Looking back at 2006 is heartbreaking. Month after month it seems our brothers and sisters all over the world were facing one crisis after another. From the horrific earthquake that instantly killed 80,000 people in Kashmir, this time last year to the more recent humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli attacks in Lebanon, Muslim Hands Emergency Response Teams worked relentlessly to reach those in need.

Much of the world suffering does however go relatively unreported by the mainstream media, especially when more media-savvy stories come along – but thanks to the generosity of British Muslims, Muslim Hands has been able to respond to several such crisis, from the drought in Niger and Mali and the floods in Mumbai to the earthquake that hit Java in May.

Lebanon Crisis: MH was already there...

Lebanon Crisis: Already based in Saida (Sidon) since 1997, Muslim Hands was able to begin immediately providing emergency aid to the hundreds of thousands of displaced people which gathered there to escape the Israel bombing of southern Lebanon.

MH provided over 6000 family food parcels, hot food and medical care to the thousands of displaced people in Saida, Tyre and Beirut. The willful destruction of infrastructure means there is no electricity and therefore no running water (water pumps were electric).

Al-Hamdu lillah, MH is using water tankers to reach the worst affected villages as an emergency measure, but this is not viable for the future (80 tankers will be required to provide adequate water supply). MH has started using large ‘Mobile Power Generators’ (costing £32,000 eac) to access the network of water reservoirs already available in the villages. The mobile generators are moving from village to village a lot quicker than the tankers.

Despite the ceasefire, many remain homeless as their homes have been reduced to rubble. MH teams are active in southern towns including Yarine, Marouahine and Zalloutiye distributing food parcels and running temporary feeding centres. The road to recovery will be a long one.

Did You Know?

Muslim Hands spports 900 needy orphans and their families in Palestine, and a total of 4000 orphans worldwide in 20 of the worlds poorest countries. You can provide care and education to a needy orphan for only 66p per day!

Over £2.5 Million raised Kashmir & Pakistan Earthquake

The Asian Earthquake killed, almost in an instant, over 80,000 people on that dreadful morning of 8th October, 2005 and left upwards of 3 million people homeless. Muslim Hands offices across Pakistan were mobilised immediately – with experienced teams, rushing to the area to help the survivors.

MH teams already working in Muzaffarabad (since 1993) were on the ground within hours, restlessly searching for survivors. By the following morning, over 250 MH staff and volunteers were active in the Muzaffarabad area. Moved by the sheer scale of the destruction and human suffering, over 200 of them stayed on for six months or more to help with the clearance and reconstruction work.

In addition to this, teams of doctors were flown from the UK to the affected areas to provide medical assistance to the tens of thousands of injured victims. MH established 7 large camps catering for over 60,000 homeless people.

But the harsh terrain and impassable roads meant many survivors could not reach the camps. With the bitter Kashmir winter fast approaching, MH raced to setup numerous small camps in the remote hilly areas surrounding Bagh, Balacote and Mansera.

MH Ambulance services are still running in Balacote, Bagh and Muzzaffarabad. Over 60,000 survivors were provided with hot cooked meals twice a day at Muslim Hands aid camps.

Around 30,000 people living in remote hilly regions received Family Food Parcels. MH Tarikabad Camp is still active serving over 5000 people daily.

MH ran temporary schools for children in all the aid camps. Three new ‘Schools of Excellence’ (costing £100,000 each) are being built in Bagh, Balacote and Muzzaffarabad.

Give With Confidence!

Muslim Hands - United for the Needy is an international relief and development organisation, established in 1993 with the objective of providing relief from poverty, sickness and the provision of education on a non-discriminatory basis.

We work both directly and with partners in 35 of the world’s poorest countries. Although MH is recognised for rapid emergency response, our primary focus is on education and vocational training.

In 2005, we raised over £8 million from individual donors, mosques and community centres in the form of Zakah and Sadaqah donations and are one of the largest British Muslim charities.

Al-Hamdu lillah. Muslim Hands is registered in the UK with British Overseas NGOs Development (BOND), DFID and a signatory to the Code of Conduct for The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief. Muslim Hands was the first Muslim charity to receive the ‘Investor in People’ award and is one of the few charities that is ISO:9001 certified (an internationally recognised quality management system standard)