The Zakat Foundation of America is mobilizing an international humanitarian campaign for the month of Ramadan. Set to reach over 40 countries across 5 continents from June 6th to July 7th, the campaign will deliver food supplies, gifts, and livestock to communities in poverty, with a special emphasis this year on drought-stricken regions in the Horn of Africa.
Each year during Ramadan Zakat Foundation of America has grown in capacity and resources, reaching a larger number of beneficiaries than the previous year. This season the organization aims to help around 700,000 people among refugee groups and endangered communities in North America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
"I have never seen such food items in my life," said Abdul Mulla gratefully upon receiving food packages provided by Zakat Foundation of America in 2015. Abdul Mulla is a 65-year-old man living alone in the Kundgol village of Karnataka, India, who barely earns a living by digging graves at the rate of less than one dollar per grave. Many others like Abdul Mulla have benefitted from the generosity of Zakat Foundation of America donors during the holy month of Ramadan, with over 600,000 beneficiaries in more than 35 countries in 2015.
This year, Zakat Foundation of America is also working with the United Nations on a special campaign to reconstruct destroyed or heavily damaged homes for displaced residents of the Gaza Strip. Home to 1.8 million people, the tiny strip of land still has many ruined homes from the summer conflict of 2014, and many people remain homeless. Zakat Foundation of America plans to construct or repair some 500 homes for distressed families this summer.
With programs like the Gaza reconstruction effort, Ramadan food distributions, and drought relief in the Horn of Africa, Zakat Foundation of America carries the humanitarian spirit of Islam across the globe to the most vulnerable regardless of their race, color, or creed.