As the blessed month of Ramadan winds down, help came the way of Muslim families of Kosofe local government area of Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria on Sunday during the annual iftar outreach event organised by the Nigeria office of the International Muslim Women Union (IMWU).
At the event held at ASSIDDIQ Schools, no fewer than 60 Muslim families in the community benefitted from the free distribution of food items such as rice, beans, cooking oil, dates and undisclosed amounts of money.
This gesture, the group said, will cushion the effects of the current economic hardship being faced by many Nigerians, especially the fasting Muslim homes.
Addressing the beneficiaries, the Country Representative, Hajia Dr. Khadijat Olaniyan-Shobowale noted that the programme is part of the cardinal vision of the international body.
Part of their cardinal vision and one of their annual activities is yet another Ramadan outreach programme for needy members of the community.
She said, “Alhamdulilah Rabbil Alamin. Today, we have been able to distribute more than 60 packs of food items including rice, beans, cooking oil, dates and token cash to the Muslim families. The food should be able to cater for 4 or 5 iftar for a family of 6. This effort will take care of over 1500 iftar.
“This is an effort to ameliorate the prevailing economic crisis among families and to share love, concern and care between Muslims during this auspicious and blessed month.”
Speaking on, “We use this medium to thank our major donor, the members of IMWU, Malaysia for their benevolence, generosity and practice of the essence of Islamic sisterhood. We beseech Allah in His infinite mercies to reward all those who partook in this effort with the best of both worlds and to replenish their pockets in multifold.”
When Muslim News interacted with some of the beneficiaries, they could not hide their joy and happiness, as they were filled with words of appreciation and dua (supplication) for the donors.
Speaking with Mrs. Rabiu Simbiat, she said “Alhamdulilah. With what they have done, we are very happy. It would go a long way in helping us during this period. We pray Allah replenishes their pockets. For those that have, they should give out to others because, we came to this world with nothing and in the same state, we will return. When you give out, you get abundance from Allah and get elevated.”
For Mrs. Sakinah Hamzat, “We are very happy, for this is Ramadan and one of the good deeds we are encouraged to do is giving charity to our brethren. We give thanks to Allah for this unexpected gift.
“If everyone could be doing this, even outside Ramadan, our situation would be ameliorated because many Muslims lack and they don’t know how to beg, but with this, smiles will be seen on their faces. Even those of us that collected, when we see others in need as well, we will give them.”, she noted.
The International Muslim Women Union (IMWU) is a non-profit-oriented non-governmental Muslim women association with membership in over 25 countries, Nigeria inclusive. It was formally registered in Nigeria with the CAC in 2019 and had commenced its humanitarian, educational and social activities in 2015.
The Nigeria Office of IMWU has Hajia Dr. Khadijah Olaniyan-Shobowale as Head and Hajia Sherifah Yusuf-Ajibade as a Member of the Union’s Council of Trustees.
Other activities of the Nigeria Office of IMWU include the provision of Eid Qurbani, counselling sessions for university students, rendering aid to female students in securing international admissions on scholarship and others.
By Shotonwa Abdul Waheed
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