Seasonal Projects
Opportunities to Meet Seasonal Obligations
Ihsan/Alfajr has over the years provided opportunities to Muslims who desire to fulfill certain religious obligations by sending help to West Africa. These obligations include: Zakat (mandatory charity); Sadaqa (unrestricted charity); Udhiya (sacrifice of a sheep, goat, or cow, with the intent of distributing the meat among the poor).
Donate today to one of our seasonal projects
Seasonal Projects
- Zakat Distribution (Financial Charity)
- The Udhiya Project (Meat Distribution)
- Iftar Program (Feeding the needy)
Zakat Distribution
More than five hundred needy people received the zakat (financial charity). The zakat package was a 25kg bag of rice to each beneficiary. This was highly appreciated by the beneficiaries, especially that they received the package during the blessed month of Ramadan.
Zakat and sadaqa of this nature has a great impact on the lives of beneficiaries as it is it difficult, if not impossible, to have a 25kg bag of rice. It is a very big surprise to the beneficiaries and a way of restoring hope to the hopeless. The beneficiaries offered prayers for the donors.
The Udhiya Project
To commemorate Prophet Abraham’s sacrifice of an animal in submission to Allah (God), able Muslims sacrifice an animal at the end of the Pilgrimage season. The poor, who sometimes cannot afford to eat meat, get to enjoy the festive day of Eidul-adha by receiving gifts of meat from their neighbors, who keep a portion of the meat for their families and distribute some among friends and relatives. The entire community celebrates! Muslims living in affluent societies, such as those in the North America, often elect to have their Udhiya done on their behalf in needy areas of the world.
The Ihsan Foundation has thus been sponsoring Udhiya on behalf of North American Muslims in West Africa, notably in Sierra Leone and Guinea. This project will be expanded to Niger, Cameroon and Ghana in the 2007 Udhiya season, in sha Allah (God willing).
Iftar Program
Some Muslims also send money for food (Iftar) to facilitate the observance of Ramadan by the poor. The West African countries of Niger, Guinea, Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone are currently benefiting from this program.