1.0  SUMMARY

At the start of the term 2308 students were being educated. Today, 3 years  later, 8,356 students are being educated.

During this term, the sponsorship scheme has been consolidated, improved and expanded in existing localities in India. We have also started to sponsor children in Thailand (40 so far)and in Bangladesh, (Dhaka, Chittagong and Prithimpassa, a total of 132 children so far).

Of the total 8,356 children being helped, 1682 are being sponsored on a one to one basis.
A country wise breakdown of these is given in Item 11 below.

During this term, ZCSS also financed the building of three schools which are already functioning, see item 6 below.

ZCSS has helped establish an extensive network of Madressas in India to impart religious education to students, see item 7 below.

All the work being carried out under this scheme is from remittances of the 1682 sponsor parents and from donations received from time to time. This just goes to show that small sums pooled together can do so much work.

A financial analysis of the receipts and payments over the last 12 years is given in Item 2 below.

During the term 1991-94, £491,409 was received by ZCSS and £489,277 was spent, leaving no surplus for contingencies or for future increase in requirements as the children go into high schools and colleges.

The balance today is less than £80,000. Of this over half is from sponsors who have paid well in advance, some of whom have paid for up to the year 2000.

Furthermore, 60 students are being helped in Higher Education in India at a cost of £50,000 per year.

2.0 FINANCES

2.1  1981 to 1989

Right from 1981, when the sponsorship scheme was launched, the generosity of Mumineen to the scheme has Alhamdullilah been astounding. The response was so good that the scheme was encouraged to take on ever more students on its register so that all those students who have applied and have been found to be deserving are being sponsored. It is evident from the graph below, that until 1989, ZCSS was being built up in stages. Then in 1985, Gujarat Federation collapsed taking with it a major chunk of students who were sponsored by ZCSS.
This meant that the payments made to the students dropped from about £29,000 per year in 1984 to only £6,278 in 1985.

However, ZCSS kept looking for more organisations in different parts of India over the period to 1989. Thus expenses kept rising as more and more children were accepted with no corresponding increase in Sponsor Parents.

The records were computerised in 1986 for ease of administration and in preparation of a major launch.

2.2  1990 to 1994

The Council of Gujarat was then formed and took over responsibility of students in Gujarat in 1990. This meant that ZCSS was back on course and the administration was already geared to sponsor more and more children every year.  So much so, that in the years 1989 and 1990 more volunteers were recruited at the Secretariat and an appeal was launched in all Jamaats for more Sponsor Parents. It is evident from the graph below that this effort resulted in overwhelming support. The receipts into the fund shot up from £44,606 in 1989 to £123,437 in 1990 and it kept increasing until 1993 when the revenue received peaked at £146,417.

2.3  Receipts and payments for the period 1981 - 1994  are shown graphically below:

5.0  ZCSS REVIEW

5.1   A regular check is kept on the achievements of the students. The local organisations put in a lot of effort to make sure the performance of the students improve. They encourage the students, give incentives, arrange for tuition classes, talk to the parents etc. Annual reports are sent to Sponsor Parents, who can also keep an eye on progress and can write to the student for
encouragement.

At the Secretariat, Mohamed Visram and Zeeshan Kanji keep a regular check. Below is a graphical presentation of the performance of the students in one City in 1993. The  shift towards better performance after six months is quite apparent.

5.2   We are grateful to visitors who take trips to the places where the students are  being sponsored and report back to us with comments and recommendations.

5.2.1   Thailand. Haji Safdarbhai Alidina takes regular trips to Thailand and oversees our work there. He talks to us before and after each trip.

5.2.2   Gujarat and Kutch. Haji Nazir Virji and his daughter Sukaina took an extensive tour of Kutch and Kathiawad during the summer of 1994 and reported back to us in person and in writing. Extracts from their  report pertaining to education is appended herewith, Item 13 below.

5.2.3   Two of our active volunteers at the Secretariat, Mohamed Visram and Zeeshan Kanji toured India during December 1993. Their report is attached herewith, Item 14 below.

6.0  ZAINABIYA SCHOOLS

During the term, Mohamed Visram suggested that in some localities we consider the establish¬ing of our own schools. The idea would benefit more children and we would be able to con¬trol the quality of education. His proposals were accepted by the Office Bearers of the World Federation.

6.1   In Avalkonda, Hyderabad, our primary school has been built and opened with the  first intake of students in June 1994. It cost £20,000 to build and will cost £1000 per month to educate 300 children.

Avalkonda has been declared a model village by the government of India because of the exten¬sive involvement of the World Federation in this village in the field  of  education, housing, cottage industries etc. The population of 250 families is almost 100% shia. The new school is an important focal point and dominates the village life.

6.2   In  Alipur, South India, we have built Zainabiya Primary and High School at a  cost  of £20,000. It was officially opened in June 1994 by the Minister of Higher Education  of  the State of Karnataka, H.E. S M Yahya Sahib. The school has already started  with  the  first intake of 189 children at a cost of £900 per month.

Alipur is a large village of mainly Shias, 90% sadats. The school will play an important part in the upliftment programme of the village. The school is Urdu medium in lower classes and English medium in higher classes.

6.3   Tawheed Hostel in Bhuj is a hostel for 60 students built to a very high specification, fully financed by Haji Mohamed Jaffer Hasham of Toronto.  Unfortunately due to misunder¬standing amongst the mumineen of Kutch, this Hostel, officially opened  in  December  1993, remains closed.

6.4 In Patna, ZCSS opened a coaching centre in April 1994. Nearly 200 students of all ages are being coached every day from 4 pm to 7 pm.

6.5   In Baiganwadi, Govandi, we run our own nursery school for 126 children and classes for 16 adolescents, all as part of the Primary Health Care Project of the Medical advisory Board of the World Federation.  The cost of the complete education programme is £250 per month. The poor of this area stood no chance of getting admission into schools as almost all of them tend to be without a birth certificate which is a must for school admission. So we teach the children for a year and the time is also used by our staff to sort out the paper work for admission into schools.

The nursery school opened in 1991. Alhamdulillah our staff have managed to secure admission into good local schools for almost all the children, a total of 270 children over 3 years.

Once the children get admitted into school, KSI Medical Aid and Welfare Society of Bombay, under the able Chairmanship of Haji Shaukat Mewawala, helps to pay for their fees and look after their educational needs, partly financed by ZCSS.

Our classes for adolescent girls are extremely popular and useful. The eldest girl of each family tends to have missed school because she has had to stay at home to look after the younger ones. So our classes make up for lost opportunities.

6.6 Madrasa Islamia Kujhwa in Bihar is developing into a large complex to serve the needs of the local people and of all our students in the State of Bihar. Our involvement started in 1986 when we started to sponsor all the 22 students living at the hostel. Today we sponsor over 500 students all over Bihar, looked after by this organisation under their very active and
meticulous Secretary, Prof. Dr Sami Askari.

In 1990, we improved the condition of the hostel by providing lockers, beds and bedding to the students who until then used to sleep on the floor.

In 1989, we helped finance the construction of the first phase of the classrooms - Al Khui block.

In 1993, we financed construction of phase 2 of the classrooms requirement and thus Al Khui Block was completed.

Plans are now being drawn up for a new students hostel, assembly hall and other facilities.

The complex is used every year for an eye camp. A total of 165 cataract operations were performed here during the last 2 eye camps. For more detailed information, see report of the Medical Advisory Board.

6.7   Najafi Education Centre in Bhavnagar is being financed by ZCSS. There are several Mumineen in Bhavnagar who are dedicated to the education cause of our community. Besides looking after the 507 students being sponsored under ZCSS, they

• distribute free text books to poor students
• publish and sell exercise books at 40% of shop prices
• acknowledge, encourage and award prizes to those students who do well in
  schools, high schools, and colleges
• run vocational classes for academically weak students
• run computer classes
• run tuition classes
• run madressa and religious education classes.

7.0  RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

In almost every village where we sponsor children, we now have madressas. It is compulsory for the sponsored children to attend Madressa. Cost of teachers are met by ZCSS.

On the occasion of Janabe Zainab's Wiladat every year, in different centres, we organise special public seminars on education. Children are encouraged to take part in literary competi¬tions while the whole population is made to appreciate the need for education. Moulana Dr. Kalbe Sadiq Saheb, Moulana Mirza At'her Saheb and other eminent scholars help make them successful. These are annual events and are organised in different towns every year.

7.1  In Bihar, all the sponsored students of Bihar get together along with some of their parents for the annual 3 day crash course in Islamics held at Madrasa Islamia Kujhwa. The occasion is more successful year by year as the number of students attending increases. Students from all over the State attend, come to know each other, make friends and expand their horizons.

7.2  A correspondence course in Islamics was started in Patna in 1993 because the sponsored students are spread far and wide all over Bihar. Every sponsored student has to take the course and over a period has to answer up to 150 questions on Religious topics.

7.3  The Madressas in Gujarat are now being run by The Council of Gujarat and the  spon¬sored children have to attend.

7.4  Bangalore. An extensive religious education programme is in progress in South India. 827 students are sponsored in the region. Madressa have been set up or helped in or teachers supplied to 13 towns and villages.

Teacher training classes are running on a regular basis.

All the sponsored students sit a common religious examination twice a year.

8.0  MEHFIL-E-MURTAZA has been running an independent sponsorship scheme in Karachi since 1985. We are pleased to report that it is running well. The volunteers of Mehfil-e-Murtaza are doing an excellent job in the field of education.

9.0  NASIMCO is now running its own independent sponsorship scheme because of the re¬quirement of tax deductible receipts. We are pleased to report that it is running well and being expanded. We have had meetings with NASIMCO to make sure there is no duplication of sponsorships to the students.

10.0  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are grateful to all the Councillors, Committee Members and Volunteers in all the Jamats who are liaising with the Sponsor Parents to make this scheme a success.

We are grateful to all the Organisations in Bangladesh, India and Thailand and their many volunteers who are making  sure the needy children get the help they need. These are the people in the field with the vision and the foresight to push the community forward. We are grateful to the visitors to India whose comments and recommendations we find useful.

Our special thanks are to the volunteers in the Jamats of Australia, Birmingham, Dubai, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Miami, Minnesota, New York, Stockholm, Trollhattan and Vancou¬ver without whose efforts we would not have been able to find donors to educate so many children.

11.0  Country wise breakdown of Sponsor Parents who support non Sadat Students on a one to one basis. It is mainly the donations of these 1682 sponsors that has made it possible for ZCSS to accomplish so much.

12.0  AGENCIES

On the next page is a table of all the organisations with whom we work. They all have dedicat¬ed voluntary workers who strive towards the betterment of their communities. Each organisa¬tion is responsible for looking for deserving cases. They then make sure the child studies and come up with suggestions to improve the educational standards. Each locality  has  its own peculiar problems and needs people with local knowledge to help administer  the  Sponsorship Scheme.

12.1  MONTHLY COMMITMENT FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN UNDER ZCSS.

13.0  TRIP TO INDIA

During June/July 1994, Haji Nazir Virji of Peterborough accompanied by his daughter Sukaina visited Kutch and Kathiawad. Below are extracts from his report pertaining to education.

13.1  Hostels and Orphanages

We left Bhavnagar for Mahuva on 28 June 1994. We were put up very hospitably by the family of Murabbi Hassanalibhai Merchant. Prior to our arrival in Mahuva, we had discussed over the phone our purpose of visit to India with Hassanalibhai.  Hence he had arranged for us to visit an orphanage and a few trust run hostels situated in and around Mahuva. The orphanage was run similar to a hostel in that the majority of children, all boys over the age of 6, had parents but had been sent to the orphanage to be educated. The hostels we visited included Khadija Hostel and Abbasi Mission, both of which were situated in large buildings and were run impressively well by dedicated people such as Haiderbhai and Nooralibhai.

13.2 Cutting the costs down

We visited the Council of Gujarat Offices and were also taken to see the hostel run under the Zainabiya Scheme. Situated on the same premises as The Council of Gujarat was a shop selling stationery and clothes. There were several sewing machines and their operators providing garments such as school uniforms. There was also a doctors clinic (Haidery  Clinic). Profits from the shop were used to offset admin costs of the Council.

13.3 Improving Educational Standards

We felt that the work undertaken by Hassanalibhai and his colleagues in the name of Council of Gujarat was very commendable. We were particularly impressed by an incident that occurred totally spontaneously in our presence. One of the students in the Zainabiya Scheme had not performed satisfactorily. After examining the child's report, the father of the student had been called to explain the reason for his child's poor performance.

13.4 Girls Hostel

The girls in the Zainabiya Hostel appeared happy and alert. It was lunch time when we arrived and we were happy to see that the girls were being fed well.

14.0  GUIDING THE NEW EMERGING GENERATION TOWARDS SELF RELIANCE AND SELF RESPECT

Mohamed Visram and Zeeshan Kanji are our two volunteers working at the Secretariat, helping to administer the Zainabiya Child Sponsorship Scheme. They are known in all the Jamats of the United Kingdom because they have visited them and talked to them about the Sponsorship Scheme. They spend several evenings a week in the Zainabiya Room at the Secretariat.

During December 1993, Mohamed and Zeeshan at their own expense visited the areas in India in which 5 organisations are looking after a total of nearly 4,000 students under ZCSS.

-  Husaini Education & Welfare Society, Bhavnagar
-  Council of Gujarat, Mahuva
-  Imamia Education & Welfare Trust, Bangalore
-  Imam-e-Zamana Mission, Hyderabad
-  As-Safeena, Baiganwadi.

On their return, Mohamed and Zeeshan presented a detailed report to the office bearers of the World Federation who sat for five hours to discuss all the comments and recommendations.

Below is a summary report which they wrote for the Conference.

14.1 The Journey

On the evening of the 24th December 1993 we left London bound for India to see for ourselves the effect ZCSS was having on our Shia population in India, and to assess the whole situation regarding the sponsorship scheme. Since this was the first visit to India for both of us, we were a little apprehensive, especially as on the itinerary were  places like Mahuva, Ambachowk, Hyderabad, Alipur, Pothenhally, Avalkonda and last but not least Govandi in Bombay.

As it turned out these apprehensions were completely unfounded. As soon as we arrived we were faced with people who were not only extremely dignified, although very poor, but also had really good manners and were courteous to an extreme. In spite of the calamities the people had to endure in their everyday life, we found them to be satisfied and contented, all in all, people with a deep sense of faith in God.

14.2  Our Schools

Wherever we went, there was one thing that was very apparent, whether it was a small village, or a poor area in a large city. In the middle of the mud shacks and huts in the villages, or in the crowded living conditions of the big cities, we found a school, which was revered by all. Especially in places where ZCSS has built new schools, we were impressed by the comparatively huge white buildings standing in the middle of a village. We both felt gratified, that these schools were only made possible by the efforts of the members of our community in the Western world, and by the Grace of Allah, swwt.

14.3  Nursery School

In Govandi, we saw a class running for children over 5 years, the class being solely for children who had never been to school. In this class each child was individually tutored so that a particular child would be able to join a school in the correct year once the standard had been reached.

14.4 Long hours

The sight that moved us both, was in fact the children of Zainabiya.  In every town or village we visited, no matter how inadequate the living conditions were, we saw children of four years and older, in school uniforms, neatly washed and pressed, going to school. In some towns like Avalkonda, the children would start their day with Islamic Studies at 6 am and Secular Classes would begin at 8.30 am. They wouldn't finish until the evening. Remember Avalkonda is the place where most of the children were in debt slavery to local beedee merchants, now there were about 250 children going to school!

In places like Bhavnagar, we saw children attending tuition classes in the evening between 8 pm and 10 pm. with a wide range of subjects being taught, from poetry to psychology to English Literature. ZCSS is paying for some of the renowned teachers in Bhavnagar to come and coach the students in the evening.

In a question and answer session with the older boys from Bhavnagar, we were pleasantly surprised by their intelligence and their acute awareness of current affairs in the world. Meanwhile in Gujarat, we met a boy who was saved from child labour and is now obtaining the highest marks in essay writing in the whole State of Gujarat.

The gratitude felt by the students, their parents and the whole community towards the sponsor parents is aptly understood by the example of Sajjadali, a student we are financing through a course in MBBS in South India. He travelled 3 days by bus from his college to come and meet us and to express his thanks to all the donors.

14.5 Higher Education

In cities like Hyderabad, where most of the Shia population live in slum like areas of the city, we saw students who were preparing for the HSC exams.  (Equivalent to "A" Levels  in  U.K.) In fact, in Hyderabad, ZCSS is currently sponsoring 30 graduates at the University, with even more waiting to be sponsored, funds permitting.

14.6 Appreciation

In towns like pothenhally and Alipur we were greeted with garlands and flowers, as the people there saw ZCSS as more of a parent to their children than they themselves were, and that ZCSS was doing more to secure the future of their own children than they were able to. In Alipur, the new school financed by ZCSS was nearing completion. (Since the visit of Mohamed and Zee¬shan, the school has now been completed and is functioning).

14.7  Dedicated Workers

Contrary to what we had thought before we left for India, the local people themselves do a lot for the poor community there. We saw volunteer teachers travelling several kilometres every evening to run tuition classes in Bhavnagar.  We also met several prominent businessmen who spent an awful lot of their own time and money to help to eradicate poverty in India. In fact we felt embarrassed to see them sacrifice so much of their time when we really didn't do any¬thing in comparison. We met volunteers who travelled 2-3 nights on buses to go to remote villages populated mainly by Shia communities in order to help them.

14.8  Gratitude

The thing we both found most emotionally stirring, was the look of hope on the parents' faces. We were embraced and hugged. They kissed our foreheads and showered us with flowers. When it was time to leave, they had tears in their eyes, and were leaning inside the windows of our taxi. Everywhere we went, the universal message was the same:

"Please convey our heartfelt thanks to the sponsor parents, tell them what you saw here and how our children are benefiting with their help, and please promise us that when you go back, you will not forget our children."

With the humility and dignity that these people showed to us, we are sure that we have come away learning more from them than they did from us.

How could we ever forget their predicament, or indeed their children!

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

The child I am sponsoring has not done well in school. I cannot justify continuing.

Most children have had to be encouraged to go to school in the first place. A lot of parents too did not believe in education and had to be convinced. So improving performance is a slow process especially for those children who are not being brought up in a conducive environ¬ment.

Can I write to the child?

Yes indeed. In fact it will be good for the child to receive a letter from you from time to time. When they do well or badly in school, a letter from you could work wonders. But please do not expect a reply.

In what language should I write?

Simple English.

What address should I use?

For your address, use World Federation's address. We will re-direct the reply to you. For the student's address use the organisation's address given on top of the student's details which are with you.

Why are you discouraging me from giving my address to the family?

Because your letter could fall into the wrong hands and you could receive lots of bogus letters appealing for financial help.

Why has my child dropped out?

Generally we want children to study and are expending all efforts to that end. A child may drop out because the family may now be better off, or they may have  moved to a different locality or the student may have joined family business.

How do you intend to finance the running of the schools?

£2,000 per month will be required to run 20 classes. We hope at least 40 donors will come forward and pay £50 each per month to sponsor half a class each.

What does it cost to sponsor a child?

You will have to pay a fixed amount for the entire period you have chosen, which may be anything between 1 and 14 years.

The monthly sum is £7.50 or US$ 12 or Can$ 15 or FFr 70 or UAE Dh 50 or Aus$ 20

What will happen to the student if I find I cannot continue?

The student will be supported by the fund until a new sponsor is found.

How come the student I am sponsoring is in kindergarten at the age of 7?

Because we had to encourage him/her to go to school rather than earn pittance in the street.

Can I send Eid Gift or a gift on doing well in school?

No. Sending gifts creates a great imbalance in the local society. It is grossly unfair for one to receive gifts while others receive nothing. The best gift you can give a child is to make sure another one also gets educated by you donating to ZCSS.

Does all the money I pay go to the same student?

No. Your student may get more or less than your donation. The rest goes into the pool to finance higher education, building of schools, providing religious education and other works detailed in the report above.

How much money is used in admin?

None. The secretariat expenses in London is borne entirely by the General Fund.

Why do I get a report only once a year? Can't I get the quarterly report too?

The admin cost will be horrendous to distribute world wide 4000 reports every quarter. It will be far more effective if you write to the student once or twice a year.

Why can't the report be translated into English before you send it to me?

We try to make sure the report you get is either in English or Gujarati and no other language.

Have any students finished University yet?

About twenty have already qualified and became Doctors, Engineers, Teachers and MBAs.

For the Zainabiya Child Sponsorship Scheme to be able to serve the cause of education, it was necessary to have Representatives in Jamats world wide. Below is a list of the representatives. Each has a team of colleagues to help.  Some have been working since inception in 1981.

This report is dedicated to them and to all the other workers who have been active in public and in private. May Allah accept all their Good Deeds and grant them Tawfeeq to serve the community even more, Aameen.

If you have any queries, please contact the Representative in your Jamat or
Zainab Kassam at the Secretariat.

It was a sad day for the Zainabiya team when Haji Roshan N Merali passed away in Vancou¬ver in October 1993.

Marhoom Haji Roshan was active in Zainabiya Child Sponsorship Scheme since its inception in 1981. He would stop at the Secretariat on his regular visits to London to attend World Federation Conference or Executive Council Meeting or en route to Ziyarat, Umra or Hajj. Each time, he used to discuss details of the Sponsorship Scheme with us.

He was very active in recruiting Sponsor Parents in the West Coast of North America.

He used to write to us regularly too.

May Allah accept all his Good Deeds, grant him Maghferat and a place near the
imma-e-Masoomeen (a.s.), Aameen.

Muhsin H Dharamsi
Chairman, ZCSS

Gujarat 1993

Today she is cradled in comfort

Tomorrow she will need the cradle of Education

Help provide it

through Zainabiya Child Sponsorship Scheme