When Pomona resident Mohammad Aly ruptured his back a few years ago, he found himself out of a job.

“I became disabled,” he said. “I can’t sit for a long time, I can’t stand for a long time. And even though I want to, I can’t work.”

That’s when Aly heard about UPLIFT, a nonprofit organization founded in 2006 to alleviate poverty among Muslims in southern California.

“They’ve been helping me pay rent and utilities,” Aly said.

Aly was one of more than 500 individuals who attended UPLIFT’s fourth annual Eid-ul-Adha celebration in January.

The event was invite only. 

“The families that were invited consisted mainly of current families being assisted by UPLIFT as well as members of the less fortunate communities in our area,” said Fuad Dadahboy, UPLIFT co-founder and board secretary. “However, we were glad to help many of Pomona’s homeless who saw the event and attended.”

The event, which offered lunch, gifts and hygiene kits for participants, also included meat distribution by Islamic Relief and medical assistance by UMMA Clinic, which was on-site with H1N1 vaccinations.

“What UPLIFT is doing is really great,” said 16-year-old attendee Jallal Maalik. “They’re providing help for needy families and giving them basic necessities that they can’t afford.”

The main goal of the event was to bring community members together.

“We’ve got a large group of people that come to us year-round but that don’t know each other,” said Samir Mohamedy, UPLIFT board member. “So we bring them together to socialize and create some sort of a network. Otherwise, they’re just alone, they don’t know anybody and they don’t have any other way of getting out of the house.”

The event was held at Masjid As-Sabireen in Pomona, where Aly said he had originally heard about UPLIFT.

“I heard about them through the mosque, and I ... signed up, and (they’ve) been assisting me every month as best as (they) can, even through difficult times, (they) still focus on that, make sure (they) still help,” Aly said.

“Hundreds of Muslim families live amongst us either below the poverty line or very close to it,” Dadabhoy said. “However, we may not notice it. UPLIFT was founded to help these families out of their financial difficulty and put them on a path to self sufficiency.”

UPLIFT provides financial, housing and employment assistance, and the organization implores a rigorous application and interview process to ensure funds are going to those that are truly in need, he said, adding that UPLIFT ensures that 100 percent of Zakah funds collected go directly to families in need and are not used for operational expenses.

 

To learn more about UPLIFT, please visit www.upliftcharity.org.