British Columbia Impact Report 2021 | Islamic Relief Canada

Table of Contents

com·mu·ni·ty

/kə’my Ōōnədē/

A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

Introduction

Who We Are

Islamic Relief works in over 40 countries worldwide, providing life-saving 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 projects helps transform lives worldwide!

Your Impact in 202 1

This impact report features our efforts in British Columbia, highlighting the projects you have helped to support throughout 2021.

Through your support, British Columbians have made it possible for Islamic Relief to reach over 71,000 people in 2021 through our international relief efforts and 3,000 people right here at home. That is the population of the city of New Westminster!

Every donation you made in 2021 continues to fill someone’s heart with ease and happiness. Thank you for your continued generosity and care! people reached internationally people reached at home

Meet The Team

Volunteers

Our volunteers are the forefront of our operations and are an essential part of the work we do, and with over 200 volunteers across 5 regions, we are grateful to them for being a part of our journey.

Haider Khan

Prince George

I’ve been able to give back my time to a community which has given me so much over the years, while creating new friendships with likeminded individuals, and strengthening my deen.

Outside of Islamic Relief Canada, I am a full-time student completing my Bachelor’s of Physical Education & Coaching. I like spending my free time eating good food, playing sports, enjoying the outdoors, and spending quality time with my close friends and family.”

“As an immigrant from Sri Lanka in Canada, finding a community to work with for the Deen was not an easy journey for me.

From a very young age, helping others and being empathetic brought peace to my heart and I truly believe that following our Fitrah is a game changer.

I volunteer with Islamic Relief Canada because its values of compassion, justice, custodianship, sincerity and excellence have helped me restructure my purpose of life, improve my professional development and spend my limited time purposefully.

Outside of working full time in tech, I enjoy watching sports and consuming an insane amount of tea.” Mohammad Sajad Irshad

“Volunteering with Islamic Relief has given me a sense of belonging and strengthened my relationship with the community.

Islamic Relief Canada not only helps you be the change you want to see in this world but also benefits you in Jannah since volunteering with pure intentions is a beautiful form of Sadaqah.

When I have downtime after volunteering and working my full time social media job, you’ll find me in the gym or catching a lakers basketball game.” Shayla Tottenham

“Volunteering with Islamic Relief Canada has blessed me in many ways.

Vancouver Victoria Abbotsford Kelowna Kamloops

Soraya Elchehimi

“For me, contributing to the work that Islamic Relief Canada does allows me to take part in acts of service

that not only help the people and communities around me, but support growing initiatives that aim at achieving sustainable support systems for the entire world. And to add to that, it allows me to take part in a fundamental part of our deen.

I am currently majoring in the field of Interactive Arts and Technology concentrating in UX Design and outside of school and volunteering. I love playing rugby, volleyball and adventuring around BC's never ending hidden treasures.”

Ryna El Saadi

“Being an active volunteer within Islamic Relief Canada has truly changed my life for the better in many ways.

For the first time in my life, I’ve been able to connect with other Muslims and build strong friendships with others who all uphold the same values in life. As a whole, my favorite part about volunteering with Islamic Relief Canada is the fact that we are able to address, fundraise, and ultimately provide aid for various vulnerable communities, both locally and globally!

Outside of volunteering with Islamic Relief, I am a full-time student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English as well as an extended minor in Psychology!”

Fatima Qureshi

Ahad Ali

“The reason why I choose to volunteer with Islamic Relief is because no matter where they operate in the world, their goal stays the same!

My favourite thing about volunteering with Islamic Relief Canada is essentially building a family within the community to create amazing memories with, all while giving back to our local communities!

Outside of volunteering with Islamic Relief Canada I am a General store Manager. Fun Fact: I’ve volunteered with both Islamic Relief UK and Islamic Relief Canada!”

“Growing up and having myself constantly surrounded by things everyone sees in high school, I wanted to be a part of something where not only do I strengthen my deen but I can also give back to the community. I quickly realized volunteering with Islamic Relief Canada was just what I needed.

The best part about Islamic Relief Canada is the incredible bonds I've made with my Muslim brothers and sisters. Not to mention the unforgettable road trips I have got to experience with the team. They are not just friends, they are family.

As of right now, I am a grade 12 student at Panorama Ridge Secondary and outside of school, I enjoy playing hockey which I believe is the best sport in the world.”

“I’m happy to have a job that coincides with my values and what I believe in! I’m lucky to make a living working for peace and conflict resolution. I love that this job requires integrity, independence and neutrality.

When you change another person’s life positively and lighten the dark they once had, you inspire them to be stronger. What I appreciate most about my job is that it allows me to reduce the suffering of people and help them in different ways while creating long-lasting change.

Outside of Islamic Relief, I am a full time dad that takes care of my 4 kids. I also dedicate a lot of my time to my business Mobile on Wheels.”

Tahir Sattar British Columbia Community Liaison

“After seeing all the wonderful work being done on social media, I decided to reach out and start volunteering with Islamic Relief! Volunteering with Islamic Relief Canada changed my life for the better. I was able to get in touch with wonderful individuals and connect with my community. Now as a staff member, I feel empowered to make a real difference with Islamic Relief Canada through awareness campaigns and fundraising for various projects around the world.

Outside of Islamic Relief Canada, I’m a very family oriented person who enjoys everything nature related. I love spending time with my family and going on long road trips with them!”

Mujahid Ahmed Metro Vancouver Regional Lead

“Ever since I was in high school it’s always been a dream of mine to work for Islamic Relief. I started out as a volunteer before becoming a staff member and from day one, it has been nothing short of a blessing. The team at Islamic Relief Canada is so incredibly warm, and coming from a small town and having grown up being the only Muslim in my school, it feels surreal being surrounded by people who share the same values of doing good for the sake of Allah. I could go on forever about it!

Outside of Islamic Relief Canada I currently study Global Development Studies at a university, and volunteer at our local Islamic Center. I love going on adventures, whether it be hiking, camping or road trips. I’m also a fiend for local cafes having been a barista for most of my time at university.”

Saleha Islam Fraser Valley Regional Lead

Hassaan Sheikh British Columbia Regional Manager

“Our ability as an organization to understand, focus, learn and then lead is what has made us what we are today. It is truly Allah’s favor that He has quite literally made us the hand that serves, and allows us to be a bridge between donors and rights-holders.

I have been on the frontlines for disaster response during wildfires here, field visits - from the deserts of Balochistan to assess ongoing infrastructure projects, and visited sponsored orphans in Bagh, Kashmir. I have never been amazed by the fact of what we can achieve if we simply unite as one with our values in mind and at heart. Islamic Relief has provided me the opportunity and understanding to excel not only as a humanitarian but also a Muslim. It is now our job as the leaders of today to provide that same opportunity and empowerment to the leaders of tomorrow.

Our goal is not only to make this world a better place but to start from home with that in mind. From the volunteers to the donors and the staff to the rights-holders, we are part of one great ecosystem. As long as we play our part, we will succeed as a community.”

British Columbia Wildfire Emergency Response

In Lytton, we responded to the effects of a destructive wildfire that destroyed much of the area, leaving countless people displaced, including First Nations residents. Our teams in Kamloops, Kelowna, Fraser Valley and Vancouver came together with the BC Muslims Association and Muslim Food Bank to respond with relief efforts, including basic living essentials, logistical aid and hot meals.

Our response was centered around three phases. In our initial phase, we were able to assess the needs of affected populations to provide logistical support, emergency funds and hot meals. Our second phase took place in August, 2021, where we provided food and grocery vouchers, procured and delivered furniture, and provided necessary household items and appliances for evacuees living in temporary housing.

The last phase commenced in September, 2021 where our teams organized cleanup operations and supported rebuilding efforts. We are continuing to provide ongoing mental health support to those impacted by the fires.

British Columbia Floods Emergency Response

Catastrophic flooding and storms in British Columbia left thousands displaced, trapped, and in need of immediate assistance. Countless families were left without access to food and safety supplies. Due to the widespread mudslides and broken infrastructure, Vancouver became disconnected from the rest of British Columbia. In light of these mass flooding events, the province declared a state of emergency.

Islamic Relief Canada responded immediately, providing emergency relief to communities affected by the devastating flooding and mudslides in Abbotsford, Kamloops, Kelowna and Fraser Valley. Our teams on the ground provided evacuees with food items, hygiene supplies and other essentials.

Our Disaster Response team also provided emergency subsidies, grants and financial support to municipalities, organizations supporting rebuilding efforts, and services providing operational support to impacted areas.

Kelowna

Our team supported the local Emergency Support Service shelter with warm apparel, blankets, footwear and hygiene items.

Kamloops

We provided essential food items to stranded drivers who were unable to return home or drive to their destination due to catastrophic infrastructural damage on highways.

Merritt

As one of the hardest hit cities by the floods, the Coldwater River caused critical damage to the community’s water treatment facility in addition to severe damage to homes, businesses, farms and roads. Our teams dispatched an 18-wheeler donated by Alberta’s Muslim community to provide relief during the most dire of times. Support included non-perishable food items, hygiene packs, and cleaning supplies for evacuees when they return home.

Princeton

During the floods, almost 300 homes were ordered to evacuate and severe infrastructural damage was witnessed by residents. Upon returning, residents and the municipality were in desperate need of cleaning supplies and helping hands, which is why we partnered up with Tera Terra Helping Hands Society and Team Rubicon Canada. Alongside our partners, we delivered shovels, buckets, shop vacuums, mops and drinking water, as well as provided grants for cleaning supplies. 18-wheeler donated by Alberta’s Muslim community to provide relief during the most dire of times. Support included non-perishable food items, hygiene packs, and cleaning supplies for evacuees when they return home.

Abbotsford & Chilliwack

Islamic Relief Canada supported local food banks and shelters with food, cleaning supplies, hygiene items and drinking water. A month following the floods, our teams continued our work in Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver to provide not only aid but also logistical support to other organizations.

In collaboration with the Salvation Army, Kindness Chain, Archway Food Bank and Locality, we supported the distribution of food hampers, drinking water, hygiene items and cleaning supplies to hundreds of afflicted and stranded families. Warm meals and clean drinking water were also given directly to the families affected by the floods, as many of them had returned to their homes but did not have access to clean water and working appliances. Islamic Relief Canada also provided grants to the First Nations Emergency Support Services Society.

What's Next

As an organization on the frontlines, we are continuing to see the impact of the floods in communities. Our long term approach is to invest in mitigation plans, rebuild infrastructure and identify the mental health needs of impacted communities.

Our primary focus is to create programs that address the needs of communities that were hit the hardest, as they are often the most vulnerable and neglected, with particular emphasis on Indigenous communities.

Our Emergency Response Protocol

With our multi-phased response, we ensure the output of humanitarian aid is up to date, consistent with the needs of the community and used in the most effective and efficient manner. Our aid is delivered through food banks, emergency support services and partner agencies on the ground.

Timeline of British Columbia’s Response:

News breaks of disaster.

Local teams are dispatched to carry out needs assessment, visit shelters and report on the extent of damage.

Carry out immediate operational assistance needed by Canadian Red Cross, First Nations Emergency Services Society, Emergency Support Service BC, or local municipality.

Dispatch the aid as required.

Monitoring and evaluation assessments carried out by the team to ensure needs are up to date.

Prepare an impact report and utilize findings from evaluation assessments to improve our programming and response.

PHASE I

TIMELINE: 2 WEEKS

Immediate needs assessment conducted.

Emergency aid is delivered and distributed. Aid includes food hampers or vouchers, clean and safe drinking water, and hygiene items.

Emergency subsidies and grants are given to partner organizations to support those in need.

PHASE II

TIMELINE: 2 MONTHS

Continued needs assessments for ongoing aid. Clean up operations underway or provide operational assistance to partners who are rebuilding infrastructure.

PHASE III

TIMELINE: 6 MONTHS

Invest in long term aid such as psycho-social support, rehabilitation of existing facilities, and rebuilding infrastructure.

Analysis and support for mitigation plans for at-risk communities.

Local Initiatives

This project was in collaboration with the Muslim Food Bank and Community Services Society to feed 50 families across British Columbia for a duration of 3 months. We provided these families with food hampers containing kitchen staples to get them through their most vulnerable times. Each food hamper contained items such as sugar, oil, rice, meat, tea, dry beans, pasta, salt, and other essentials. Months of Giving

School Bags and Supplies for Children

When schools reopened in the fall, our teams partnered with the Surrey School District and a local Staples store to provide backpacks filled with school supplies that assisted children in their learning experience. These children predominantly came from low-income families as well as families who fled conflict zones in Syria.

Masjid Programing

As masjids lost foot traffic due to lockdowns which negatively impacted their donations, we stepped in to assist masjids in British Columbia with funds in the form of matched donations. Islamic Relief matched every $2 with $1 that was donated online. This helped Masjids with paying off loans, continuing programming and keeping up with operational costs.

Support for Refugees

When political instability erupted in Afghanistan, hundreds of families fled Afghanistan and were welcomed to Vancouver. Our teams worked closely with refugee services and the local Afghan community to ensure newcomers had blankets, hygiene items and warm apparel. They were also given Walmart gift cards to purchase essential items they need.

Toy Drive

In partnership with the BC Children's Foundation and Nisa Homes, we gifted toys to kids from vulnerable households. This brought them joy and helped to put a smile on their face!

Food Parcels

Throughout the year, we provided food parcels to the unhoused residing in public parks and the streets. Our teams would check in with the unhoused community to provide warm meals and hot chocolate, while engaging in conversation.

Leaders of Tomorrow

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 work, which is why we understand the importance of investing in our volunteer force and the next generation of leaders across the province.

Primary School Food Program

A healthy diet means a healthy mind! We teamed up with the BC Muslim School to provide healthy breakfasts to young students. We especially focused on children who were unable to eat breakfast in the morning due to household situations.

Code for Kids

Naloxone Training

We provided funds to the BC Muslim School for the code for kids program which enables young minds to explore the world of STEM at an early age.

The Downtown Eastside is home to the most overdoses in Canada. Due to our frequent activities in this area distributing food and clothes for the unhoused, we organized naloxone training for our teams across the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland. We believe it is vital to provide our team of staff and volunteers with the knowledge and tools necessary to provide assistance when required.

Camp

At Islamic Relief we value the development of both our staff and volunteers. Our Leaders of Tomorrow Camp provides a platform for young Muslims to come together in a safe environment and have fun while also providing leadership training and educational workshops.

Adopt A Street

One of our values in Islamic Relief is Amana or custodianship. We uphold our duty of custodianship over the Earth and its resources, which is why we are working to adopt and consistently clean streets in the lower mainland and metro Vancouver areas. This is to ensure our local environment is seen to and cared for.

Call to Action

Seeds of Hope

As a result of the pandemic, many organizations experienced a decline in their volunteer base due to health precautions and quarantine measures. Across the province, we send our staff and volunteers who are always ready to answer the call to fill this gap.

This assistance is provided free of charge, to help with any logistical gaps for other organizations whether it be cleaning places of worship, park clean ups, distributing hot meals to the unhoused, or responding to local emergencies.

As a result of the devastating impact of the BC wildfires, we partnered with the city of Chilliwack and the local community to plant 225 trees and shrubs in Bell Slough as part of the city's restoration project. Funds that were raised for each individual tree planted in Chilliwack also went towards corresponding trees being planted in Kashmir and Palestine.

Winter Efforts

Winter Warmth

For four years, Islamic Relief has been on the ground distributing hygiene and winter kits and warm meals to the unhoused during our Winter Warmth campaign. With the flooding across British Columbia in 2021, the need became greater than ever before as many homeless camps and shelters were destroyed and over capacity.

Many organizations were also struggling to store supplies due to warehouses and storage units being submerged or flooded. To meet the heightened need, our teams partnered with various organizations across the province to create makeshift collection centres. The collection centres helped to store items and distribute essential items, including tarps, tents, hygiene items, food, clothing and blankets.

Our team also assembled winter warmth kits and distributed them all across British Columbia. These kits included a variety of both hygiene items and warmth items, including scarves, gloves, socks, blanket, soaps, shampoo and deodorant. We distributed hot meals and clean drinking water to unhoused individuals in collaboration with local Indigenous and Muslim organizations, food banks and shelters, as well as the Salvation Army.

International Efforts

From British Columbia to the World

Mangoes For Pakistan

Our teams delivered boxes of Chaunsa mangoes sourced from Pakistan to the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland in order to fundraise for our orphans and widow empowerment projects in Pakistan. Through this project, widows and their families receive critical support that includes vocational and skills training, improved access to free healthcare and healthcare facilities, and postsecondary scholarships to select students from widowed families.

Cafe for Kashmir

Partnering with Surrey Jamea Masjid, our team of volunteers sold tea and cake jars to raise funds for our humanitarian aid efforts in Kashmir, Pakistan.

Urdu Poetry Night

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic many people were cut off from seeing fellow members of their communities. With many restrictions being lifted near the end of 2021 we wanted to put together a community event where we could safely come together and celebrate aspects of cultural diversity and community that were deeply missed. We took this opportunity to raise funds for orphans and widows in Pakistan that would help improve their access to much needed healthcare.

Olive Oil for Gaza

Our teams delivered bottles of olive oil sourced from Palestine. The bottles were sold across British Columbia, providing economic stability to Palestinian farmers and vendors, as well as raising funds for food, water, and medical equipment for the general Palestinian population.

Drive Thru Iftaars

Ramadan is a time where communities come together to celebrate and break fast during the holy month. Due to lockdowns and restrictions, gatherings were limited and the sense of community was heavily impacted.

Our team at Islamic Relief wanted to provide our community with an opportunity to come together in a safe way. Our teams across the province organized drive thru iftaars where attendees could enjoy iftaars from within their vehicles. All funds you raised went towards our orphan sponsorship and humanitarian efforts in Yemen to provide frontline workers with equipment, ensure families get enough food, and provide families with clean water, soap and hygiene support.

Food for Good

Cupcakes for Syria

We partnered with multiple restaurants in the Lower Mainland to collect funds for our food basket program during the month of Ramadan. For one whole day each, participating businesses offered discounted meals, with all proceeds going towards our programs.

Our teams across the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland delivered 70 cupcake boxes in total. All proceeds from the campaign went towards funding essential humanitarian aid needed on the ground in Syria, providing food, shelter and medical aid to those in need.

Thank You!

Jazakum Allahu Khairan for your continued support and kindness for the world’s most vulnerable. You made it a year with hope, making an immense difference in the lives of thousands of people right here at home in British Columbia and across the world through your generous support. Their lives will be forever changed, and their futures made brighter.

We could not do it without you, thank you.

“Whoever relieves the hardship of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve their hardship on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever helps ease one in difficulty, Allah will make it easy for them in this world and in the Hereafter...”

– Prophet Muhammad (SAW)