Bismillahi rahmaani raheem
Dear LFT readers, Assalamun Alaykum and welcome to this month's newsletter. First of all, may we start by wishing you all a joyous Eid Mubarak. It is sad that this holy month has departed, but we thank the Almighty for having given us the opportunity to serve in this month, and pray that all our efforts will be accepted, ameen. This month Alhamdulillah it has been extremely busy for the Trust, and we thank you for all for support.
Allah [SWT] has made obligatory and specified the sustance of the poor in the wealth of the rich and wherever a poor man is hungry, it is due to the fact that a rich man has not paid him his due. However, Allah {SWT} will call the rich to account in this behalf.
Imam Ali (as) - Nahjul Balagah
Ramadhan Iftaar Relief:
Thanks to your overwhelming generosity, LFT managed to send Iftaar relief to over 3,000 families in Iraq ($168,000), 1,615 families in Iran ($48,500), food packages for 150 families in Lebanon ($7,950), 80 in Gaza, and cooked food was provided everyday for 800 people in Afghanistan. A letter of thanks for the $12,000 sent to the assist the families of the students from the Atfaluna Institute, Gaza can be seen at letter. In Tanzania, food parcels were provided for children at school, children who were disabled and HIV positive, food assistance was provided in Prison and Eid clothes were bought for the orphans. In total, alhamdulillah over $200k was raised for iftaar relief. If you would like to donate your Zakaat-ul-Fitr through LFT, please visit our website. This year it is £5 per head.
Iran:
Last month, the medical referral project assisted 85 patients with the cost of urgent or essential medical treatment. Almost one third of these patients were under 19 years old.
One of the cases assisted was a 15-year-old orphan whose parents had passed away. She suffers from TB, and cancer of the lymphatic glands. Both conditions are serious, requiring long term treatment. But with care it is possible to put this girl into remission. Such heart breaking cases are encountered every day; dear LFT donors these patients are desperate and need your help. Please, continue to assist our less fortunate sisters and brothers. Read More
The number of orphans continues to rise in Iraq at an alarming rate. One case this month was a little girl in Najaf who was trying to escape with her family in their car, when it was targeted by a rocket. They live in an extended family setting and the car was crammed with people. One of the dead was the little girl's father. She had come to Iran for treatment but it was decided that surgery was neither necessary nor beneficial. She needs extensive physiotherapy to exercise her atrphied muscles, which will inshallah be undertaken in Najaf. Such cases are happening every day. Please help us support these orphans, who are the innocent by-products of this terrible war. We have orphan sponsorship schemes in Iraq and Iran, please give generously.
Iraq:
Iraq's Health Ministry has reported a total of 327 confirmed cholera cases in central and southern Iraq since an outbreak of the disease last month. Cholera is a gastrointestinal disease that can be spread by a lack of clean drinking water. The problem has been worsened by the poor state of Iraq's infrastructure after years of neglect and war. IRAC in partnership with LFT aims to distribute boxes of 100 anti-cholera sterilisation tablets. Each tablet can sterilise 20litres of cooking and drinking water. Please give generously to this project, before this disease causes a widespread epidemic.
Since its establishment in 2003, the Karbala Eye Clinic has steadily progressed towards establishing itself as a major centre for treatment of ophthalmologic diseases in Iraq. 23,973 patients have been treated from January 2006 to January 2008. Two ophthalmologists who continuously update their medical skills through training courses in neighbouring countries treat an average of fifty patients every day. As the clinic operates on a non-profit basis, patients who can afford are charged only a nominal fee. Read More
LFT, together with IRAC, worked to distribute meat packages to vulnerable families during the month of Sha'ban. 280 families (1,684 persons) in Karbala received a package of 1.25 Kg of fresh meat to their door step.
LFT has received donations for Holy Quran and Mafati to be placed in the Harrums of Imam Ali (as), Imam Hussein (as) and Hazrat Abbas (as). If you would like to contribute further, please donate via the website.
Lebanon:
An appeal has been received from a family of 12, in Southern Lebanon. Prior to the 2006 war, the family owned seventeen sheep, fifteen goats and seventeen bee hives, which were their means of providing their livelihood. However, they lost all their livestock as well as their house in war and now live in a mobile home. One of the children, an eight year old girl, was born with a hydrocephalus and spina bifida. She is unable to walk and when she was a baby, a shunt was inserted into her brain to drain cerebro-spinal fluid. The shunt now needs replacing, and in addition the family needs to be provided with means to earn an income. The cost of the surgery, together with a milking cow amounts to $2,236. Please help us support this family. Read More
An appeal has been received to assist with the treatment of a six year old boy. In 2006, he contracted a virus during the war in Lebanon that started causing mass tissue degradation. This resulted in him having both his legs below the knees, and his left hand amputated. He now requires artificial limbs costing $8000, and schooling as for two years he has been unable to attend school. Please give generously and assist this little boy.
The Philantrophic Association for Disabled Care (PADC) is a charitable institution working with disabled children in South Lebanon. In the rehabilitation centre in the southern town of Nabatiyah, children receive speech therapy, physiotherapy, psycho-motor training and occupational therapy. However, treatment to rehabilitate a disabled person is often long-term and very expensive. Many parents who bring their severely disabled child to PADC's centre are overjoyed to hear that treatment is possible and the child will become better, but then almost despair when they hear about the cost. Since February 2007, LFT has helped provide treatment for 94 children with severe disabilities, and completely transformed their lives. These families must be overjoyed that their children have been able to receive treatment, thanks to your support. Read More
Palestine:
Atfaluna ("Our Children") School for the Deaf was established in May 1992 in Gaza City. Since January 2008, LFT has been sponsoring five students who are also provided with school uniforms and hearing aid batteries. They are each making remarkable progress, learning to use sign language, communicate with words and interact with other children. Without your support, these children would have had no means to attend school, and would have remained withdrawn, isolated and totally excluded from society. Thank you LFT donors. Read More
India:
Bright School in Bangalore was founded in 1987 with the aim of offering an education to children from poor families. In the year 1987, it had 22 students and 2 teachers. Since then it has grown to 1,140 students and has 41 teachers. Despite the very modest annual fee of 35 GBP, many families still have difficulties to pay it. When families cannot pay, children are at risk of interrupting their education and entering child labour. We have received an appeal to support 104 students from Elite School for the year 2008-2009. Please give generously and allow these children some hope for the future. Read More
Pakistan and Kashmir:
LFT is sponsoring one deserving student from Pakistan to undertake BSc course in Optometry at the Munnawar Memorial Hospital in Pakistan.
31 cataract operations were carried out in August at the Munawwar Memorial Hospital thanks to your support. In addition, 110 packets of sutures have also been purchased. A further 120 patients (including 19 Kashmiris) were treated in association with our other partner organisation in Pakistan.
Tanzania:
LFT and IZAAS have joined hands to provide artificial limbs for young amputees from Tanzania. In the rural regions, dreadful accidents occur frequently. Due to a lack of sophisticated medical services, limbs need to be amputated. After saving their lives by amputating the diseased limb, the amputees are left to fend for themselves. They are unable to afford the cost of an artificial limb, and most are reduced to becoming beggars. One of the most tragic cases was a ten year old girl Bibiana who had lost both her parents to AIDS. Both her, and her younger sister are albinos, and so their family were especially protective of them to keep them out of harm's way. However one night after the children and grandmother had gone to bed, an intruder viciously cut off Bibiana's right leg above the knee. Such crimes are committed by the Black Magic Devil Worshippers, a cult whose members believe that after using the body parts of albinos in their magic rites, they will strike gold or diamond mines. This little girl's life and three other amputees changed dramatically after treatment was provided in Nairobi, where there is a center for artificial limbs. Thankyou so much to our donors for making this possible. Read More
Another appeal received was for a one year old infant from Dar-es-Salaam requiring heart surgery. His parents both working, are barely able to make ends meet. The cost of the procedure undertaken at Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital of Bangalore India amounted to $3300. The little boy has now returned home, and is Alhamdulillah recovering well.
An appeal was received from Moshi, Tanzania for a patient requiring an urethroplasty. The patient is having the treatment undertaken in Mumbai, India as it is cheaper. We will keep you updated with his progress.
Finally, a further 60 Cataract Surgeries at Zanzibar and Pemba (Tanzania) have been carried out, funded by LFT {total 400 patients}. Two separate groups of doctors and volunteers treated patients who were unable to afford the cost of cataract surgery and needlessly suffered from blindness due to cataracts. Read More
Newsletters:
· Our newsletters are now available to read in French and Arabic on the website. Newsletter
Ijaza:
· The Lady Fatemah Trust has been granted Ijaaza by Ayatollah al-Uzma Seyed Ali Seestani to collect Khums money. Please remember we operate on the basis of ZERO% administration costs, so every penny you give goes directly to those in need.
Comfort Aid and Islamic Humanitarian Service:
· The Trust has recently entered into an agreement with Comfort Aid in the US, info@comfortaid.org similar to IHS in Ottawa, ihs@primus.ca which allows donors to donate to LFT through these organizations gaining tax benefits. Please contact them for further information. We would sincerely like to thank both Comfort Aid and Islamic Humanitarian Service.
Give As You Earn:
To make a regular donation by standing order, please download a mandate from the website or contact us and we will send one to you. You can make a donation by using our secure on-line payment facility at https://secure.webstar.co.uk/lft/hsbc/donate.php The site allows you to donate in three currencies; GBP, USD and EUROS.
Please remember that completing a Gift Aid form substantially boosts your donation by 28% if you are a UK taxpayer.
Thank you, as always for all your generosity and support, without which our work would not be possible.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Salim Padhani - Khalfan
Trustee
http://www.ladyfatemahtrust.org/
Tel +44 (0) 1494 762 063, Email info@ladyfatemahtrust.org, Fax +44 (0) 1494 762 286,
Mobile +44 (0) 7798 76 10 20, Fax +44 (0) 7798 76 90 30
Website: http://www.ladyfatemahtrust.org/
