IMESA holds fund raising Iftar

Indian Minority Education Society of Australia Inc (IMESA) held a fundraising Iftar event on Sunday 26 March 2023 at The Bowman Hall in Blacktown with well over 300 people in attendance.

The program commenced with Quran recitation and Ramadan talk by Moulana Abeer ul Hassan Thanvi, a locally raised Imam, educated in South Africa.

Soon after Iftar, Shaikh Abeer Thanvi spoke about the importance of acquiring of knowledge in Islam. He mentioned about the great contribution to knowledge and science during Islamic rule of nearly 1000 years.

The Muslims cities of Baghdad, Damascus, Cordoba etc were the largest centres of learning for the entire world during Golden Age of Islam (7th-13th century), imparting knowledge and undertaking research in all fields of sciences and philosophy.

He emphasised the importance of education for Muslim children and appealed for giving zakat and sadaqat during the holy month of Ramadan.

MC Dr Nisa Sheriff told the audience that IMESA aims to increase the educational levels of poorest Muslim children in India. Indian Muslims, nearly 200 million in number, are among the poorest communities, having below average levels of education, and suffer from deprivation of their basic needs.

Current political environment is also not favourable. Education is the only tool which will strengthen their socio economic condition. She urged the guests to help this one of the most deprived Muslim community in the world.

A short film of IMESA showed the proj ect details, the data on Indian Muslims and how their weak socio-economic status had effected their lives, leaving them the least educated and poverty stricken community in the country.

A mini-documentary of IMESA run classes from various parts of India was also screened. In this documentary, a collection of clips, the poor students in various cities, their parents, and teachers told their stories and experiences and extended their gratitude to IMESA for the continued support .

IMESA has now been operating for a few years, continuously expanding its programmes to more cities across various states of India. Currently IMESA projects are running successfully in Vadodara in Gujarat, Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, Saharanpur & Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Boisar in Maharashtra, Hyderabad in Telangana, Dehradun in Uttarakhand, Bangalore in Karnata- ka and Dinajpur in West Bengal benefiting hundreds of the poorest children and their families.

The fundraising call was very well received by the attendees who generously donated to the cause. The fund raising team consisted of Dr Nisa Sheriff, Mr Taufeeq Shaikh, Mr Zahid Jamil, Mr Syed Aslam Shaheer, Mr Shahnwaz Ali, Mr Parveen Jang, Mr Asad Farooq supported by a team of volunteers. Mr Zahid Jamil applauded the patrons for their generosity and thanked the team members and the volunteers for their tireless efforts.

IMESA seeks to improve the lives of these families through promoting education, both encouraging children to stay in school, and encouraging parents of child labourers to enrol their children in school. It is achieved through educational campaigns, providing additional financial support for families (school fees, uniforms, compensation for lost income of child labourers), and providing after-hours study spaces and tutoring support.

By providing vulnerable children with an education, IMESA seek to improve their future employment and economic opportunities, to improve their overall socio-economic status, and ultimately pass on these benefits to their families and the broader community.

Please visit https://imesa.org.au/ for more details of the organisation and its activities.

AIMA Newcastle Chapter: Blood donation drive and networking in Hunter region

Dr Mustafa Majeed Omar

The Australian Islamic Medical Association (AIMA) Newcastle chapter has been busy with various activities aimed at promoting health, improving health literacy, and providing a platform for networking and collaboration of Muslim health professionals.

The chapter organised a blood donation drive in partnership with Australian Redcross Blood service on Friday 24 February 2023, at three different masjids, including the Mayfield Mosque, the Newcastle Mosque, and the Rutherford Mosque (Masjid Mohammed Mustafa).

In addition, the chapter supported similar drives at the Taree musallah, Port Macquarie Mosque, Coffs Harbour Mosque, and Tamworth Mosque. The blood donation drives were a huge success, with a significant number of people registering to donate blood to help those in need. This blood donation drive was positively covered by local radio and TV channels.

More recently, the AIMA Newcastle chapter organised a picnic, which was attended by 40 families providing a relaxed and informal setting for attendees to interact and network, while also promoting healthy living and encouraging physical activity.

The chapter’s inaugural meeting was held on Saturday 19 November 2022, at The Place, Charlestown Square attended by 58 people.

The meeting began with a welcome and introduction by Dr Mustafa Majeed Omar, Emergency Physician and President of the AIMA Newcastle chapter, followed by a short religious talk by Dr Mohamed Ehsan Ebrahim.

Dr Muhammad Afzal Kahloon, Canberra based senior urologist and National President of AIMA, explained that the objective and purpose of AIMA is to unite and inspire Muslim health professionals in Australia. He further stated that AIMA members wish to serve and contribute to the welfare of Muslims and the broader Australian community.

An AIMA video showed previous events, including a public health awareness campaign during COVID-19, CPR training in masjids and Islamic centres, and Blood donation drives.

Dr Kahloon urged Muslim medical and health professionals to come forward and support AIMA’s vision, goals, and objectives with active participation in various activities.

The meeting ended with a dua by Dr Fazal Mughal, followed by dinner and Maghrib prayer.

The AIMA Newcastle chapter has been consistent in its efforts to promote health and wellbeing in the community, and their activities have been well-received by the Muslim community in Newcastle, Hunter region and surrounding areas.

The chapter will continue to organise such activities in the future to promote health awareness and encourage collaboration among Muslim health professionals.

Recording of various previous AIMA sessions and details of other activities conducted by the Australian Islamic Medical association is available on the website: www. aimamed.com.au