Clothing Appeal a Great Success!

Bismillah

Alhamdulilah, all praise be to God, the clothing appeal for the Syrian refugees abroad was a great success!

An appeal was made by the Letterkenny Islamic Association and Donegal Intercultural Platform for clothes, blankets and other items to help the many millions of Syrians of affected by the untold and unimaginable devastation that has affected their country since 2011.  It’s heartbreaking to think that there are some children there who don’t know a life any different 🙁

There were a number of drop off points around the county and the response from the whole community across Donegal from both non-Muslims and Muslims alike has been truly breathtaking!

As you can see from the pictures below, there was a great amount donated that needed not just one but TWO separate collections from both the Letterkenny Islamic Community Centre and Siopa Pobail in Falcarragh.

The room was FULL!

The room in Letterkenny was FULL!

A full van in Letterkenny

A full van in Letterkenny

Aidan and the volunteers after a loading the van

Aidan and the volunteers after a loading the van

A great collection in Falcarragh

Paul and the others after a great collection in Falcarragh

The items donated were collected by Aidan Crawford of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the north of Ireland.  Aidan has been working closely with the charity Syria Appeal in England and, since his presidency of the St. Vincent de Paul society has come to an end, he has set up a new charity called HeartShip which will continue to help Syrians abroad.  God bless Aidan and all those in his organisation who do this great work and keep them safe from harm in this dangerous area of the world.  Amen.

We plan to do regular clothing appeals since this was such a success to keep your eyes pealed if you’d like to donate in the future!

€1,300 Raised for We Care LK Food Bank Through Successful First Charity Fasting Challenge

Bismillah

Alhamdulilah, all praise be to God, a total of €1,300 was raised for the We Care LK Food Bank!!

Photo Courtesy of Donegal News

Photo Courtesy of Donegal News

The money was raised through a combination of money raised through the Charity Fasting Challenge on Friday the 23rd of June along with money donated by the local Muslim community throughout the month of Ramadan.

During the Charity Fasting Challenge, non-Muslims were invited to fast for one day with Muslims and were invited to break their fast along with the Muslim community at sunset in the Letterkenny Community Centre.  There was food from all over the world and it was a great occasion.

We did it!!

We did it!!

Part of the spread. Delicious!

Part of the spread. Delicious!

A good night's craic!

A good night’s craic!

The money was raised during the month of Ramadan which is one of the most sacred months of the year for Muslims.  During this month, Muslims observe fasting from dawn to dusk for a month.  Whilst fasting, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking (even water), smoking, sexual relations and generally try harder to be a better human being by trying to be more patient and making extra effort to control their temper amongst other things.  A general training of the soul.  This is considered to be part of the tradition of fasting as carried out by Christians and Jews which are considered part of the Abrahamic faiths along with Islam.

Whilst fasting, Muslims feel what it’s like to be truly hungry and appreciate the plight of those who can’t feed themselves or have access to clean water.  This appreciation is supposed to lead to greater donations in charity to those in need.  The local We Care LK Food Bank do great work in supporting those in Letterkenny and across Donegal who need this kind of support regardless of their race, creed or colour.  God bless them for all their hard work.  Amen.

The donation presentation was covered in the Donegal News here.

The Letterkenny Islamic Association are planning to hold this event every year so keep an eye out towards the start of next Ramadan!