Latest Gaza Updates December 2012

Below are photos of people of Gaza children receiving food aid from your kind donations delivered by Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust. The Gazan's were extremely humble and so grateful for receiving your heart-felt food supplies.

Al-Mustafa is also implementing the project of free eye care for the children of GAZA next week inshallah. Thank you to all the donors of Al Mustafa those helped to reach in GAZA with aid for brothers and sisters whom are in adversity.

Urgent Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Appeal

The Situation

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched more than 200 air strikes in Gaza on 14-15 November with more attacks planned and Israel threatens to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages. The current death total is 95 Palestinians killed, 720 wounded.
Missiles and airstrikes continue raining down on both sides of the border. During a brief conversation by phone with an eyewitness, an IRIN news reporter heard three air strikes in the course of a few minutes in Gaza City alone. And in Israel, one red alert is going off after another.
“We have a safety room in our apartment but I never believed we'd have to use it,” said Shira, a mother of two in Petach Tikva. “We were not at all prepared for this.”

There are differing accounts of how this round of violence started, but it is the most serious escalation since Israel’s attack on Gaza in 2008-9, which killed some 1,400 people - almost all of them Palestinian, and at least half of them civilians.

Gaza residents are confused and anxious,” one mental health worker told PHR. “There are ongoing explosions all over the Strip. Media reports are exaggerated, and are causing great stress. People hear about Israeli casualties and fear further escalation. Queues outside bakeries and shops are very long because people fear that Israeli invasion is close. Kids are in a terrible mental state, crying from anxiety."

What is Needed?

If the previous Israeli Operation Cast Lead is any indication, the impact on civilians will be huge. It is imperative that we help provide urgent short term relief before Israel closes all the border crossing in case of ground invasion. The IDF have already placed 75,000 troops on alert so this could be another long and drawn our siege with heavy casualties expected in Gaza especially civilian men, women and children.

There are no reserves. The Gaza Strip has been living off of subsistence levels for several years now. When escalations occur, there is no buffer. Some areas have already run out of bread - a result of the blockade on Gaza. There is an urgent need of food aid, lifesaving drugs, blankets, tents, dry milk for children and other emergency items.

Donate Now!

Significance of Qurbani

H Rasul - BA (Hons) Arabic and Islamic Studies

Qurbani in Urdu and Persian, or Udhiya in Arabic is the sacrifice of an animal carried out for the sake of God on Eid al Adha. Muslims do this in order to honour the Prophet Abraham’s (PBUH) willingness to sacrifice Ishmael (PBUH), who at the time was his only child, upon God’s command.

In the ritual sacrifice of an animal for the sake of God we are reminded of Abraham’s and Ishmael’s (PBUT) unwavering faith in God, both willing to carry out the highest sacrifice for their Lord without hesitation. We are also reminded of God’s mercy; He accepted their sincere intentions and asked that Ibrahim sacrifice a goat instead of Ishmael.

Zayd ibn Arqam (RA) narrates: The companions of Rasullullah (SAW) asked: “What are these sacrificial animals Oh Rasullullah?” He said: “It is the way of your father, Ibrahim (AS).” They asked: “What is there for us O Rasullullah?” He said: “One good deed for every hair.” They asked: “What about wool?” He said: “One good deed for every fibre of wool.”

According to Imam Abu Hanifah, the Qurbani is wajib and according to the other Imams it is Sunnah Muakkadah upon every adult Muslim who is in possession of a minimum amount of wealth (Nisaab). It is preferable to share one third of the meat among the poor, one third with friends and relatives and keep the remainder for oneself. When consumed in moderation, meat provides vital nutrients such as zinc, iron and protein. For many people around the World, Eid al Adha is the only time in the entire year that they can consume meat.

Eid, which is often translated as “feast”, is a time of blessings and celebration. In sharing one third of the Qurbani with the poor, Islam ensures that we remember those less fortunate than ourselves so that they too can partake in the festivities.

At Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust, we are able to facilitate you in sharing your blessings with those less fortunate. We have identified the neediest communities and sourced local farmers in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Alhamdu’lillah, last year 100,000 families received Qurbani from our projects in 11 countries.

We use the services of local farmers; as a result, Qurbani has a lasting impact on the lives of rural communities. By supporting the local economy, we enable and strengthen livestock production. Farmers are able to use the money earned at this time to buy more stock, particularly milk producing animals and sell produce in their local area. As a result, they not only support themselves and provide for their families but ensure that locally produced, nutritious produce is available in the community, thus improving the health of others. Such initiatives are invaluable in contributing to food security, which means ensuring that communities are able to sustain themselves in the long term and become less and less reliant on aid and therefore to eradicate hunger. The importance of such initiatives is reflected in the decision of the UN General Assembly to designate 2012 “International Year of Cooperatives.” Amongst the events to raise awareness of this, the past week has seen the marking of World Food Day.

Ibn ‘Abbas reports that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these days [meaning the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah]”.  What better time to donate your Qurbani to those amongst the neediest, to share in your blessings with those less fortunate and to commemorate the actions for Abraham and Ishmael (PBUT).

Qurbani TV Commercial

Special Qurbani for Burma ( Rohingya Community), Syria, Palestine and Flood Victims of Pakistan

Eid al-Adha is a time of rejoicing and feasting with our Families and friends but many are not that fortunate on the other side of the globe. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:

‘None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.’

At Al Mustafa Trust we have an extensive network of volunteers ready to make sure that your Qurbani donation reaches the people who really need it.

We have already conducted the surveys and prepared the list for the most deserving families. Also, animals have been purchased sourced from local formers in three regions of the world including Africa, Asia and the Middle East. They are waiting to be sacrificed for the poor.

There are over 20 million Muslims in Burma (Rohinghe community), in flood areas of Pakistan and in Syria and Palestine waiting for food and the meat of your Qurbani. Al-Hamdulillah, last year 100,000 families received Qurbani meat from our project in 11 countries.

We ask Allah (swt) to accept your sacrifice, grant you a happy and blessed Eid. Also, may Allah(swt) allow us to help you to make this a special day for our brothers and sisters again this year those are in adversity.

Relief for rain hit farmers

LAHORE – Chairman Al Mustafa Welfare Trust (AMWT) Abdul Razzaq Sajid said that organization has started the emergency relief work for flood victims and in first phase we have send the food aid for 2000 affected families in Jaffarabad, Dera Murad Jamali, Dera Allahyar, Sukkur, Dhariki and Dera Ghazi Khan areas. He said AMWT has also set up medical camps and volunteers were also evacuating the affected families in flood hit areas. He said after 2010, it was worse time for Pakistan when flood and torrential rains have destroyed the crops, houses, cattle heads and road net work. He said in Punjab Dera Ghazi Khan, Tehsil Rajan Pur, Dajal, Muzaffargarh. In Balochistan Jaffarabad, Dera Allahyar, Dera Murad Jammali. In Sindh Sukkar, Dharki and other parts of the country were facing very miserable situation. He said that thousand of the people were taking shelters on roads, farm to market roads and cotton crop have destroyed. He said the affected people would not overcome their problems. He said AMWT would distribute the food aid, life saving drugs, blankets, camps, dry milk for children and other emergency items among the affected families. He said Al Mustafa chief patron Haji Hanif Tayyab was looking after the relief activities.

http://www.nation.com.pk/E-Paper/lahore/2012-09-13/page-17

UK PM urged to end Rohingya plight

Thursday, August 30, 2012

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/30-Aug-2012/uk-pm-urged-to-end-rohingya-plight

LONDON - Al Mustafa Welfare Trust (AMWT) Chairman Abdul Razzaq Sajid has said that his charity organisation is working for international humanitarian relief and disasters and he has approached UK PM David Cameron to take a stronger stance over the killing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. He urged the UK govt that killing of Rohingya Muslims was a matter of basic human rights which cannot be ignored, says a press release. Sajid said in a statement on Wednesday that on the request of Al Mustafa Welfare Trust, Muslim Charities Forum (MCF), an umbrella of leading Muslim charity organisation in UK, has written a letter to the PM David Cameron and requested him to end the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Sajid said that plight of the Burmese Rohingya has taken a significant turn for the worse following violent clashes with Rakhan community in western Myanmar. Government restrictions on humanitarian access to the Rohingya community have left over 100,000 displaced people in desperate need of food, shelter and medical aid. Malnutrition rates in the northern Arakan state where some 800,000 Rohingya lives are far above the global indicator for a health crisis and are likely to further deteriorate as international NGOs have been forced to leave the area. Meanwhile, the tens of thousands of Rohingya that fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape the brutal attacks have ended up as unregistered refugees with little access to aid or assistance. The Bangladesh authorities have refused to help the refugees and have ordered several international charity organisations to cease essential humanitarian aid operations. Conditions in campsites where Rohingya are stationed are atrocious, with disease rampant and standard of living extremely poor.

A BIG THANK YOU!

To all our donors who helped raise vital funds for our projects during Ramadan 2012 - our chairman, Abdul Razzaq and all the team at Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust want to thank you for every single donation made during this blessed month and hope you continue to support our projects. Big or small - every single penny will go along way to help deliver medical aid and emergency assistance to the poor and vunerable in society.

Al-Mustafa will share the reports and pictures regarding your Ramadan donations to the various projects on this blog.

Bangladesh Floods Urgent Appeal 2012

Bangladesh was struck by torrential rainfall over a period of 5 days. The flood has killed 110 in Chittagong and other parts of the South East - including the Cox's Bazar and Bandarban areas. Flooding has cut off the region from the rest of the country, shutting down roads, rail, air routes and communications. Flood Victims are living in miserable conditions without any proper food, shelter and clean water from last week. People have lost their houses and are living in open skies. Many organizations including the Bangladesh Army is helping rescue as many victims as much possible. But more efforts are required from civil society and the international community.

According to the flood warning and forecasting centre, flooding is getting worse in the North Eastern districts of Sylhet and Sunamgonj in the next 24 hours.

Reuters reported the flooding in Bangladesh, some of the heaviest in years, have set off flash floods and landslides, killing at least 110 people, stranding about 200,000 and over 150,000 have been marooned.

Low-lying and densely populated Bangladesh has been battered by torrential downpours during the wet season, which began in the past few weeks.

How Al-Mustafa Welfare is helping ...

Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust is delivering food packages, shelter and free medical aid for the all the affected flood regions. Al-Mustafa's Bangladesh director, Mr Kabeer, is looking after the aid activities in Chittagong and Sylhet with a team of volunteers. There is a huge shortage of food and first aid/medical aid at the moment. The team of volunteer doctors are currently helping the children and elderly to cope with water borne and flood related diseases. Al-Mustafa is also distributing water purification tablets among the flood victims to control the diseases. Elderly women and children are at higher risk of the catching the water borne diseases. Al-Mustafa recently carried out free medical camp in Sylhet and women and children were seen in huge numbers during their visit to the camp.

Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust is operating in Bangladesh since 2007 and runs a Primary school in Dhaka and various other projects such as free medical care, orphan sponsorship, livelihood programmes, and Qurbani and food programmes.

Please help the flood victims of Bangladesh by making a donation. Call our donation hotline: +44(0)208 569 6444 or visit our website to make a secure online donation.

Kurshid Family Disability Support Appeal

Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust has an urgent medical/disability appeal for parents of 4 disabled children.

Mr and Mrs Khurshid Ahmed are in their early 60s. Mr Khurshid Ahmed is a retired driver and his wife Hajra Bibi is house wife. They live in a very small house in Lahore and have responsibility for four paralysed children.

The names and age of their four paralyse children are as follows: Muhammad Sadiq (32), Sajid Bibi (30), Muhammad Salim (28) and Muhammad Nadeem (24). All of them are born with physical disability and they cannot stand or walk on their own feet.

Due to their disability they could not get any sort of formal education. Their parents could not afford to send them to special schools as was out of their budget. Mr and Mrs Khurshid and his disabled children are living in very deprived condition but they dislike bagging. The neighbours and philanthropist help the poor family.

We can only imagine how devastating this must have felt for Mr and Mrs Khurshid. Mr and Mrs Khurshid have approached Al Mustafa Welfare Trust (Pakistan) Lahore office for continues support for the family. They also required 4 wheel chairs for the disable children.



Please help us to provide vital medical aid and financial assistance for Mr & Mrs Kurshid and their disabled children. Visit our website: http://www.almustafatrust.org/content/Our-Work/Latest-Appeals/Kurshid-Family-Appeal/index.htm to make a donation or call our donation hotline: 0207 569 6444 today!

Al-Mustafa Free Eye Operation Islam Channel Advert

Did you know that every 5 seconds 1 person goes blind. According to the World Health Organisation there are over 39 million blind in the world. With a small donation of £35 Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust will provide an eye operation for orphans and the elderly so they can see again! Visit our website to make a donation or call our donation hotline: 0208 569 6444.

Free Medical Camp in Sylhet update

We had a hugh response to our Free Medical Camp in Sylhet, Bangladesh which was setup on Wednesday, 20th June 2012. Today we are setting up in Dhaka!

We want to thank all our donors and hope you continue to support this project.

Free Medical Camp in Sylhet & Dhaka Bangladesh

Al Mustafa Welfare Trust UK is planning to setup Mobile Medical Camps in Sylhet and Dhaka, Bangladesh providing free medical care to the poor. We will setup camp in Sylhet on Wednesday, 20th June 2012. Free medicine will be given at the camp to over 10,000 patients.

Our camp in Dhaka will be setup on Saturday 23 June 2012.

We will have doctors and volunteers on standby to help treat men, women and children. Our aim is to reach 50,000 people suffering from various diseases through our free mobile medical camps.

Al-Mustafa will share the reports and pictures during and after the camps on this blog.

About Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a country with about 130 million people living in an area of 148,393 square kilometre making the country one with the highest population density in the world. Economically Bangladesh is in a less than an enviable position; it is generally ranked among the world's 10 poorest countries. Over 80% of the population of Bangladesh live in the 64,000 villages of this agrarian country.

Villages lack good sanitation and clean drinking water, and are beset with numerous other problems such as poor communication, lack of electricity, inadequate health services, etc. Defecation in open air is common all over Bangladesh. Overall conditions in rural Bangladesh are highly congenial for rapid transmission of enteric pathogens through the faecal-oral route, which is reflected in the disease profile the country. In cities there is usually some sanitation system in place but the system suffers from many inadequacies and cannot be regarded as intrinsically much better. Although cities provide water to its dwellers, which is supposed to be safe, the poorly maintained sewerage system often contaminates the water during distribution, and overflow of sewage during rain and flooding is a regular phenomenon releasing heavy load of germ on the surface.

Common Diseases

The most prevalent diseases found in Bangladesh is food and water-borne related that is acquired through eating or drinking.

The most common category of water-borne diseases is represented by diarrhoea. There are two major types, watery diarrhoea and dysentery. Cholera is the prototype of severe watery diarrhoea caused by the bacteria Vibrio Cholerae. Certain other bacteria (bacilli) such as shigellae cause dysentery type of diarrhoea commonly called bacillary dysentery. A group of salmonella bacteria that enter the gut through water may or may not cause diarrhoea at the onset of infection but their actual clinical manifestation is a type of fever called enteric fever, the prototype of which is typhoid fever.

Diarrhoea and other gastro-intestinal diseases are caused by pathogens that are water-borne or are carried through the medium of water. These diseases account for nearly a quarter of all illnesses in Bangladesh - about 12% by diarrhoea, and 10% by other gastro-intestinal illness including enteric fever. Thus water plays a major role in the overall disease profile of the country; air being the second most important vehicle accounting for 11% of all illnesses which includes pneumonia and other infections of the respiratory tract.

Diarrhoeal and other gastro-intestinal diseases follow a transmission pattern that is called faecal-oral transmission. The pathogen is released into the environment with faeces where it stays until finding re-entry through the oral route with contaminated food and water. The overall sanitation and personal hygiene standard of the community or the country thus in a large measure determines the extent of re-entry of the pathogen into the body. In a situation where disposal of faeces is unhygienic, surface water will be readily contaminated by the offending pathogens released with faeces leading to high level of faecal-oral transmission. Bacteria, unicellular intestinal parasites such as amoeba and Giardia, and the infectious units (eggs and cysts) of intestinal worms are transmitted through this route.

Other Diseases found in Bangladesh

Hepatitis A - viral disease that interferes with the functioning of the liver; spread through consumption of food or water contaminated with fecal matter, principally in areas of poor sanitation; victims exhibit fever, jaundice, and diarrhea; 15% of victims will experience prolonged symptoms over 6-9 months; vaccine available.

Hepatitis E - water-borne viral disease that interferes with the functioning of the liver; most commonly spread through fecal contamination of drinking water; victims exhibit jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, and dark colored urine.

Typhoid Fever - bacterial disease spread through contact with food or water contaminated by fecal matter or sewage; victims exhibit sustained high fevers; left untreated, mortality rates can reach 20%.
vectorborne diseases acquired through the bite of an infected arthropod:

Malaria - caused by single-cell parasitic protozoa Plasmodium; transmitted to humans via the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito; parasites multiply in the liver attacking red blood cells resulting in cycles of fever, chills, and sweats accompanied by anemia; death due to damage to vital organs and interruption of blood supply to the brain; endemic in 100, mostly tropical, countries with 90% of cases and the majority of 1.5-2.5 million estimated annual deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dengue Fever - mosquito-borne (Aedes aegypti) viral disease associated with urban environments; manifests as sudden onset of fever and severe headache; occasionally produces shock and hemorrhage leading to death in 5% of cases.

Yellow Fever - mosquito-borne viral disease; severity ranges from influenza-like symptoms to severe hepatitis and hemorrhagic fever; occurs only in tropical South America and sub-Saharan Africa, where most cases are reported; fatality rate is less than 20%.

Japanese Encephalitis - mosquito-borne (Culex tritaeniorhynchus) viral disease associated with rural areas in Asia; acute encephalitis can progress to paralysis, coma, and death; fatality rates 30%.

African Trypanosomiasis - caused by the parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma; transmitted to humans via the bite of bloodsucking Tsetse flies; infection leads to malaise and irregular fevers and, in advanced cases when the parasites invade the central nervous system, coma and death; endemic in 36 countries of sub-Saharan Africa; cattle and wild animals act as reservoir hosts for the parasites.

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis - caused by the parasitic protozoa leishmania; transmitted to humans via the bite of sandflies; results in skin lesions that may become chronic; endemic in 88 countries; 90% of cases occur in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Peru; wild and domesticated animals as well as humans can act as reservoirs of infection.

Plague - bacterial disease transmitted by fleas normally associated with rats; person-to-person airborne transmission also possible; recent plague epidemics occurred in areas of Asia, Africa, and South America associated with rural areas or small towns and villages; manifests as fever, headache, and painfully swollen lymph nodes; disease progresses rapidly and without antibiotic treatment leads to pneumonic form with a death rate in excess of 50%.

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever - tick-borne viral disease; infection may also result from exposure to infected animal blood or tissue; geographic distribution includes Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe; sudden onset of fever, headache, and muscle aches followed by hemorrhaging in the bowels, urine, nose, and gums; mortality rate is approximately 30%.

Rift Valley Fever - viral disease affecting domesticated animals and humans; transmission is by mosquito and other biting insects; infection may also occur through handling of infected meat or contact with blood; geographic distribution includes eastern and southern Africa where cattle and sheep are raised; symptoms are generally mild with fever and some liver abnormalities, but the disease may progress to hemorrhagic fever, encephalitis, or ocular disease; fatality rates are low at about 1% of cases.

Chikungunya - mosquito-borne (Aedes aegypti) viral disease associated with urban environments, similar to Dengue Fever; characterized by sudden onset of fever, rash, and severe joint pain usually lasting 3-7 days, some cases result in persistent arthritis.
water contact diseases acquired through swimming or wading in freshwater lakes, streams, and rivers:

Leptospirosis - bacterial disease that affects animals and humans; infection occurs through contact with water, food, or soil contaminated by animal urine; symptoms include high fever, severe headache, vomiting, jaundice, and diarrhea; untreated, the disease can result in kidney damage, liver failure, meningitis, or respiratory distress; fatality rates are low but left untreated recovery can take months.

Schistosomiasis - caused by parasitic trematode flatworm Schistosoma; fresh water snails act as intermediate host and release larval form of parasite that penetrates the skin of people exposed to contaminated water; worms mature and reproduce in the blood vessels, liver, kidneys, and intestines releasing eggs, which become trapped in tissues triggering an immune response; may manifest as either urinary or intestinal disease resulting in decreased work or learning capacity; mortality, while generally low, may occur in advanced cases usually due to bladder cancer; endemic in 74 developing countries with 80% of infected people living in sub-Saharan Africa; humans act as the reservoir for this parasite.

Aerosolized dust or soil contact disease acquired through inhalation of aerosols contaminated with rodent urine:

Lassa Fever - viral disease carried by rats of the genus Mastomys; endemic in portions of West Africa; infection occurs through direct contact with or consumption of food contaminated by rodent urine or fecal matter containing virus particles; fatality rate can reach 50% in epidemic outbreaks.
respiratory disease acquired through close contact with an infectious person:

Meningococcal Meningitis - bacterial disease causing an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord; one of the most important bacterial pathogens is Neisseria meningitis because of its potential to cause epidemics; symptoms include stiff neck, high fever, headaches, and vomiting; bacteria are transmitted from person to person by respiratory droplets and facilitated by close and prolonged contact resulting from crowded living conditions, often with a seasonal distribution; death occurs in 5-15% of cases, typically within 24-48 hours of onset of symptoms; highest burden of meningococcal disease occurs in the hyperendemic region of sub-Saharan Africa known as the "Meningitis Belt" which stretches from Senegal east to Ethiopia.

Animal contact disease acquired through direct contact with local animals:

Rabies - viral disease of mammals usually transmitted through the bite of an infected animal, most commonly dogs; virus affects the central nervous system causing brain alteration and death; symptoms initially are non-specific fever and headache progressing to neurological symptoms; death occurs within days of the onset of symptoms.

How you can help

As you will realise after reading this long list of diseases that the people of Bangladesh are prone to a wide range of life threatening diseases that can spread rapidly. Due to the high levels of poverty and limited drugs it is an uphill battle to treat such a hugh population that is densly populated in the cities of Dhaka and Sylhet. We urge you to help support this project generously.

We are also looking to work for local government hospitals in Dhaka and Sylhet who are willing to participate in our project of providing long term medical care on a permanent basis. Please contact ikhlaq@almustafatrust.org for more information.

Please support our free medical camps for Bangladesh. You can make a donation by visiting our website or call our hotline number: +44(0)208 569 6444.

Free Social and Health Awareness Camps

Al Mustafa Welfare Trust has organised Free Social and Health Awareness Camps around Pakistan. These Camps were of the great assistance for the deprived communities of rural areas. The team of doctors and paramedical staff along the aid of hundreds volunteers have distributed free first aid kits, and provided free blood tests, dental check-up, and health related literature among the masses.

Children with cleft lips are cursed, bullied and isolated

This is true story and its happening with thousands of children right now!

Could you imagine a life without a smile?

Sarah was not able to smile for 8 years because she was born with cleft lips.

She was her parents only daughter but born with a cleft lips. As is common with the children born with cleft lips, she was not able to eat or speak properly and suffered from malnutrition. She was taken as cursed by society and frequently bullied at school thus isolated from her peers. Her parents could not afford cleft surgery and were helpless as the plight of their daughter; we can only imagine how devastating this must have felt.
Shocking, isn’t it? But cleft lips are treatable and Al Mustafa specializes in cleft surgery.
It costs just £150 to give smile back on the faces of children like Sarah.
Alkhamdulilah, Thanks to generous donors like yourself, AMWT was able to carry out free cleft surgery for Sarah in 2011. Just one week after the surgery Sarah beamed’’ Now I can go to school and play with my friends’’. Remember, it cost just £150 to give Sarah back her smile.

Her story is real, and it’s happening to children in countries around the world right now.  According to World Health Organization, child with cleft lips born every 2 minute in the world.  There are approximately 170,000 children born with clefts annually and 90% sufferers can't afford surgery. There are 10000 babies are born with clefts like Sarah in Pakistan every year.

Al Mustafa is dedicated to help the children like Sarah. We believe that every child born with a cleft anywhere in the world has the opportunity to live a full productive life with dignity in the society. We have helped hundreds of children to smile like Sarah in 2011.

AMWT organises free plastic surgery camps for treatment of children born with cleft lip and palate once a year. Camps are arranged in the poorest parts of the world where the higher number of clef lip and palate cases are located. Such as Pakistan, Kashmir, Bangladesh, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda. Each camp carries out up to 50 surgeries. The surgeries are carried out at camps and complex cases are referred to the network of Al Mustafa medical centres or nearby private hospitals.

AMWT also organize seminars and public lectures for awareness of this issue. These events help to increase the interaction of cleft patients with the society and reduce their feelings of deprivation and isolation.

Project of 400 Tons of Rice for flood victims of Pakistan

Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust distributed 100 tons of rice among ten thousand flood victims in Pakistan in 2010. These generous amounts of rice were provided by the Government of Taiwan. The distributiontook place at all the provinces of Pakistan including Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

Alhamdulillah, as a result of that satisfactory distribution, once again The Government of Taiwan has sent 400 tons of rice for the distribution among 40,000 flood affected people of Sindh. The Ship containing 400 Tons of Rice in 20 Containers has arrived on 18^th of March 2012. The team of Al Mustafa Welfare Trust is ready to perform all the tasks from the clearance of goods till the distribution, inshAllah.

The rice will be distributed in the following areas:
Mirpurkhas, Samaro (Umerkot), Nawabshah , Daur , Bandhi , Khadro, Shahpurchakar , Sanghar, Shahdadpur, Badin, Judho, HyderabadTando Adam,Moro, Thatta, Sukkur, Dadu, Jacobabad, Shikarpur,Thull, KandhkotKashmore, Meherd, Qamber, Shehdadkot, Sehwan Shareef, Deherki, Khairpur.            

The distribution will be completed within two months, inshAllah. The distribution process among 40000 families will require RS 20, 00,000. Al Mustafa will not able to carry out this project without your generous support. Please help us generously to reach with food to the flood affected families.

Free Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery Appeal

Problem

Cleft lip and palate are birth defects and are the most common congenital facial deformities. A cleft is a fissure or opening—a gap. A cleft lip can be either unilateral or bilateral. With a unilateral cleft lip, the gap is only on one side of the lip under either the left or right nostril and might extend into the nose. Babies born with a bilateral cleft lip have a gap on both sides of the lip, and they may have a deep split in the lip that extends into both nostrils. A person with a cleft could have only a cleft palate, only a cleft lip, or both a cleft lip and a cleft palate.

Every year more than 170,000 children are born with clefts. Cleft lips and palates occur in approximately 1 per 500-700 births, the ratio varying considerably across geographic areas or ethnic groupings. Clefts occur more frequently among Asians (about 1:400) and certain American Indians than Europeans. Clefts are relatively less common among Africans and African Americans (about 1:1500). Cleft lip alone and cleft lip with a cleft palate occurs more often in boys, while cleft palate without a cleft lip occurs more often in girls.

(Source: World Health Organization International Collaborative Research on Craniofacial Anomalies)

• 170,000 children are born with clefts every year
• 1 in 700 children born have a cleft lip or cleft palate
• 10,000 babies are born with clefts in Pakistan every year
• 300,000 cleft lip and palate sufferers in Bangladesh
• 35,000 children in India are born with cleft every year
• 90% sufferers can't afford surgery

Causes

Cleft lips and palates are due to the non-fusion of the body's natural structures that form before birth. Generally, facial clefting results when medial, lateral, and maxillary nasal processes on either left, right or both sides of the forming craniofacial complex do not fuse completely. Suspected causes include genetic (inherited) and environmental factors (like maternal diseases due to certain medications or vitamin deficiencies).

Cursed and Isolated

Children with cleft lip and palate may have had to cope with bullying or teasing. Sufferers with cleft lip/palate are less likely than non-affected peers to marry. In Uganda babies with cleft are called Ajok which means “Cursed by God.” In many parts of the world babies with cleft are killed or abandoned right after birth.

Also, children with cleft lip and cleft palate also difficulties with eating, hearing loss, dental problems, such as cavities and missing or malformed teeth, speech and language delay.

How We Work

AMWT organises free plastic surgery camps for treatment of children born with cleft lip and palate once a year. Camps are arranged in the poorest parts of the world where the higher number of clef lip and palate cases are located. Such as Pakistan, Kashmir, Bangladesh, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda. Each camp carries out up to 50 surgeries. The surgeries are carried out at camps and complex cases are referred to the network of Al Mustafa medical centres or nearby private hospitals.

AMWT also organize seminars and public lectures for awareness of this issue. These events help to increase the interaction of cleft patients with the society and reduce their feelings of deprivation and isolation.

It Just Costs £150 to give Smile

£750.00 can provide cleft surgery for five children

£450.00 can provide cleft surgery for three children

£150.00 can provide cleft surgery for one child

£75.00 can help train a surgeon

£30.00 can cover costs for an overnight hospital stay

We will welcome any contribution

Free Eye Camp For The Flood Victims of Kot Adu, District Muzafargur

Kot Addu is a deprived area of district Muzaffargarh  in the Punjab, Pakistan. The area was on the front hit of floods in 2010. The flood has washed away the major part of the Kot Adu and left the inhabitants in huge despair. The flood water had destroyed the infrastructure such as roads, schools, hospitals and private properties. The masses have lost their crops and cattle as the 90% of the residents depend on the livestock and seasonal crops. AMWT had set up relief camps for the flood victims in the area for months after the flood. These camps had provided free accommodation and food including medicines and temporary education for children. AMWT has also rehabilitated 100 houses and installed various water pupms and tube wells for flood victims in Kota du.

Though there have been various developments but situation is still vulnerable after two years of floods. People have no jobs and lack of access to reasonable health facilities.

AMWT has arranged free eye camp in Kot Addu targeting 100 blind people in the flood hit areas of Kot Adu . The camp was organised at Tehsil headquarters Hospital Kot Addu on February 25 to 26- 2012. Member Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, Ahmed Yar Hinjra, inaugurated the eye camp. A medical team of 5 highly qualified surgeons and 10 eye technicians had provided free check up facilities to patients. They operated 100 cataract surgeries and provided screening facilities to over 2000 patients during two days camp.

The majority of patients have bilateral mature and hyper mature cataract that were unable to see for last many years. Many patients like Nisar Ahmad (aged 70) has been operated who were able to see through only one eye due to with mature cataract. Alhamdulillah after operation, they were able to see the world full of colours with their own eyes. All visitors to the camps appreciated the activities of Al Mustafa for the area.

AMWT is grateful to all of its donors and sister organizations for their generous support.

 
Tajammual Latif

Free Eye Camp Updates From Lahore, Pakistan

Lahore is the most historic and populous city of Pakistan. There are 945000 blind people in Punjab which is the the most populous province of the country. AMWT has started series of free eye camps for the different areas of Punjab where 1000 blind people will receive free cataract surgeries.This year, in total we are targeting 5000 blind people whereas 1000 blind people will be targeted from each province including Kashmir. The three days Free Eye Camp in Lahore on 10^th, 11^th and 12^th of February 2012 was of great success. It took place on three different areas; Ghaziabad, Salamatpura and Baghbanpura respectively to target as many blind people as possible. The patients were targeted from the deprived areas of Lahore.

The camps were very busy and elderly people were provided with free transport services as well. There

Medical teams, 5 doctors and 10 paramedical staff, visited camps where they screened out the cataract patients. After completing the eye screening, all cataract patients were transported at Al Mustafa Medical Centre Lahore, where operation theatre was set up to carryout the surgeries. 100 surgeries has been carried out successfully and 2000 people received free eye treatment. All kind of medical facilities including eye check up, medicines, glasses, cataract surgeries and post surgery treatment were provided free of cost. Also, free meal and transport facilities were provided to the elderly patients.

AMWT is thankful to all of its donors for their kind contribution for this good cause and hoping for their support in future for eye camps in other cities.

Project Manager : Tajjamul Gurmani

Updates from Free Eye Camp Karachi, Pakistan

Al Mustafa is fighting against blindness in Pakistan and breaking the poverty-blindness cycle since 1985. AMWT is targeting 5000 blind people during 2012 in Pakistan. AMWT has arranged two days free eye camps on 18^th and 19^th of February at Al Mustafa medical centre Gulshan e Iqbal Karachi this year.


Eye surgeries and treatments were provided free of cost to the deserving patients. The camp was fully equipped with all required medical equipments from lenses to medicines, surgery equipment to glasses etc.

 Also disposable surgery items like syringes, gloves, cotton, cloth pads and other relevant items required for operation theatre were available in ample quantity. A team of 5 doctors and 10 paramedical staff along the management team of AMWT participated in two days camps

 It’s been observed that alike previous years, a huge number of patients visited the camps. Women and elderly people were in higher numbers among the visitors. This clearly shows that blindness prevails more among the elderly people and women. Patients have been also transported from the rural areas to the camps. Initially the screening tests were conducted and patients who needed cataract surgery were admitted in camp. Free operations were carried out by our volunteer surgeons. 50 surgeries have been carried out in two days camps. Apart from that, over 1000 people received free eye treatment and glasses. After the operation, some patients were taken for a day or so where they had been given free accommodation and food. Moreover, our free ambulance service helped in transporting the patients to their homes.

Alhamdulillah AMWT managed to arrange the camp successfully in Karachi. The cost of one eye surgery was £35 and each camp arranged was of £1000. This was not possible to achieve this project without the contributions of AMWT’s kind donors and sister organisations. We are grateful for all of our generous donors to enable us to help the blind people to see the world again with their own eyes.

Project Manager: Ahmed Raza, Karachi, Pakistan

Fighting Against Blindness in Africa:Free Eye Camps For Ethiopia



Waiting for their turn

According to World Health Organization estimates Africa shares 19 per cent of the world’s blindness. There are 26.3 million people visually impaired in Africa majority of them is aged over 50 years. Furthermore, among 26.3 million there are 20.4 million with low vision and estimated to be blind, whereas two third of them are women. Most of the cases of blindness in the African Region are from avoidable causes such as cataract (50%), glaucoma (15%), corneal opacities (10%), trachoma (6.8%), childhood blindness (5.3%) and onchocerciasis (4%).

Unfortunately, the state of eye care in Africa stands at alarming levels comparative to the rest of the world. The main affected countries from the region are Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Gambia. There are various factors playing significant role to aggravate the particular disease in the region. Such as, poor practitioner-to-patient ratios, total absence of personnel eye-care, inadequate health facilities, and poor state funding for health, lack of educational programmes including higher population rate.

 Ethiopia is the most affected country in the region with a population of 91 million, which is the second-most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to ORBIS International, 1.2 million Ethiopians are blind and 2.8 million have low vision. Eye care services are extremely limited throughout the country as there are only 95 ophthalmologists available for the population of 91million, particularly in rural areas there is no eye care service available. Even if available ophthalmologists work for 12 hours a day taking 2 hours time for single operation, they would be able to carry out 576 surgeries. The progress to fight against the blindness in the region would be extremely slow in that pace.

Moreover, low per capita income which is US$380 in FY 2010(GNI, Atlas Method) also prevents the masses to have access to the available health facilities. Low income among the population changes the priority order like they are more worried about for their food not health conditions. According to the recent data the budget allocation for the health sector in Ethiopia is US$144 million; health expenditures per capita are estimated at US$4.50, compared with US$10 on average in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2000 the country counted one hospital bed per 4,900 population and more than 27,000 people per primary health care facility.  However, health care is disproportionately available in urban centres; in rural areas where the vast majority of the population resides, access to health care varies from limited to non-existent. Also the literacy rate in Ethiopia is only 35.9 which results in lack of awareness among people regarding hygiene, sanitation and nutrition and ultimately leads to potentially devastating diseases such as blindness.

African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) is a bigger partnership programme including 19 participating countries with effective and active involvement of the Ministries of Health and their affected communities, several international and local NGDOs, the private sector (Merck & Co., Inc.), donor countries and UN agencies.

The World Bank is the Fiscal Agent of the Programme and WHO is the Executing Agency of the Programme. The Community-Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI) is the delivery strategy of APOC. It empowers local communities to fight river blindness in their own villages, relieving suffering and slowing transmission. It has brought substantial achievements for onchocerciasis control in Africa. Using this approach over 68.4 million people were receiving regular treatment for onchocerciasis by end-2009, close to one million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) have been averted and the prevalence of infection has reduced by about 73% compared with pre-APOC levels. The programme which has been extended until 2015 intends to treat over 90 million people annually in 19 countries, protecting 115 million of population which is at risk of the blindness, and to prevent over 40,000 cases of blindness every year.

In addition to that there are many NGOs doing their best for overcoming blindness by providing support to local hospitals in terms of equipment, medicines, helping in setting up screening programmes to identify those people who are at risk and those who need treatment, developing eye treatment centres, training eye doctors.

However there is still high demand of the volunteer doctors to serve the region and provide cost affective eye care to the poor masses of the region. Also, pharmaceutical companies can play significant part to fight against the blindness by providing free medicines and cataract lenses.

AMWT is actively working for less fortunate and needy humanity around the globe for over 25 years. AMWT organizes free medical camps annually in various countries including Pakistan, Kashmir, Bangladesh, Gambia and Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia. AMWT has acknowledged the blindness problem in Ethiopia and taken the initiatives to arrange free eye camps for the rural community of the affected parts of the country. The reason of focusing Ethiopia is the highest prevalence of blindness comparative to other East African countries. Whereas, recent drought has deteriorated the health conditions in the region. AMWT strongly believes that by providing free eye care at the doorstep of rural masses would break the poverty blindness cycle.

The team of 50 doctors along the trained paramedical doctors would be coming from Pakistan where AMWT has network of 13 hospitals. Each medical camp will be fully equipped to handle up to 4,000 patients. It would cost £1000 to setup one free eye camp whereas one eye surgery will cost £35. AMWT is targeting 10000 blind people in Ethiopia during 2012. However; we are still looking for new partners and major donors to support us for fighting against blindness in Ethiopia.

By: Anam Jawad Lateef       
       Ikhlaq Hussain

Let's Break The Poverty Blindness Cycle

Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors. According to World Health Organization (WHO), 285 million people are visually impaired worldwide: 246 million have low vision and 39 million are blind. It is estimated that 90% of the world's visually impaired are located in developing countries. Furthermore, blindness is very high in South Asian region, there are 15 million blind people reside in India, with an additional 52 million visually impaired. Similarly, 1.54 million people are estimated blind in Pakistan and 800,000 in Bangladesh. Whereas, in Africa there are 1.2 million Ethiopia are blind and 1 million adults are blind in Nigeria. Therefore, regional statistics indicates that 90% of blindness is located in developing countries.

The rural-urban distribution indicates that rural areas contain higher numbers of blindness then urban areas. The main reason behind the higher number of blindness among rural inhabitants could be urban biased policies by the central governments of the developing world.  As Michael Lipton (1976) explains in his book ‘’Why Poor Stays Poor’’ is because central governments don’t allocate enough budget for rural areas due to elite pressure, those reside in urban areas of developing countries. Therefore, imbalance exists in all walks of life from education to health facilities among rural and urban inhabitants of the developing countries, where blindness is on rise. Thus, poor masses can not afford the facilities due to low income and lack of health facilities in the area. Consequently, they are forced to live as blind and stay away from education and employment, which turns into poverty-blindness cycle. This cycle is continuing situation whereby poor families entrapped in poverty for generations and lose the opportunity to make a better life.                                                                              

It has also been observed that females have a significantly higher risk of having visual impairment than males. According to Women’s Eye Health Task Force (WEHTF), nearly two out of three people who are blind are women. This is because many eye problems are age related and women live longer than men, so they experience more age-related diseases. Moreover, some eye diseases are intrinsically more common in women like dry eye syndrome and other autoimmune diseases.

There are various polices have been proposed by the experts however, to reduce visual impairment, strategies targeting poor people are required on urgent basses. The research carried out by WHO indicates that globally, 80% of all visual impairment can be cured. There are number of tools has been proposed and implemented by national and international institutions in developing countries with the aid of NGOs and local bodies. Areas of progress over the last 20 years include governments establishing national programmes to prevent and control visual impairment, focus on provision of eye care services that are affordable and of high quality and massive awareness campaigns including school based education. This helping the poor blind masses to see the world with their own eyes and acquiring higher education, getting into work and ultimately, leading towards better living. Not only this, it will also contribute to increase the literacy and income rates at national level and bring out the country from this deprivation.

Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust (AMWT) has played vital role to fight against blindness in Pakistan since 1985. It has helped around 50,000 people to have free eye surgeries, most were women and elderly people. There are 1.5 million people got minor treatments through free eye camps.

AMWT have got 100 registered eye surgeons and well trained paramedical staff who are working on voluntarily basses every year at free eye camps. The main objective of AMWT free eye camps is to provide free eye care at the door step of the poor rural masses who can not afford the treatment due to low income and lack of health facilities and awareness.

In Feb-March 2012, AMWT aims to arrange approximately 167 free eye camps in various rural areas of all provinces of Pakistan. These camps will target 5000 blind people for free surgery where 250500 people will receive minor treatments and eye care.

It just costs £35 to provide free surgery to one blind person, whereas £1000 costs to set up one fully equipped free eye camp. AMWT can not accomplish this huge project without the generous support of its kind donors and sister organisations. Your generous contribution will enable to many blind people to see the world again with their own eyes. Free surgery will enable them to participate in daily activities and to join the prayers at masjid and to read the Quran. As Quran says that ‘’one who saves the life of one person is like to save the entire humanity’’. Therefore we would require your support to save the lives of blind people from poor countries.

By: Anam Jawad Lateef