WITH ENOUGH RESOURCES LIKE TEACHERS, CARERS, SECURITY, MATERIALS, FURNITURE, AIR CONDITIONING UNITS, BEDS AND WARDROBES, PLAYGROUND, SCHOOL BUS, GOOD EDUCATION IN DEEN AND DUNYA ETC , JUST TO MENTION A FEW OF THE LONG LIST OF REQUIREMENTS THAT NEED TO BE ACHIEVED FOR THIS PROJECT, INSHA’ALLAH.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP…………
PLEASE HELP TOWARDS THE BUILDING COSTS OF THE ORPHANAGE WITH YOUR DONATIONS, YOUR MONEY IS URGENTLY NEEDED, SO WE ASK YOU TO PLEASE DONATE GENEROUSLY FOR THE BUILDING AND RUNNING OF THE ORPHANAGE.
"Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan so that he may multiply it to him many times? And it is Allah that decreases or increases (your provision), and unto Him you shall return"
Surah Al- Baqarah (2:245)
Please note that your Zakat can be given towards this cause.
HOW TO DONATE………
If you would like to donate or require more information, then you can do so by:
1) Contacting Abu Sarah Mohammad Monis in Pakistan on 0092(0)3435105463 or 0092(0)515706847 or Awais on 0044(0)787614684 or Azazz on 0044(0)7985349275 in the United Kingdom.
email: info@daralimanorphanage.com
2) Depositing money:
For the credit of 'Dar al Iman Orphan Fund'
Natwest
Harrow Weald Branch
Sort Code: 60-10-12
Account No: 86035126’
3) Send a cheque or deliver money to:
‘Dar al
Iman Orphan Fund’
52 Sefton Avenue
Harrow Weald
HA3 5JR
Cheques made payable to 'Dar al Iman Orphan Fund'
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THE BEGINNING.........
PAKISTAN & KASHMIR CHILDREN'S EARTHQUAKE APPEAL
Dar al Iman is an established registered organisation (Charity Number 1114883) based in the UK and are also registered NGO in Pakistan. We are based in North West London and offer services for Muslims in the locality, which include Islamic lectures/lessons and other services.
On the 8th October 2005 an earthquake struck in Pakistan . The earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale was the most powerful in the region for 100 years and had left approximately 80,000 dead and 3 million homeless.
After the disaster which took place in Pakistan/Kashmir, the Muslims in the United Kingdom felt great pain and we as an organisation felt that it was an obligation upon ourselves to help the affected area.
Alhamdulillah we managed to raise approximately £36,000 for the first two phases of our programme. This included:
• Distribution of financial aid to widows with children and guardians of orphans in the set up refugee camps in the Kashmir region.
• To establish a fully equipped orphanage providing children with full time and qualified carers, education, counselling and the support needed for a stable and secure future insha-Allah.
We arrived in Pakistan on the 10 th November 2005 .
After being received by the brother Irfan Ahmed Butt who is a member and trustee of our relief programme in Pakistan , we exchanged information as to what had been the situation up to date.
Our next step was to get the relevant contacts and resources to help us with our immediate relief programme and also our long term project. We started this by arranging meetings with various officials and professionals to get to know the legalities and the best way to gain access to the orphans for our two programmes.
The Government of Pakistan had implemented policies to protect the children and we found that it was quite difficult initially to gain access to or ascertain where the orphans were.
We had several meetings with officials from the Government of Azad Kashmir, which included the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir: Sikander Hyat, The Minister of Social Welfare of Azad Kashmir: Noreen Arif, The Chief Secretary to Azad Kashmir: Kashif Murtaza and also the Minister of Social Welfare for Pakistan : Zubeda Jalal. The meetings were essential for our progress and establishment of our project. The outcome was positive and they welcomed and promised us to assist in anyway possible, also assisting us in fast tracking our applications to register ourselves as NGO's in Pakistan .
We then visited the affected regions, making a two day trip to assess the situation, this was to see how it was possible for us to distribute the financial aid safely and where it was most needed. This again involved meeting the officials, along with asking locals and going to the ‘tent villages' that had been set up by various NGO's and locals. We gathered the information and spent time speaking to the affected in Muzzafarabad and then returned to Islamabad . We arranged for £10,000 to be converted into rupees and then returned to Muzaffarabad, Balakot, Garhi Duppatta, Garhi Habib – ullah and other areas and successfully distributed approximately £8000 over the period of 2 days to widows and guardians or orphans.
We consisted of a team of six people assessing cases of the orphans and widows. Based upon a line of questioning the team would award a minimum of £100 per child/widow. The Army of Pakistan were very cooperative in assisting us in our relief programme and helped by providing documentary evidence of widows and orphans in their tent villages.
We then returned to Islamabad and started enquiring into land and property for the setting up of our own Orphanage and School on the outskirts of Islamabad in surrounding villages.
This was the most time consuming of our visit, which involved investigating and researching the legal aspects of purchasing land and the best affordable locations. We decided to set up away from the affected areas for several reasons:
• We could immediately be able to build without any problems of irrigation, electricity etc
• The administration will be qualified and we are hoping for some staff to be employed from the U.K., Insha-Allah, hence they may prefer to live in Islamabad, also a trustee already resides in Islamabad, who will oversee most of the project.
We decided on several locations and got familiar with prices and how much land was needed for the orphanage and school with recreational playing areas. We also contacted reputable and reliable architects and obtained estimates on building the orphanages.
Upon returning to the UK we continued to raise financial and voluntary support in our aims and objectives, whilst our brothers in Pakistan were trying to complete the purchase of the land that had been selected by ourselves.
GOOD NEWS.........
Alhamdulillah with the help of Allah and your general support, in early 2006 we were pleased to notify our brothers and sisters that the purchase of 2000 square yards had been secured in order to build an orphanage and to house and educate the orphans in both Islamic and secular education, in particular those that were affected by the devastating earthquake last year. This is located just 25 minutes away from the capital city of Pakistan , Islamabad , along the Muree Road . Masha Allah the land is very beautiful, peaceful and not overpopulated (refer to the photos of the land purchased). This is a developing area and has amenities like schools and shops etc and is currently populated by a small number of local residents that live near the land. Furthermore, there are more developments soon to come inshaAllah.
Alongside the 2000 Square yards for the Orphanage, one of our trustees in Pakistan has generously purchased a further 8000 Square yards of land for the development of housing for the purpose of Muslims to make hijra and be a part of a community helping in the upbringing of the orphans. Also, he has kindly donated a 1000 square yards towards the building of a masjid and play area for the children within the vicinity (Contact details are listed below for buying land in order to make hijra).
Finally we have obtained the architectural drawings of the Orphanage and have also obtained the estimates towards the cost of the building. We have been advised that the estimated building costs are in the region of £100 000.
Please help towards the building costs of the Orphanage with your donations.
YOUR MONEY IS URGENTLY NEEDED, SO WE ASK YOU TO PLEASE DONATE GENEROUSLY FOR THE BUILDING AND RUNNING OF THE ORPHANAGE.
"Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan so that he may multiply it to him many times? And it is Allah that decreases or increases (your provision), and unto Him you shall return"
Surah Al- Baqarah (2:245)
Please note that your Zakat can be given towards this cause.
HOW TO DONATE
If you would like to donate then you can do so by:
1) Contacting Abu Sarah Mohammad Monis on 07949433305 or 0208 8635363 or 0092 (0) 3435105463 or 0092 (0) 515706847
2) Natwest Harrow Weald Branch
Sort Code: 60-10-12 for the credit of
'Dar al Iman Orphan Fund'
Account No: 86035126
3) Send cheque or deliver money to:
52 Sefton Avenue
Harrow Weald
HA3 5JR
Cheques made payable to 'Dar al Iman Orphan Fund'