Regional Impact Report BRITISH COLUMBIA | 2020
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Table of Contents Introduction
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Relief Efforts at Home
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Volunteer Development
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COVID-19 Emergency Response
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Your Help: From British Columbia to the World
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Who We Are Islamic Relief works in over 40 countries worldwide, providing lifesaving humanitarian aid to those in need, and fighting poverty through sustainable development projects. Inspired by faith, we serve everyone in need regardless of gender, race or religion. We help impoverished communities access basic services, including education, water, sanitation, and healthcare. Through livelihood projects, skills development and mentorship, we help communities break the cycle of poverty. Our integrated approach to progress helps transform lives worldwide.
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Our Work This Year
By the Grace of God and your generous donations, we are grateful to share the impact of the work you have supported this year.
for and from British Columbians. These new projects continue to complement our previous and ongoing work from past years.
This impact report features our efforts specifically in British Columbia, showing all the projects we initiated and funded this year both
Because of your support, British Columbians have made it possible for Islamic Relief to reach over 56,000 people in 2020 through our
international relief efforts, and 2,500 right here at home. That is the population of North Vancouver! Every donation you made this year, helped fill someone’s heart with happiness. Thank you for your continued generosity and care!
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Relief Efforts at Home Our Work Across the Province
Winter Warmth
Ramadan Warm Meals
Eid Toy Drive
Back to School Supplies
Providing hundreds of winter kits and hot meals to the unhoused and vulnerable families during the coldest months. With the second wave of Covid-19, we are focused on providing hygiene supplies along with winter warmth items that include warm hats, gloves, waterproof blankets, face masks, sweaters, soap, sanitizer, shampoo and sanitary pads. PPE supplies are also being provided to a number of shelters to keep both staff and beneficiaries safe.
Because of increased food insecurity due to COVID-19, meals were provided to impacted families and individuals who experienced financial hardship due to unemployment and job loss. Families were able to receive warm meals to break their fast and ease financial and psychological burden. Beneficiaries that received hot meals were young students, newcomers and refugee and low-income households. We partnered with the University of British Columbia - Muslim Student Association and BCMA’s Masjid Al Salaam in the lower mainland to distribute food packs.
In partnership with the Muslim Food Bank and Community Services, we delivered toys to children from vulnerable and lowincome families to ensure they did not feel left out during the joyous time of Eid.
When schools reopened in the fall, our teams partnered up with the Surrey School District and a local Staples store to provide bags with essential school supplies that will assist children in their learning experience, making sure nobody is left behind. These children predominantly came from low-income families as well as families who fled conflict zones in Syria. Their circumstances were furthermore negatively impacted due to the ongoing pandemic.
This year, our teams were also dispatched to distribute hot meals to unhoused individuals residing on streets and public parks without a proper roof. These distributions are being carried out across 5 regions and cities in British Columbia, including Abbotsford, Prince George, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria. We collaborated with local Muslim and Indigenous organizations, as well as the Salvation Army. BENEFICIARIES
900 individuals (January 2020 & December 2020) 6
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BENEFICIARIES
500 individuals
BENEFICIARIES
35 individuals
BENEFICIARIES
200 individuals
Volunteer Development Our volunteers are the foundation and epicenter of the success behind the work we do in British Columbia and all around the world. A strong team reflects the results of our relief efforts we have been able to provide, which is why we understand the importance of investing in our amazing volunteers across the province.
Over the next year, more of our regional teams will be trained in first aid and CPR, as well as emergency preparedness and management related courses. We believe that the leaders of tomorrow should be ready to answer the call for their communities today. VOLUNTEERS IN BRITISH COLUMBRIA
In collaboration with local organizations our volunteers took part in Mental Health First Aid training covering 7 modules including harm reduction and identification, certified by the Canadian Mental Health Association.
105 individuals 5 Regional Teams Interior BC Northern BC Vancouver Lower Mainland Fraser Valley Vancouver Island
Due to our frequent activity in Downtown East Side Vancouver for food and cloth distribution for the unhoused, which is the home to the most overdoses in Canada, our teams are being trained to carry and use Naloxone and First Aid kits provided by the British Columbia Center for Disease Control.
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COVID-19 Emergency Response in British Columbia Hygiene Kits and Food Hampers
Mental Health Initiatives
Call to Action
PPE for Schools
While lockdowns and quarantine measures were being imposed during COVID-19 in early 2020, many of us were able to stock up on basic necessities, especially food and hygiene items. This was not the case for the most vulnerable in our communities, many of them who already faced challenges even before the pandemic. Along with the Muslim Food Bank and Community Services, we worked under the Canadian Muslim Response Network to identify and support these families across the lower mainland.
Having to stay at home has taken a toll on the mental wellbeing of many people, especially after uncertain economic circumstances. We invested in sponsorship grants for webinars by the Muslim Care Center that covered topics of wellbeing, self-care as well as addictions and recovery.
In the beginning of the pandemic - food banks, shelters and mosques experienced a decline in their volunteer base due to health precautions and quarantine measures. Our teams across the province stepped in and filled in any logistical gaps by cleaning places of worship and assembling and distributing food/hygiene packs for food banks - free of charge.
We supplied local Islamic schools in the lower mainland with reusable water bottles and masks to keep children in primary schools safe. Due to COVID-19, water fountains were closed as a safety measure, we provided Filled With Hope BPA free water bottles to help keep our young community members hydrated and safe, as well as reduce the impact on the environment.
Through procurement and delivery of essential items as well grants for partner organizations, we delivered and distributed hygiene kits and food hampers to vulnerable households.
BENEFICIARIES
475 individuals
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ACCUMULATED OVER
5,000 views
BENEFICIARIES
5 organizations
BENEFICIARIES
100 individuals
Your Help – From British Columbia to the World Fundraising Initiatives for International Relief Efforts
FOR YEMEN Ride for Yemen
In the height of the pandemic during famine and Yemen’s collapsing health care system, Islamic Relief Canada’s Ride for Yemen event encouraged student and sports associations to fundraise on their LaunchGood pages and take part in a 10 km long scenic biking route around Stanley Park in Vancouver along the Pacific Ocean and the Burrard Inlet.
There were approximately 175 attendees with 7 Muslim Student Associations across British Columbia taking part for a united effort to fundraise for medical supplies and food packs for the people of Yemen, across 19 governates. Ticket sales went directly to the cause as sponsorship covered any event expenses.
Vancouver National Day of Action
Cupcakes for Yemen
In Ramadan, an emergency appeal was launched to provide food packs to some of the most impoverished communities in Yemen. Our National Day of Action campaign spread awareness and fundraised for the depleting circumstances in the region. Food packs contained dates, lentils, rice, sugar, oil, wheat, and canned meat which fed a family of 5-7 people. Supplies were procured locally to support the local economy. Fundraising initiatives were backed by local scholars from Vancouver & Edmonton, and prayer for relief for the people of Yemen was done by Imam Khalid Latif.
In order to raise funds for an isolation center equipped with medicines, medical supplies, and medical equipment, we sold and delivered cupcakes to Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Kelowna, Kamloops, Langley, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver and White Rock. A total of 8 volunteers drove around British Columbia to deliver 75 half dozen cupcake boxes. The funds raised for the isolation center is considered to be the largest one in the area serving both Amanat Al Asimah and Sanaa Governorates, and all severe COVID-19 cases are referred there.
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FOR PAKISTAN Cricket for Karachi Due to flash flooding caused by monsoon rains, houses and livelihoods were destroyed. To provide families grants, we fundraised through our Cricket for Karachi event in Surrey. 6 junior teams played to uplift vulnerable families from their devastation by raising funds for multipurpose cash grants which enabled affected individuals and families to obtain food and basic living essentials.
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FOR LEBANON After the horrific blast that took the lives of 170, injured 6,500 and left over 300,000 homeless, our teams partnered with local organizations to raise funds to provide immediate aid through our Lebanon office. We provided food and hygiene packs while local teams were clearing debris off the streets from the aftermath of the explosion. We collected a $20,000 donation from the British Columbia Muslim Association, which 100% of it was allocated towards Zakat eligible projects.
Boat for Beirut
Car Wash for Lebanon
With your vital support, Islamic Relief provided opportunities for those who can’t afford meat to receive the nutritional benefits of our Qurbani Meat Packet. Each packet contained enough meat for a family of 4-8 people, for one week. The meat was distributed fresh, chilled, frozen or canned, according to what was most suitable for the region.
With the help of MAC Center Vancouver, our teams partnered up to wash cars. Together with MAC Youth, proceeds from this event went to support the survivors of the Beirut explosion.
FOR PALESTINE Olive Oil for Gaza
Dates for Palestine
One Night in Al Aqsa
Our teams delivered Olive Oil bottles sourced from Palestine to Abbotsford, the Lower Mainland and Victoria in order to fundraise for essential disinfectant material and protection tools, such as 3D printed respirators, face shields in collaboration with Glia. All medical equipment went directly to frontline healthcare workers through the Ministry of Health.
During Ramadan our teams delivered 250 boxes of dates all over the Lower Mainland to raise funds for special workshops, counselling, support and training for Gaza’s youth. Programs will allow them to cope with and overcome traumas of war.
Throughout the year we hosted two exclusive One Night in Al Aqsa film screenings in the Lower Mainland. The western Canada premiere took place in Simon Fraser University in early January, and our second screening took place by the Pacific Ocean at White Rock Beach as an outdoor screening for Charity Week. Funds were raised to provide protection for the most vulnerable households in the Gaza Strip through food vouchers, rent subsidies, medicines and personal health supplies, school materials and tuition for children with disabilities.
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Thank You Thank you for your support! Jazakum Allahu Khairan for your continued support and kindness for the world’s most vulnerable. Your support has made an immense difference for this community. Their lives will be forever changed, and their futures made brighter. We could not have done it without you, thank you. “Whoever relieves the hardship of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve his hardship on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever helps ease one in difficulty, Allah will make it easy for him in this world and in the Hereafter...” – Prophet Muhammad ﷺ R E G I O N A L I M PA C T R E P O R T 2 0 2 0
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3501 Mainway Burlington, ON L7M 1A9 #1 10318 Whalley Blvd Surrey, BC V3T 4H4 info@islamicrelief.ca 1-855-377-4673 (HOPE) 14
ISL AMIC RELIEF CANADA
