The Zakat Foundation of America

(Bridgeview, IL, 03/31/20110) Zakat Foundation of America’s (ZF) first humanitarian ship successfully arrived to Misrata in Libya. The ship sailed the Mediterranean with humanitarian items from the island of Malta to the shores of Libya. Misrata faces critical food and medicine shortages, which positions the city into dire humanitarian risks.

The people of Misrata experience hardship while intensive fight between Ghadafi loyalist forces and opposition forces continue. Access to basic necessities, such as food, water, and electricity has been cut. ZF decided to provide humanitarian goods through ships. The goods include rice, pasta, sugar, tea, baby milk, baby food, cooking oil, bottled water and medicines.

“Although the humanitarian ship was delayed due to harassment by Ghaddafi loyalist forces, by the Grace of God, our shipment was able to reach the Misrata port. We are aware of the great risk to undertake this journey; however, leaving the people of Misrata to a fatal destiny is a greater risk for humanity”, said Khalil Demir, Executive Director of ZF”

ZF would like to thank the people of Malta for their support, especially the Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, Dr. Toni Borg, Ambassador of Malta in the US, Mark Miceli, and our partner, SOS Malta. Without their support and the involvement of NATO, we could not reach Misrata.

The shipment of humanitarian aid to Misrata is a part of a comprehensive ZF campaign to ease the suffering of the people of Libya. ZF has set up camps along the Tunisian border to provide temporary housing, food, and medicine to those fleeing conflict. Also, ZF implemented a Refugee Rescue program, in partnership with UNHCR and International Organization for Migration, to return refugees who fled Libya to their countries of origins, most notably to Chad. Zakat Foundation of America will continue to provide humanitarian relief to the Libyan people and other countries in the Middle East.

Zakat Foundation of America is a Chicago based non-profit relief and development organization which has catered to local and regional needs, as well as abroad to Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, since 2001. For more information and photos of our relief work, please contact us, call 708.233.0555, or visit www.zakat.org.