The combination of malnutrition and low income is lethal. Household breadwinners have to decide whether to spend their earnings on food for their family or school tuition for their kids. The right foods provide short-term answers to some health concerns, but education provides long-term solutions to even more concerns.
But they should not have to choose between food security and education. Families share their concerns about this, especially during holiday seasons. At Zakat Foundation of America, we believe access to nutritious food and a good education are basic human rights. We also believe that every Muslim should have access to fresh meat on Eid al-Adha.
Last year, Zakat Foundation of America distributed 6,300 kilograms of meat to 2,280 beneficiaries in Ethiopia for Udhiyah/Qurbani. The overwhelming majority of beneficiaries were children.
One beneficiary, Jamila Mohammed, said her 7-year-old son lives off dry maize and sorghum, which is not nutritious enough to support his growth. She echoed the community’s concerns of not being able to afford to both feed and educate her five children.
Aisha Abdulmalik, a widow with five children, sells firewood and also takes care of her mother.
How amazing!” she said. “People from so far away remembered the underprivileged like us. We are so happy to receive meat for udhiyah. We will make lots of dua for all of you carrying out this marvelous work, particularly in a place like ours where no one knows our problem except God.”
In Ghana, beneficiaries from 29 communities received Udhiyah/Qurbani distributions. About 1,200 food packages were given out, feeding nearly 6,000 beneficiaries.
In total, Zakat Foundation of America was able to help nearly 240,000 beneficiaries in more than 40 countries last year by purchasing and distributing fresh meat from local vendors.
There are so many families like us who are struggling with terrible financial conditions in this Dema Community,” said Adisa Mohammed, a 55-year-old mother of six from Burkina Faso, where Zakat Foundation of America distributed 294 packages to feed 1,470 beneficiaries last year.
Please donate now to ensure children across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas have access to fresh meat on Eid al-Adha.
Note: Zakat Foundation of America will sacrifice a sheep, if possible. If not possible, we will substitute a cow or buffalo for every seven Udhiyah/Qurbani shares. Prices reflect per-share cost. We will perform Udhiyah/Qurbani in requested countries until per-country quotas have been met, at which point it will be performed in a country with the greatest need.
