Zakat Impact Report 2019 | Islamic Relief Canada

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION IMPACT REPORT 2019

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OUR APPROACH We strive to ensure that your Zakat empowers the individuals and families who receive it, and ultimately contributes to bringing them out of the difficult circumstances they are in.

Through careful assessment, we take special care to reach those who are most at risk. They receive your Zakat in the form of medicines, education materials, food supplies, nutritional supplements, hygiene kits, water distributions, shelter kits, sustainable income and emergency relief.

Throughout it all, we work to ensure your Zakat donations are not just a simple transaction, but rather a means to uplift and transform.

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

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IMPACT REPORT 2019

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OUR DISTRIBUTION PROCESS Reaching Beneficiaries Islamic Relief identifies those who are well below Nisab (the minimum threshold for Zakat eligibility). We work with the poorest of the poor and those who are most vulnerable in the face of conflict and disaster. This includes orphan households, single female-headed households, people with disabilities, and the elderly.

Needs Assessment Our case workers, staff and volunteers in our field offices around the world are trained to do a careful needs assessment of each beneficiary. Our teams use a standardized system to collect information, record notes and categorize, to determine if the individual or family is Zakat eligible.

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

Project Proposal Based on the recommendations of the field office for the needs of our beneficiaries, a project proposal is put together in accordance with the principles of distributing Zakat, and then submitted to Islamic Relief Worldwide to request funding by various Islamic Relief offices, including Islamic Relief Canada.

With your support, we strive to fulfill our global responsibility to care for those who are most vulnerable.

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Zakat Collections Throughout the year, and especially in Ramadan, Islamic Relief Canada collects Zakat donations to fund projects throughout the year to continuously fund projects that assist the poorest of the poor.

Sending Funds

Once Zakat funds are collected, Islamic Relief Canada allocates funds to those project proposals to put your donations into action. We wire the money to Islamic Relief Worldwide, which disburses it to the field offices for immediate implementation.

Your Donation in Action Your Zakat is distributed through health projects by providing medical treatment and drugs; through education projects by providing materials, uniforms and food for orphans; through food distributions and nutritional supplements; through water trucking in areas of drought and hygiene kits; through livelihood projects by providing agriculture supplies or livestock for families to make an income; and through emergency relief by providing urgent food supplies, shelter, and living essentials.

Your Impact Once our beneficiaries receive your Zakat donations, our work is not over yet. As long as they are needy, they remain in our system to receive support every time there are more funds or other projects being implemented.

IMPACT REPORT 2019

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SUCCESS STORIES

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

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A Farmer’s Land Brings Prosperity and Hope HALIMA, 40 Kenya No one values their relationship with the land more than farmers. But when repeated cycles of drought and flooding devastate the land, it can be so disheartening. Halima is part of a 20-member farmers group in Kenya, mentored and supported

by Islamic Relief. She’s the sole breadwinner in her family, and that means she’s had to lead her family through difficult times. She often had to rely on food aid to make ends meet when conditions were really tough.

Previously, Halima was surviving on subsistence farming. That meant she was only producing enough food to feed her own family through her land, with not much if anything left over to make an income. Not only that, the watering methods were extremely labour intensive and demanded a lot of water - which was already scarce in the region.

Through her willingness to learn, she is now a business farmer with high value crops. She has also been able to add other sources of income from herding cattle, making mats and even selling groceries from the farm at a small table outside her house, in order to provide for her five children.

Halima is now the most resilient and determined member of the farmers group. “I want to change my life and that of my children by farming using the new methods. With commitment, determination and hard work, I believe I will start a new page in my life and can see a prosperous life ahead, despite my age,” said the enthusiastic Halima.

Thank you for transforming Halima’s life and that of her family.

Halima was struggling to produce enough food to keep her family fed throughout the year. In an area stricken with drought, the yield was often disappointingly low. She couldn’t even dream of selling any surplus harvest and sending her children to school. As the sole earner in her family, she knew she had to turn this adversity into an opportunity.

As part of Islamic Relief’s efforts to help farmers in Kenya, Halima was able to benefit from receiving drought-resistant seeds to grow better crops, and irrigation resources to help her conserve water.

This helped her cut down water usage by 80% while delivering more than 100% increase in crop yield.

IMPACT REPORT 2019

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A Made-to-Measure Home for Rosida ROSIDA, 53 INDONESIA “I was asleep in my chair when the earthquake happened in my village,” says Rosida. “The earthquake was very strong. I fell off my chair. I screamed and told everybody to leave the house.”

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on September 28, followed by a tsunami with waves up to 6 metres high. The quake led to the liquefaction of the soil in some places, softening the earth and causing it to flow.

The combination of the earthquake, tsunami, liquefaction and landslides caused significant damage and loss of life across the affected areas of Palu, Donggala, Sigi, and Parimo districts.

“I watched as my house collapsed and struck one of my family members, who unfortunately did not survive,” says Rosida with tears in her eyes. “I am really sad about losing my relatives and also my house which was built just a year ago.”

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

Immediately after the quake, Rosida went uphill with a hundred other villagers, since the liquefaction had caused their neighbourhood to sink. Rosida stayed in a modest tent with several other villagers -- without clean water or proper sanitation – for more than a week.

“I had to use water from a small ditch. It was dirty, it made my skin itch and sometimes we had to use it to drink. It was horrible, but I had no option,” she says.

Islamic Relief went to work in Rosida’s community, providing clean water for more than 400 families, and also building shelters for people whose houses had been destroyed or heavily damaged, including Rosida.

These new homes were known as “Rumah Tumbuh” or Growing Houses, because the structure could expand based on the needs of the residents. People who had lost their homes were involved in the design of their new houses, to make sure they would be suitable for their family.

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“When I received shelter support, I was asked to participate in the design of my new home, so I included my need for my well to be fixed,” says Rosida. “I am really grateful to have this house which makes all four of my family members feel comfortable and I appreciated being able to participate in the process.”

Alhamdulillah with your support, we also helped her recover her business kiosk and protect her source of income. Thank you for empowering Rosida to live a better life.

IMPACT REPORT 2019

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Coming Back to Life After Devastating Floods NASIMA, 38 BANGLADESH Nasima is the sole earner of her family, and has always shown immense determination and dedication in the face of her struggles. Her husband is blind and is unable to earn a living. As a result, Nasima has taken over the responsibility of providing for their family of four children. She runs her own small business, a tea stall in the local market, nearby her house. Through this she is able to feed their family on a daily basis.

She was eight months pregnant with her fourth child, when devastating floods took place in the Jamalpur District. The floods swept away her household assets as well as badly damaged her house. In a time when she was imminently preparing for the birth of her child, Nasima and her family were suddenly struck by disaster. They lacked food, safe shelter, clean water and the income they relied so heavily on.

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

Through your support, Islamic Relief reached her to provide life saving aid in the form of quick-growing seeds, hygiene kits, shelter rehabilitation and cash grants. We carefully take into consideration the needs of female headed households, so that we can address their unique challenges and help them recover their stability after disasters.

With three adolescent girls, the hygiene kits were immensely useful and appreciated. The cash grant allowed her to repair their home shelter, and recover her business so that she could increase her ability to earn more. The seeds allowed her family to grow their own home garden and ensure better food security in a dignified way.

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Nasima is the sole earner of her family, and has always shown immense determination and dedication in the face of her struggles. Her husband is blind and is unable to earn a living. As a result, Nasima has taken over the responsibility of providing for their family of four children. She runs her own small business, a tea stall in the local market, nearby her house. Through this she is able to feed their family on a daily basis.

She was eight months pregnant with her fourth child, when devastating floods took place in the Jamalpur District. The floods swept away her household assets as well as badly damaged her house. In a time when she was imminently preparing for the birth of her child, Nasima and her family were suddenly struck by disaster. They lacked food, safe shelter, clean water and the income they relied so heavily on.

Through your support, Islamic Relief reached her to provide life saving aid in the form of quick-growing seeds, hygiene kits, shelter rehabilitation and cash grants. We carefully take into consideration the needs of female headed households, so that we can address their unique challenges and help them recover their stability after disasters.

With three adolescent girls, the hygiene kits were immensely useful and appreciated. The cash grant allowed her to repair their home shelter, and recover her business so that she could increase her ability to earn more. The seeds allowed her family to grow their own home garden and ensure better food security in a dignified way.

“This support brought me back to life.

I am grateful to Islamic Relief and to the donors who support the needs of vulnerable people like me.�

Thank you for empowering Nasima and so many other beneficiaries to live a better life.

IMPACT REPORT 2019

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YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION Witness the impact of your 2019 Zakat donations, which have funded a number of projects across 18 countries. These projects were a large portion of our overall efforts in 2019, which are not all mentioned here but include other forms of emergency aid and sustainable development projects.

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

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Afghanistan The Herat and Nangarhar provinces suffer from poverty and a lack of opportunity for women and girls. We helped provide a number of literacy, vocational, and lifeskills training opportunities and learning materials after assessing what each family needed.

BENEFICIARIES

Herat was also devastated by flash floods that damaged many homes and farms.

We helped provide life-saving food packs, which complemented other projects being implemented by our team in Afghanistan.

BENEFICIARIES

In the Bamyan province we provided families with essential items like blankets, warm clothing, and food during a severe winter season. The conditions had severely diminished available work and inflated the cost of living, so we provided hundreds of families with emergency food and blankets.

BENEFICIARIES

5,600

individuals

3,500

individuals

3,200 individuals

Albania Inaccessible, rural areas throughout the country often lack income opportunities.

This leads to increased poverty as well as young people leaving their hometowns in search of a better life. We helped construct 60 greenhouses, to protect farming income and food security for orphan families in these rural areas.

BENEFICIARIES

300

individuals

Bangladesh We assisted vulnerable individuals in Jamalpur District who were impacted by huge floods that devastated much of the country. At risk individuals with disabilities, or families with no earning members, received larger grants and emergency latrine kits. We also distributed quick-growing vegetable seeds to help affected families grow their own food.

BENEFICIARIES

10,800

individuals

IMPACT REPORT 2019

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Bosnia For vulnerable orphans who had lost family members and future opportunities due to the war, we provided scholarships and mentorship for those who want to pursue post-secondary education but faced immense economic hurdles. We also organized gardening and art programs to help enhance their education and social skills.

BENEFICIARIES

This past year, Bosnia also endured one of the worst winters on record. With your support, we provided warm winter clothing to hundreds of orphans, while also providing 100 families with better heating for their homes.

BENEFICIARIES

215

individuals

680

individuals

Ethiopia Women and youth in the Oromia Region continue to suffer from the compounded impact of conflict, strained resources, and natural disasters. We helped improve women’s access to financial services, income-generating training, farming opportunities, and clean water. We also worked with them to increase their participation in community-based solutions.

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

BENEFICIARIES

3,000 individuals

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India The devastating effects of Cyclone Fani in the Brahmagiri Puri District had a large impact on the community. We worked to alleviate some of the impact, by providing sanitary items for vulnerable women and girls, cleaning and restoring water sources, clearing up debris through cash-for-work opportunities, promoting public health activities, and distributing temporary shelter kits to those who lost their homes.

BENEFICIARIES

We also followed up with those affected by Cyclone Fani, many of whom were forced to return to devastated homes, by providing essential dignity kits, shelter kits, and mosquito nets.

BENEFICIARIES

Due to severe flooding and extensive water contamination in Kerala state, we supported communities in the area with a number of emergency measures, including distributing mosquito nets and hygiene kits, installing water treatment plants, rehabilitating and disinfecting water points, distributing home cleaning kits, and providing solid waste management.

BENEFICIARIES

12,000 individuals

7,000 individuals

16,800

individuals

IMPACT REPORT 2019

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Indonesia The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi, killed and displaced thousands of people. We provided vulnerable individuals with emergency food and clothing. Our teams in Indonesia also distributed masks and safety supplies to protect against the effects of an active volcano in the area.

BENEFICIARIES

2,500 individuals

Jordan The northern region of Jordan faced extremely harsh winter conditions this year, so we distributed a number of essential items like warm bedding and fuel. Many of the households are still hosting Syrian refugees. Each family received items specific to their needs after being assessed by our teams on the ground.

BENEFICIARIES

1,135 individuals

Kenya The Mandera and Kilifi counties’ agricultural sectors have long suffered from drought and other extreme climate events. We helped provide the supplies and tools for these communities to increase agricultural productivity, sustainable crops, home gardens, and install irrigation systems that conserve water.

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

BENEFICIARIES

28,000 individuals

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Lebanon We provided resources to a vital pediatric clinic in the Naher el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp so children could receive primary health care for five years.

Parents were also provided with ongoing healthcare awareness sessions.

BENEFICIARIES

We helped improve access to education and reducing school dropout rates by supporting various educational projects and recreational activities in two community centres, for vulnerable Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese children in South Lebanon.

BENEFICIARIES

25,000

individuals

160

individuals

Malawi Cyclone Idai, one of the worst climate events in African history, devastated numerous communities in the Chikwawa and Blantyre Districts, as well as surrounding countries. We installed temporary shelters, solar lighting, latrines, and safe learning spaces for children. Emergency food and clothing items were also given out to those most vulnerable.

BENEFICIARIES

We also helped emergency food supplies and hygiene essentials for displaced families affected by floods in the Chikwawa region, which was worsened by Cyclone Idai.

BENEFICIARIES

31,472

individuals

4,715

individuals

IMPACT REPORT 2019

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Mali Floods hit multiple communities in the Koulikoro Region and destroyed infrastructure. We distributed vouchers for families to access particular supplies instead of just issuing them a standard kit. We held a number of sessions to help households better protect against similar threats, while also pushing for more resilient local materials to be used to rebuild communities.

BENEFICIARIES

The Bambara Maoude and Haribomo areas experienced conflict between locals and newly arrived displaced people who were fleeing violence elsewhere.

Our local staff who have a deep understanding of the local situation helped us alleviate much of these tension. Through your support, we helped increase agricultural production in harmony between host communities and displaced people. We also installed gender-sensitive latrines and toilets to promote better hygiene and sanitation.

BENEFICIARIES

In the village of Mambir, the arrival of more refugees displaced by conflict in surrounding areas strained an already limited local water supply. So we installed safe water infrastructure with solar pumping mechanisms to help locals better conduct water management to meet the demand.

BENEFICIARIES

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

7,216 individuals

7,200 individuals

1,857

individuals

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Niger Food security and household income in the Dogondoutchi District have been severely affected by climate change. We helped provide adaptive agriculture and small business developments to combat food insecurity, poverty and nutritional insecurity rates, as well as raising awareness on malnutrition prevention and on women’s rights to enhance protection and economic activities.

BENEFICIARIES

7,000 individuals

Pakistan Chronic drought has long crippled agricultural production in the arid Balochistan province. We helped support these drought affected communities by providing drought resilient seeds, plants and irrigation techniques, as well as equipping them with knowledge and skills on climate change to sustain their resources and advocate for better policies and public awareness.

BENEFICIARIES

32,395

individuals

IMPACT REPORT 2019

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Somalia We provided hygiene kits and emergency conditional cash transfers to families with young children in the drought-ridden Sool Region, to improve food security, health and resilience. We also engaged with the community to rehabilitate water wells, and promote hygiene and education.

BENEFICIARIES

The town of Belet Weyen also suffered from severe flooding that devastated people’s access to multiple necessities. So we distributed shelter materials, mosquito nets, and mosquito sprays.

BENEFICIARIES

4,200 individuals

1,705

individuals

Sudan Displaced persons, returnees, and local communities in Central Darfur have been affected by years of civil conflict. We increased gender-balanced access to livelihood assets, loans, skills training, and food security among the most vulnerable groups.

YOUR ZAKAT IN ACTION

BENEFICIARIES

8,679 individuals

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Syria We improved the food security of 1000 households in the war torn cities of Aleppo and Idlib by giving agriculture and livestock support. Many families were also linked with markets that helped facilitate sale of agricultural products to increase their income.

BENEFICIARIES

Idlib is also home to the Sarmada Rehabilitation Centre, the region’s most important medical centre for referral services. We used your support to provide salaries, supplies and medicines to ensure ongoing operations and specialized treatment.

BENEFICIARIES

In Aleppo, three internally displaced persons camps have been filled to capacity due to the war. Water access is severely limited and sanitation is poor. We alleviated some of this by conducting water delivery, treatment/testing, solid waste management, and maintenance of sanitation facilities.

BENEFICIARIES

5,800

individuals

13,884

individuals

14,554

individuals

Yemen We improved immediate food access for targeted areas of the Abyan Governorate, part of a country that faces the world’s largest food security emergency. Over 3000 emergency food baskets were distributed to internally displaced persons, female headed households, widows, children, orphans, and other marginalized groups.

BENEFICIARIES

3,640 individuals

IMPACT REPORT 2019

THANK YOU! Your Zakat is not just another transaction. It reaches those in need in the form of medicines, education, food, water, shelter, and so much more. Your support is so often the gift of life itself and we take special care to reach those who are most at risk. We’ve seen with our own eyes how their lives have been uplifted and transformed by what you give.

We could not have done it without you, thank you.

3501 Mainway Burlington, ON L7M 1A9 www.islamicrelief.ca 1-855-377-4673 (HOPE) Registered Charity No. 821896875RR0001