January 2012 Newsletter

Dear readers,

Assalamu Alaykum and welcome to this month’s newsletter. As always, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to you for your support and generosity.

Without it, we would be unable to continue the work that we do.  We pray that all your efforts are accepted and that your kindness is rewarded. Ameen.

The Holy Prophet (pbuh) has said:

“ .... Blessed is the wealth of a Muslim from which he gives to the poor, the orphans and to needy travellers....”

Save the Date: 5 May 2012 - The LFT Annual Gala Dinner

The annual LFT Gala Dinner will be taking place this year on Saturday 5 May 2012. We request that register your interest as soon as possible to avoid disappointment, we expect that tickets will be on sale in the next couple of weeks. We are honoured to have as the keynote speaker will be Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish MD MPH, a Palestinian medical doctor born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp. Before his three daughters were killed in January 2009 during the Israeli incursion into Gaza, Dr. Abuelaish worked as a researcher at the Gertner Institute at the Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv. Dr. Abuelaish is now based in Canada where he has founded the organisation Daughters for Life as well as authoring the critically acclaimed book entitled I SHALL NOT HATE: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity.

Donate to LFT online

The LFT is now registered with a number of online providers including JustGiving, BT MyDonate and JustTextGiving.

Orphan Care

In countries where war, famine or poverty is part of everyday life, millions of children are orphaned and left to struggle for survival. Over the last decade alone, armed conflict has resulted in six million children being wounded or disabled for life, and one million orphaned. The Trust has established fostering programs to care for children in India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and Lebanon.

The orphan sponsorship program intends to reach the most destitute of families. Frequently, such families do not have access to charitable organizations or public welfare departments. Disease, ignorance or simply abject poverty prevents them from seeking assistance. In some cases, mothers simply cannot afford the cost of transportation, and find it difficult to travel if they have no one to look after their young children whilst away.

For £20 a month, you can sponsor an orphan, and give a child the chance for a better future.

Iran

• Social Care

In 2006, the LFT and IRAC joined hands to care for then eleven unaccompanied elderly and chronically ill refugees living in Sultaniyeh Refugee Camp near the city of Zanjan.

Although IRAC’s program is very small, it is unique in the way in which it involves the community in caring for its elderly refugees. In a bid to preserve their independence, the elderly live by themselves, but are helped with daily tasks by their neighbours, while IRAC’s provides them with daily meals. While nothing can replace the loving care of children, IRAC’s program enables these refugees to age in dignity.

Iraq

•  Healthcare

Since its inception in 2006, 95,538 patients have been examined at the Al-Zahra eye clinic in Karbala.

Palestine

•  Education

Since 2008, the LFT has sponsored twelve students studying at the Atfaluna School for the Deaf in Gaza. This has involved the payment of school fees, general upkeep, and the provision of specialist equipment.

The LFT is now looking for sponsorship for a further five students. The annual cost for the general upkeep and provision of education is a mere $1200. In a country ravaged by war, conflict, and poverty, having a disability adds to the difficulty of breaking free from the hopeless cycle of violence and destitution. By supporting the LFT, you could help make a difference in a deaf child’s life and give them a better chance of securing a brighter future.

Lebanon

•  Disability care

The word “hopeless” does not exist in the vocabulary of the “Empowerment Association for Independent Living “(EAIL), an NGO aiming to rehabilitate handicapped children living in the Nabatiyeh region of south Lebanon. In 2007, six-year old twins, Mohammad and Hassan Tarhini, were carried by their mother into the EAIL premises, unable to walk. Shortly before, they had been diagnosed with a disorder called Symptomatic Coordination Deficit.

In 2007, the lives of these two boys were extremely limited and they were completely dependent on their mother, thereby affecting the lives of all family members, both socially and economically. Today, both boys have achieved partial self-reliance in daily living after jointly receiving 648 sessions of occupational Therapy, funded by the LFT.

Mohammad and Hassan are two of thousands of disabled children waiting for assistance and treatment. In the Nabatiyeh region alone, more than 400 children are officially registered as disabled. It is estimated that several times this number are never registered because their families are too ashamed to seek help, or refrain from doing so because they cannot afford the cost of treatment and do not know where to turn for financial assistance. Tragically, many unrecorded children suffer from temporary disabilities, which if left uncorrected with proper and timely treatment often results in permanent handicaps.

Since 2006, the LFT has been trying to address this issue through an ongoing rehabilitative program. Part of the cost of the treatment is covered by the LFT, and includes the provision of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.  Over the five years during which this programme has been implemented, 200 children with physical disabilities or injuries have received more than 5000 therapy sessions. While this is an impressive record, many more children and their families are waiting and hoping for help.

The LFT humbly requests your assistance to allow this vital work to continue.

Pakistan

•  Education  
• 
   

The teachers targeted are involved in educating more than four thousand students enrolled it primary, secondary and high schools operating under the USWA system of education. USWA aims to provide high quality education to students from impoverished areas, helping them to embark on successful careers in life.

Through the provision of two week training courses to teachers by subject specialists, MICT and the LFT hope that these teachers will return home and use their newly acquired skills for the benefit of their students.