Youth Break Record By Raising £16,000 in one day

On Saturday 5th March 2005, youth from around the United Kingdom gathered in London to collect money for the ‘Orphans of Iraq’. The event, which had been planned months in advance proved to be a huge success with a total of £16,000 being raised in one day! This is a record-breaking achievement, which surpasses all previous World-Federation charity collections.  

The day could not have been such a success without the commitment and dedication of the 250 volunteers who occupied 40 tube stations around London as well as 4 shopping centres and railway stations. Braving the cold and icy conditions, they persevered for this noble cause.

Some of the volunteers during the collection

The day was split into two shifts, an early shift running from 10am-3pm and a late shift, which ran from 3pm-8pm. Despite these long shifts, the response received was truly inspiring, as volunteers came from around the country and were of various nationalities and ethnic origins. By the grace of Allah (SWT), the thought of helping our counterparts in Iraq had won the hearts of so many. This was an act of unity and camaraderie, with everyone coming together and working towards a single goal.

A volunteer approaches an individual in one of the stations

The President of the World Federation, Dr Ahmed Hassam said “I would like to sincerely thank the organisers and volunteers of the London collection as well as the volunteers in Sadr City-Baghdad for their efforts, dedication and hard work. Every pound collected will make a great difference to the quality of life of an orphan. Alhamdulillah, the youth of our community have shown us the spirit of working with the wider community.  This is indeed a milestone in our history and I am pleased to note that it has been set by the leaders of the next generation.”

Kasim Sumar, the head of The Youth Network Desk (YND) of the World Federation had the following to say, “The gathering of youth from Birmingham, Hyderi, Leicester, Peterborough, Portsmouth and Stanmore proves foundations of our youth networks in the UK, having worked in unison to promote the ‘Iraq Relief Orphan Appeal’ throughout Muharram. On behalf of the YND, I would like to express gratitude to all the volunteers who helped make this event a truly moving and momentous occasion. May Allah (SWT) reward you for all your efforts and shower you with blessings.  Aameen”.

A Special Thanks…

This is a special Thank-you to those volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the event ran smoothly and efficiently. Without these individuals who were involved in the planning and logistics prior to the actual event, such a large-scale collection would not have been possible. 

Shan Abbas Hassam of YND and Zaid Shalchi were the lead co-ordinators. They were the heartbeat that kept the Iraq Relief Campaign moving. Their hard work was visible for all to see, from the timings recorded on their emails they were often working till the early hours. Their foresight and sheer enthusiasm meant that high goals were set, but more importantly, achieved.

Zaid Shalchi and Shan Abbas Hassam with a London Underground official

Fatema Dossa of CoEJ-YND was instrumental in bringing in volunteers and full of useful advice on the day.

Fatema Panju, Naseera and their colleagues were an inspiration to all the organisers. In Muharram they decided to physically create Iraq Relief T-shirts to be sold. Their hard work paid dividends as they raised £1,000 from sales. On the day they were base managers, constantly communicating with volunteers to ensure their safety and status.

Tehseen Esmail, who was a base manager single-handedly labelled 250 buckets ready for the day and also managed to recruit over 100 volunteers.

Mohammed Mishal and Mohammed Hussein Nasser proved invaluable. Their constant upbeat personalities raised spirits. They were all key leaders in their respective collection areas.

Safraz Jeraj of Hyderi and CoEJ-YND completely managed the south of London. He ensured that the region ran efficiently having recruited all his own volunteers.

Ali Dharamshi from the Abbasi Youth Committee came up from Birmingham the day before to aid with the preparations. He was instrumental throughout the day, restlessly working and helping in every way he could.

Altaf Daya and Murtaza Virani were key volunteers at Stanmore. Altaf also ensured that the money was accurately and carefully counted in the evening, which went on until 4am. Many volunteers did help for the accounting, which went on until the early hours of the morning highlighting their dedication and desire to see the project to the very end.

Volunteers counting the money at Stanmore after the collection

Ashiq Damani and Zahir Abbas Nasser of Stanmore Jafferies were key volunteers in the team and also helped in designing the Iraq Relief Website.

Sadiq Datoo was always on the lookout for ways to support. From making tea to driving people around he made himself available in the early hours of Friday morning to help with the pre-preparation and was one of the final volunteers to leave on Sunday morning.

Amir Jawad worked in the Abrar Centre, preparing volunteers for action. We must also mention Kashif Khalid who through the Ahlulbait Islamic Mission (AIM), managed to recruit 40 volunteers. The base manager at Tooting, Sukaina was known to be having trouble with turnout in her region, she still managed to recruit on the day.

Muhammed Mawji of Birmingham designed the Iraq Relief leaflets and posters, and maintained the Iraq Relief website.

Shaheed Fazel of YND created the volunteers pack. He was pivotal in ensuring that all the volunteers knew what was expected. He also helped to get media coverage. The campaign was highlighted on BBC Radio as well as on the BBC website.

Last but not least, the project manager for the entire Iraq Relief Campaign, Gulam Raza Datoo. He was always available for advice and support, even if it meant calling at 3am! A true selfless volunteer, we would like to thank him for shouldering this mammoth responsibility.

With young Volunteers at the forefront of such activities, it was heart-warming to see unity and solidarity amongst the volunteers regardless of age. When Allah (SWT) gave them the opportunity to serve, they came out in their hundreds to answer the call. We pray that the Almighty accepts our actions of service and gives us future opportunities to serve. Aameen.

The co-operation of Authorities like Metropolitan Police, Underground and Railway Stations Administrations, Shopping Centre Managers was very supportive and on the day, the people of London were the winners for digging deep in their pockets to donate £16,000 for the orphans.

In his advise to his sons (and to all of us), Imam Ali (AS) said,

‘Fear Allah in matters concerning orphans. Attend to their nutrition and do not forget their interests in the middle of yours.’

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For further information visit http://www.iraqrelief.org or email secretariat@world-federation.org