In the News
Alhamdulillah, Al Amaanah has found its way to print media. InshaAllah you can find articles about us here.
Positively Muslim in the West: Ghulam Kehar and His Al Amaanah Team
MuslimMatters
Background:
A few years ago, in Ramadan of 2006 actually, the University of Houston MSA had an iftaar scheduled but due to heavy rains it was canceled. The problem was that the food was already ordered and on its way to the campus. A few brothers and sisters thought of a great idea; why not deliver this food to the refugees who came to Houston, Texas from Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Somalia, and other troubled regions of the world?
In a few minutes the decision was made, and the guys and gals brought their cars, trucks, and SUVs and loaded up the food and were on their way to where the refugees were lived. I was fortunate enough to be with this group of young brothers and sisters.
Fast forward a few years. This group of students evolved into a separate organization, called Al Amaanah, that is now recognized for its charity work from the YMCA, Interfaith Alliance, Catholic Charities, the Houston Independent School District, The Refugee Consortium of Houston, the Multi Ethnic Community Center, and even Rice University.
MuslimMatters published some of their efforts, and the Houston Chronicle Blog republished this article as well.
MuslimMatters would like to thank Ghulam and his exceptional team of volunteers by conferring upon them our Positively Muslim in the West Award (you also might want to congratulate him for his graduation from UH last December and his Nikkah a few weeks ago….Congrats Ghulam and Sr. Aisha).
- Haytham
Here is a short questionnaire that we sent to Ghulam and his team to answer:
1. What do you think are the most misunderstood issues or little known facts about the plight of refugees in Houston?
The situation of refugees is rather hidden from the masses. These people come to the US after seeing their homes destroyed and losing their families, and are forced to completely rebuild their lives from scratch in a matter of months. The financial, social, emotional, and educational aspects are often overlooked more than any other, yet are key to the refugees’ survival and success in their new lives.
With regard to finances, the refugees come to the US with literally only the clothes on their backs. They are given four months of governmental rent assistance, and a small monthly allowance that is barely enough to provide food. Resettlement agencies help them initiate food stamps, Medicaid, and social security, but other than that, they are expected to be completely independent at the end of 120 days. The agencies provide ESL classes, but more often than not, the refugees lack transportation to and from the classes and thus are unable to benefit. Many of us do not realize the importance of language as a means of financial independence. Simply put, if one cannot communicate enough to find a job, how can one reach self sufficiency?
In the social sector, many families are isolated from their surroundings. They are housed in very rough and unsafe parts of town. A large number of them do not realize that there are Muslims and masaajid in the city. They must be sought out and integrated into the community; otherwise, they are lost in the worst of neighborhoods and worst of crowds. Most of the Muslim refugees coming here are from Iraq, and it is crucial to help them feel at home in their own communities before they can be brought into the prevailing American culture.
Unfortunately, education has taken a back seat for the second generation. Parents are striving to simply survive and provide basic necessities for their families, and their focus is shifted from their children, who are put in public schools and often times fall into the wrong crowds. Again, the language barrier prevents the children from excelling academically and reaching their full potential; they must learn the language and culture before anything else. Somewhere in this process, they often resort to dropping out and working side by side with the parents to help put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.
Though intangible, the emotional condition of the refugees is one of the most important. They are scarred from warfare, slaughter, injustice, and witnessing the rape and murder of their own family members. Many were forced away from their homes to foreign places. They have gone from thriving business professionals to refugees struggling to provide food for their children; this kind of drastic life change is a form of emotional torture. Over time these frustrations build, and recently family and marital conflicts have arisen in several families.
This is only a glimpse into the plight of refugees. Email me [ghulam [@] alamaanah.com] if you’d like to hear first hand accounts or even witness the situation with your own eyes. Watch Care for Refugees (find their conditions) for more information as well.
2. Drawing on your own experiences with Al Amaanah, what are some concrete practical steps that any individual can take right now to assist or positively impact the lives of the refugees in our own local communities?
First, never think that your community doesn’t have refugees. Contact resettlement agencies (Catholic Charities, YMCA, Interfaith Ministries, etc) and tell them you are interested in visiting some families; they are always looking for volunteers. Visit the families and keep good relations with them, but focus on one family and make them feel part of the community. Take them to the masjid, spend a day at the park or zoo with the kids. Create a bond with the kids so they feel comfortable to come to you with questions and for advice; otherwise, they will go elsewhere, and most likely be misguided. When they feel part of the community, they feel “normal” and that means more to them than any material or worldly gain. Listen to their stories, get to know them, and understand where they are coming from. You’ll be surprised how much they appreciate the little things.
3. Is your work for Al Amaanah a part-time volunteer effort? If so, how do you manage to find a balance between this work and other responsibilities?
Al Amaanah is full time for me; it is a part of my daily schedule and a priority amongst my regular activities. The initial stages were very time consuming because there were very few volunteers and lots to be done. But as the volunteer base grew, the work load spread, and we were able to take on more without overloading a few of us.
After much trial and error, we’ve become more organized, and I have found a balance between Al Amaanah and everything else in my life. Emergency situations still arise, and sometimes I have to drop my plans and help find a home for a widow or go to emergency room with a single mother at 2 a.m. because she has no one else here. Having a dependable staff is key, and alhamdulillah Al Amaanah has been blessed a team of awesome individuals who are talented, committed, and full of energy. At the end of the day, however, it is only with Allah’s help that I am able to balance Al Amaanah and everything else and keep a sane mind (for the most part).
Here are some things that I’ve witnessed in my time with Al Amaanah.
4. Do any of your family members or friends work with Al Amaanah?
My wife works with Al Amaanah, as do many of my friends. Thinking back, most of my friends have either previously or are currently helping Al Amaanah. When we are out, even on non Al Amaanah related events, we find ourselves talking about the organization, our clients, planning some event, and taking shura from each other.
5. In the past, have the organization’s efforts garnered any criticism in light of your commitment to Islam? If so, how have you responded?
Other faith based organizations have approached and successfully collaborated with us, calling upon us to handle their Muslim clientele because they trust our experience and work. We have, however, faced a two-fold criticism from the Muslim community. Many say that by helping the refugees become a part of the American society, we are doing more harm than good to their deen because we are increasing them in materialism by integrating them into an essentially greedy and selfish society. Furthermore, they question our services to different sects within Islam, as well as non Muslims. We consult the elders and shuyukh of our community, many of whom are nationally recognized, to make the best decision. As a refugee service organization, we don’t see the person as Jew, Christian, or Shi’a; rather, we see them as someone who is in need of the basic necessities to live. At the same time, we ensure that we are within the bounds of the Shari’ah for Zakah, and have special handling requirements for all such money so that it only aids the Muslim population.
6. Are there any plans to expand Al Amaanah to other cities and/or states?
We have not yet even scratched the surface of refugee services in Houston. Many more services can and need to be provided, so for now we will focus on Houston.
7. What other non-profit organizations have most influenced your work with Al Amaanah?
Other refugee resettlement agencies, including Alliance, Interfaith Ministries, and Catholic Charities have been very receptive to Al Amaanah. We are continuously learning from these larger, nationally recognized organizations on how to better serve our clients. AlMaghrib Institute played a major role in our formation, as the concept of having a Muslim based refugee service and local Zakah distribution organization stemmed from one of its seminars.
8. Which organizations would you like to collaborate with in the future, or hope to increase your current level of collaboration?
We hope to begin working with local furniture banks, refugee offices, community colleges for education and technical skill programs, car dealerships for transportation for clients, Houston Independent School District (HISD) and other districts, and local business owners and employment agencies for job placement. We are looking to increase collaborations with YMCA, Interfaith Alliance, and Catholic Charities and hold more joint programs with them in the future. All of these collaborations are key for our clients to integrate into society and in to turn be able to positively impact their surroundings.
9. What advice do you have for Muslims interested in entering the social work/services field?
Join in! Muslims are very underrepresented in this field. It’s not an easy field to be in so do not take it lightly and remember that your reward will not be in the tiny paycheck you receive, but in the akhira insha Allah. You can start slowly and see if this truly is for you. Volunteer in areas that pique your interest, whether it’s in hospitals or food kitchens, but remember that social work requires technical knowledge and training, and cannot just be done on the weekends. If you feel that it is right for you, learn about accreditation programs at your local colleges.
10. What advice do you have for others, particularly new and upcoming young professionals who are planning or have already started non-profit organizations?
Don’t start your own non-profit unless you’ve explored every other avenue, appealed to all non-profits serving the same group or providing the same services, and been turned away by each and every single one. There are over 10,000 non-profits in the city of Houston alone. Chances are there is someone serving the population you want to help, or providing the same services. In an age of too many non-profits, many are willing to collaborate or expand pre-existing services. They want volunteers with the drive and motivation to help in their programs. Existing non-profits already have a network that you can latch onto and use for your benefit as well, and you are probably much better off that way. This truly works out for both parties. You won’t have to worry about sustainability, research foundations to fund you, worry about the best database to use to store information, or get caught up in the administrative details that go into starting an organization from scratch. Whatever you do, be prepared to meet the challenges, to give lots of time, and make uncountable sacrifices to see the fruits of your labor.
Going the Extra Mile For Muslim Refugees in America. Houston, Texas.
In January 2006, a bomb blasted in Baghdad through the home of Abu Zamzam. Following the attack, United States troops stormed into the house to take Abu Zamzam and his son, Ahmed, who shared the same name as the suspect they sought, to interrogate them about the kidnapping of an American journalist. After the innocence of the two men came to light, it did not take more than these horrific experiences for the family to flee their home country to Syria. From there, the United Nations sent Abu Zamzam’s family to the US as Iraqi refugees, along with several other families.
With different stories of the past, many arrived in the fourth largest city in the US, Houston, Texas. Here, they encountered fear of going hungry, confusion in a new hemisphere, and loneliness in their situations. Emotions eventually consoled when they found a hope they could trust in. Its name was Al Amaanah.
The Lone Star State
“I told them no, not Houston because I thought Texas had cowboys!” said Umm Mohammed with a bright smile, explaining her conversation with the UN when they told her she would be settling in Houston, where she arrived on August 11th, 2008 as a widow with her three children, Haneen, 19, Mohammed, 16, and Mustafa, 5. She was welcomed by the coming of Ramadan and also the catastrophic hurricane Ike, fleeing a war zone only to run into a natural disaster.
She resided in an apartment in a low socioeconomic area of Houston. She feared living there. Her wall would shake when her neighbors would fight. Her attempts at finding work did not pull through, but she refused to take off her hijab to make the hunt easier, she would not set that kind of example for her children.
Finally, within a couple months she met a young Muslim brother, Raheel, who asked how he could help her. The aid was Godsend. “If Ghulam and Raheel [were] not in this area,” said Umm Mohammed about two of Al Amaanah’s co-founders, “I could not stay here.” When she found out Al Amaanah only exists in Houston she was glad the UN did not place her anywhere else.
Before she knew it, Al Amaanah moved her into a safer apartment near better schools for her children, furnished the apartment, provided her with food, and helped her enroll in an ESL class at the Houston Community College (HCC). She spoke in English through the entire interview with us and translated for the rest of the refugees we talked with. Even with Al Amaanah, the struggle still raged on for the refugees setting foot in Houston.
In the Face of Hardship
Yazin, 6, played with a hot pink balloon around the apartment as we interviewed his mother. Umm Yazin, also a widow, arrived here on February 26th, 2009 from Jordan, where she taught as a professor in universities with her master’s in physical education from Iraq. Today, she instructs children in P.E. class in a school of the Muslim American Society.
With her bills stacking up every month, she can barely make rent. She desires health insurance in case anything happens to her, a car that does not let in rainwater, or a job where she does not get sunburned time to time. But she always follows these distresses with “alhumdullillah,” being grateful for what she has.
Umm Mona gives us the same positive attitude when she speaks in soft Arabic about her battle with brain cancer. She completed the first level of ESL class at the Bilingual Education Institute, but struggles to explain the doctor’s diagnosis of her illness. The UN sent her to the US to seek medical attention because doctors found her tumor operable, so she now patiently awaits the date of her operation. “I love my husband,” she says to us, explaining she wants the operation quickly so she can leave for Syria to reunite with him.
Helping Hands of a Family
Abu Zamzam told us, “A lot of time I didn’t have money to buy medicine,” referring to the insulin for his wife’s diabetes, but Al Amaanah always paid for it despite how costly. Abu Zamzam’s family, like other refugee families Al Amaanah supports, qualifies for Medicaid. However, on an as needed basis Al Amaanah must mail letters of proof that they monetarily assist the families to show they still live below the poverty line and can continue qualifying for Medicaid.
Usually, resettlement agencies which may be lacking funds themselves, such as YMCA, Interfaith, or Alliance help refugees with basic needs to assimilate into American society. “The families are taken to their apartments… They usually find some mattresses with used bed sheets, a standard black dining table with four chairs, some used dishes, utensils, and a few days’ supply of food,” said Ghulam Kehar, Executive Director of Al Amaanah. However, Abu Zamzam informed us he came to an empty apartment. He used to go through trash to collect furniture until Al Amaanah stepped in. “All the furniture you see in my house is from Al Amaanah,” said Umm Zamzam with gratitude.
Abu Zamzam spoke with great enthusiasm when he told us about Al Amaanah’s zakaat-ul-fitr Ramadan food distribution project, which comprised of over 6,500 pounds of food being delivered to 187 refugee families by fasting volunteers. Since he came here with his family in May 2009, by September he was getting his food stamps, but even those do not suffice for families to survive off of.
“It probably takes on average a month or two for [the refugees] to receive Medicaid and food stamps. What do they do about food during that time? Usually neighbors help out or they call us,” said Kehar. Umm Mona only receives $300 to stretch out over a period of a month for her and her daughter, Mona, 18, to buy food and water with. When we went to visit with her, she had no food in her home. Without skipping a beat, a sister from Al Amaanah took her out the next day for grocery shopping.
As Umm Yazin explained to us how Al Amaanah gave her furniture, helped pay for her rent, and took her son out to play, she said, “When I talk about Al Amaanah, I know I have my family with me.” Umm Mohammed also said when she speaks about Al Amaanah, she speaks proudly of it. “Al Amaanah helps any people [who] need help,” she said as she told us the story of a Catholic refugee who was being evicted from her apartment because she could not make the rent. Al Amaanah came to pay for her. She felt pride in being so close to an Islamic organization which holds no prejudice in regards to race or religion; they help everyone in need of their assistance.
Strong Spirits
Al Amaanah’s efforts do not go unmatched though. The refugees also play their parts.
Umm Yazin started off only instructing P.E. classes, but now also teaches art and qaida for children beginning to recite Quran. She spoke to us about how she wants to get certified in other specialties too so she can work and earn more money.
Even Umm Mona was disheartened she could not work due to her illness and the side effects of her medications. She hopes to get her operation quickly also to help with the rent and bills, which her daughter mostly takes charge of for now working part time as a babysitter at her mother’s ESL institute.
One of Abu Zamzam’s two married daughters, Zeenah, was a doctor in Syria and is now studying for her US Medical Licensing Exam to continue her profession here. Zamzam teaches Arabic to children and also found a job as a translator at HCC, along with Umm Mohammed’s daughter who is pursuing an engineering degree. Umm Mohammed herself works as a weekend Arabic teacher at the local Masjid El Farouq.
She spoke to us with great joy that she received her green card earlier that day. Her brothers tell her to come back to Jordan. But her response? “I like it here!” she says to them. When the UN asked Abu Zamzam if he still wanted to come to America after all that he and his family went through with the the bombing and interrogation in Iraq, he responded that he just wants to live in peace.
By the blessings of Allah, there are success stories among the crowd of suffering refugees. But not all of these families are given a second chance; many of them weren’t even given a full first chance. Al Amaanah seeks to individualize the group, to impact each person as an independent being, to make a positive difference in their lives so they may in turn be a source of constructive change for society. Al Amaanah began as something informal done on the weekends, and, Alhamdulillah, has reached great heights. So I challenge you, who will match the youth of Houston in making a difference in the lives of refugees?
Insha’Allah, an end of the year report for 2009 will soon be available, quantifying Al Amaanah’s assistance to its clients in the last 12 months.
Al Amaanah’s website is www.alamaanah.com If you wish, please click here to explore different ways of supporting AlAmaanah.
Here is a list of few of the All Star lineup who carry AlAmaanah on their shoulders:
General Inquires
info@alamaanah.com
Arsalan Majid
Donations Coordinator
arsalanmajid@alamaanah.com
Ghulam R. Kehar
Executive Director
ghulam@alamaanah.com
Falah Adnan
Administrative Assistant
falah@alamaanah.com
Haytham Borhan
Support Services Manager
haythamb@alamaanah.com
Abdullah Muhammad
Field Operations Manager
abdullahn@alamaanah.com
Muhammed Serageldin
Lead Caseworker
muhammeds@alamaanah.com
Sieda Omar
Human Resource Manager
somar@alamaanah.com
Ousswa Kudia
Volunteer Coordinator
ousswa@alamaanah.com
Tabinda Ghani
Development Manager
tabinda@alamaanah.com
Volunteering a spring break option
Published: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Some students are opting to spend their spring break volunteering.
Economic senior Ghulam Kehar and his volunteer staff plan to tutor and distribute necessities to Houston refugees, while political science senior Michael Blunk will take a group of 12 University students to lobby on drug policies in Austin.
Serving refugees during spring break
In August 2007, Kehar co-founded Al-Amaanah, which translates to ‘the trust’ in Arabic, as an organization to help serve refugee families and individuals in the greater Houston area.
“Every other week, we pick up donations from around the city and distribute, but during spring break we want to do a lot more,” Kehar said.
Kehar plans on using the hiatus from classes to distribute furnishing, food, clothes and supplies to refugees.
Other services provided by Al-Amaanah include temporary rent assistance, transportation, computer training programs, financial planning workshops, ESL classes and a tutoring service.
“We basically teach them how to get acclimated over here,” Kehar said. “For about two months now, we’ve been running an after-school tutoring program.”
Al-Amaanah’s tutoring program transports about 20 students from their homes to UH, where volunteer tutors assist children in various subjects such as English and math for an hour and a half.
The organization provides its services to 50-70 families. Most of these families are refugees from Iraq, but some come from Burma, Somalia, Afghanistan and Bosnia.
“They are people of all backgrounds and ages, with kids as young as two-months-old all the way up to adults, but the majority are children,” Kehar said.
Once the families and individuals arrive to Houston, Al-Amaanah is indirectly informed of them through the Multiethnic Community Center, which works with the Resettlement Agency.
“We’ve built a network, so any family that come into Houston, we are informed of their location, who they are and how many of them,” Kehar said. “As soon as they arrive, we go visit them, we try to cater to their immediate needs and we consistently stay in contact with them.”
Road tripping for change
Blunk plans to take his drug policy reform efforts on the road, as he and 12 other lobbyists drive to Austin during spring break to speak to state congressmen.
“On March 17, we’re going to lobby on two big drug policy issues; one is on legalizing medical marijuana in Texas and the other is lifting the ban off needle exchange programs,” Blunk said.
Before meeting with legislators and their office staff members, participating students will start March 17 with a training session provided by Texas NORML, a Texas chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and The Access Project, a professional group that works to improve health and health care access.
“We’ll learn about how to lobby some of the background of marijuana and needle exchange issues and how to talk to legislators,” Blunk said.
Despite the rigorous training and preparation, Blunk enjoys lobbying with state legislators.
“They are always really open; we’re constituents, so we’re not just saying to them, ‘Hey do this because we want you to.’ They actually tend to listen and really digest what we’re saying.”
Whether providing basic needs for Houston refugees or lobbying about drug issues in Texas, both Kehar and Blunk believe it is the essence of service that inspires them to stay dedicated.
“Living in Houston, it’s my duty to help people who are in need, (that if) I know someone who lives 20 minutes away from me and they don’t have enough food to feed their families while I myself am living comfortably,” Kehar said. “I saw this as kind of a trust that we have upon our shoulders to help take care of the needy of the city.”
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An Exclusive Interview with Ghulam Kehar
Co-founder and President of Al Amaanah
Shabab ul-Haq: When and how did Al Amaanah start?
Ghulam Kehar: Al Amaanah was founded in 2007 by a group of students belonging to Hosna, the Houston Chapter of The AlMaghrib Institute. After attending a seminar entitled “Rizq Management” which dealt with many aspects of Zakah in detail, the brothers and sisters decided to put the knowledge they had received into action. Al Amaanah was initially established with the purpose of providing Muslims living in Houston with a Zakah collection and distribution network but that was quickly modified when we discovered a major problem in our society. We found that majority of the needy Muslims were in fact asylum seekers from war torn Muslim countries all over the world. Those Muslims had been residing in Houston for many years and yet there living conditions were horrible. There was no large-scale organized effort in place, at the time, to assist these people so we decided to take the lead role in putting a system in place.
Shabab: Were there any hardships in starting the organization? What were they and how were they handled?
Kehar: Yes, of course, there were many obstacles in getting Al Amaanah started. However, there were two issues that I would say had the most influence on our initial growth. The first problem was gaining the community’s trust. We were a relatively unknown group of students at the time so many people hesitated to offer us full support. The elders feared that we might turn out to be just another “youth organization that is run by a hyped up bunch of kids who have too much spare time and no clue about the facts of life.” It may sound ridiculous now but that was the reality at the time. Alhamdulilah, with the help of Allah, we stuck together as a team and continually improved and executed our programs making our presence felt along the way. The second major Issue was that of our mentors. Adnan Mirza and Maaz Shah, two amazing brothers from amongst the Muslim community, used to run small-scale food distributions to the Muslim Refugees before Al Amaanah came about. They contributed heavily to the establishment of Al Amaanah and it is safe to say without their experience and dedication, Al Amaanah would have not been where it is today. During the infancy of the organization, these two brothers had some legal issues, which resulted in their imprisonment. That was a big blow to the entire team since everyone looked up to them. We ask Allah to protect and grant patience to them, and their families. Even though that slowed us down for some time, with the help of Allah, we were able to recover and continue with even more commitment and enthusiasm.
Shabab: Why the name “Al Amaanah”? What does it mean?
Kehar: Al Amaanah in the Arabic language literally means “The Trust” or “The Responsibility.” The name is a representation of the responsibility that Allah has placed upon the Muslims of Houston. It is a responsibility to serve the muhajirun or immigrants that come into this city, especially those that are weak and have lost all they had. Essentially, it is a trust to play the role of the Ansaar of this community.
Shabab: What is the purpose of Al Amaanah?
Kehar: The purpose of Al Amaanah is to provide a network of support to refugees so that they may integrate and establish themselves within society.
Shabab: What are the goals for this organization? Who do you cater to?
Kehar: Al Amaanah caters specifically to the refugee population, for now at least. Our goal is to equip these brothers and sisters with the essential skills and tools required not only to survive in this society, but also to succeed with flying colors. Ultimately, our aim is to increase their education and living standard and make them productive members of their communities who will go onto benefit the Ummah at large.
Shabab: What sets Al Amaanah apart from other organizations with similar goals?
Kehar: What sets Al Amaanah apart from other refugee service organizations is our personalized approach to the services we provide. Everyone single individual who is part of Al Amaanah, from the director and managers to the marketing and finance teams are all required to participate in field operations which includes direct interaction with the refugees. Most of the people we assist know us by name and vice versa. This type of special bond gives us an advantage over others. We know how to deal with each individual. They see us as their friends and we see them as our friends who are in need of help. We assist these people while keeping their honor and dignity. Al Amaanah delivers help to those who need it, creates and strengthens relationships and makes it fun for everyone to participate.
Shabab: What type of projects has Al Amaanah been doing?
Kehar: We have been carrying out projects such as food, meat, clothing and furniture pickups and distributions, Zakah services, toy drives, book drives, after school tutoring services for the youth and transport assistance.
Shabab: What resources, if any, does Al Amaanah provide for those who are in need?
Kehar: The Support Services Department provides a range of services to these families. The services include, acting as a liaison between the families and the other refugee agencies, providing monthly allowances, rent and food assistance, job search assistance, Medicare registration, school registration for children, and much more.
Shabab: How do you measure your success? Do you think you’ve been successful thus far?
Kehar: We look at the quality and quantity of our services. How many people we are reaching out to and how much of a difference we are making in their everyday lives. We ask ourselves what the situation would have been if Al Amaanah didn’t exist. Would the lives of these people have been the same? Knowing that we have made, and continue to make, a positive difference in the life of hundreds of families gives us a sense of accomplishment. However the room for improvement is endless. Seeing the smiles on the faces of worried single mothers, orphans, and families in distress is the fuel that keeps us going. We are happy when we make them happy. It gives us a feeling of tranquility, which is unrivaled.
Shabab: What are some of the future projects Al Amaanah hopes to take on?
Kehar: Fulltime ESL Classes for youth and adults, Weekend religious school for children, Big Brother Big Sister Program, Adopt-a-Family program, and Job Placement services are just some of the projects that you can expect to see in the coming months.
Shabab: Are you in need of donations or more helping hands? How can we help Al Amaanah?
Kehar: Many news agencies have reported that in the year 2009 around 12,000 Iraqis are expected to be relocated to the Unites States, a large portion of which will be in Houston. That should give you an idea what we have to prepare for. Yes, we definitely need talented and committed people to join the Al Amaanah team. We are looking for help only from people who are willing and able, not just willing. Because when some one gives a commitment to help, and doesn’t pull through in this type of work, families are affected. We are very strict when in comes to being committed to the work. It’s not like any Islamic knowledge institute or a MSA, where an event goes wrong or what not if someone doesn’t pull through. If one falls short in their commitment to Al Amaanah, families go can go hungry, single mothers can be left without help. There is no way we are willing to take that burden on our shoulders. That’s why we only ask those who are willing and able to offer us their services. Be on the lookout, insha’Allah we are soon going to begin our Marketing campaign and we will be recruiting for many openings within Al Amaanah. For more details about volunteering, please contact our Human Resource Representatives at somar@alamaanah.com or yusuf@alamaanah.com.
