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Islamic Relief raises more than $100K for Egypt's needy |
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By Angie El Sherif, IFN Staff Reporter
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Tuesday, 12 January 2010 |
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Page 2 of 2
Turk explained that while there are numerous charity campaigns in Egypt all trying to alleviate poverty in the country, none of them are succeeding at fixing the source of their problems.
She hopes that Islamic Relief will use their funds wisely and are able to mend Egypt’s difficulties thoroughly, “not just on the surface,” she said.
Some major contributors of the night included the Society of Egyptian Americans and the Islamic Center of Irvine, each donating $10,000 to the cause.
After a video presentation illustrating Islamic Reliefs recent efforts in Egypt and showing guests the impoverished areas and people where their funds will be allocated to, Sheikh Ahmed Shehata, Midwest operations manager for Islamic Relief, assured guests that Islamic Relief works directly with the people and does not give any of its money to the government.
As star struck Egyptians lined up to greet Turk at her table, Sheikh Safwat Morsy, Imam of Alsabeel Masjid in San Francisco, conducted the oral fundraising asking guests to donate generously.
“When you donate for the sake of Allah, that money will come back to you tenfold,” he said. “When donating to charity, don’t even think about it.”
Joking with the guests he said that Egyptians here in America spend at least $800 a year on satellite TV and about $1,200 on long distance phone calls to relatives in Egypt, “the least you can do is spend $600 to cover a child for one year,” he said.
Instead of traditionally raising money by announcing dollar amounts to the guests, he asked guests to donate in amounts of children they will help.
Mosry thinks it is very important to donate to Egypt because it is currently the second poorest country in the world according to the United Nations.
“Egypt is the only country where you will find five million people sleeping in grave sites,” he said.
AbdulGhafoor Mahboob, southwest development coordinator for Islamic Relief, explained that this is Islamic Relief’s first but not the last endeavor for Egypt’s needy here in America. “This is the start of many projects for Egypt from Islamic Relief,” he said.
“We are very happy that the community came out in support and we’re very thankful to Hanan Turk for coming all the way here,” he said.
Even though Islamic Relief’s goal for the night was to raise $150,000, Mahbboob said, “seeing that this is the first event for Egypt we are still very pleased because with any new community you have to build a base first.”
Mahboob said that in the days after the event he has gotten many offers from Egyptians from the community wanting to donate their land in Egypt and offers to volunteer for the cause.
“Overall,” Mahboob said, “it was a very positive move for Islamic Relief.”
Turk also accompanied Islamic Relief the following day in San Diego for a fundraiser for Palestine, raising over $55,000.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 April 2010 )
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