Assalamualaikum
With the blessed month of Ramadan just days away now, we would like to tell you about our latest partner showing Corporate Social Responsibility right in our own backyard. MCCA will be providing us funding to cover some of our operational costs. We will be using this funding to cover the cost of operating one of our four Crisis Accommodation (CA) premises that we operate across Melbourne and Sydney.
Crisis Accommodation was one of the earliest community needs National Zakat Foundation identified in 2013, and we have been operating since 2014, and now operate 3 CAs, with a 4th likely to come into operation by the end of 2018.
Shelter, along with food and clothing, is the most basic and fundamental human right. When a human being is denied anyone of these, let alone all three at once, it can be a severe test of their Emaan. A person can rise in their Emaan facing such a test, or could equally drop in ones Emaan.
Preservation of faith is one of the core objectives of Zakat, both of the payer and receiver. Ensuring a person has shelter, during a vulnerable period of a person life is critical in ensuring the preservation of their faith.
Crisis Accommodation in Numbers
Your Zakat has directly contributed to providing crisis accommodation for 140 families and nearly 200 individuals since 2014. That’s an average of 35 families a year experiencing an housing crisis right here in our backyard. This by the way are just the known cases.
In terms of number of nights, NZF has provided 3528 nights of crisis accommodation in the last 4 years, representing 7% of our total zakat spend of just over $5,000,000.
Cases Studies
We are currently accommodating the Al Faisal* family. This is a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children, 8 and 10 years old), who lost all their belongings, including the family home in a house fire. The local authority provided immediate housing for 4 nights, there after NZF stepped to provide accommodation for the following 10 nights, including cash assistance to replace essential items such as clothes and school uniforms. They have now found a replacement home and will be moving out of crisis accommodation in the next few days.
At the same time in a different city, we are accommodating Mazen*, a 15 year old boy, who has experienced a family breakdown and was living on the streets for 5 days, before he was found. This demographic is particularly vulnerable to falling through the Child Protection System, as they are close to becoming independent, and if assessed as not at risk of harm, may be placed in youth refuge or group home if vacancies exist.
NZF provided crisis accommodation for Mazen and got him off the streets and out immediate danger, arranged a temporary guardian and ensured he was ready for the new school term.
In the meantime we are working with Mazen, his family and social services to put in place a long term plan for Mazen and give him every possible opportunity to go onto to fulfil his potential and a strong member of our community.
Want to know more about our Corporate Social Responsibility Program?
We have a number of initiatives that your organisation can participate in, including:
- Back to School
- Quran Reading
- Food Security
- Dental Health
Contact Munir Abdella, our Community Relations Officer, on munir.abdella@nzf.org.au for more information on any of these programs and how you can participate in them.
Wasalam The NZF Team
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