I came to know about Ummah Support Initiative, an NGO with Corporate Affairs Registration (CAC/IT/No21447) on social media when I bumped into an advertisement calling for support for their humanitarian services which were mainly focused on orphans and vulnerable children. Without the usual fanfare, this organisation has been providing support to orphans and vulnerable children to gain equal opportunities with other children and live what could be said to be the nearest thing to a normal life. They provide hope, succor and love to these children in the kindest way imaginable.
Their technique is simple. They reach out to individual donors, communities and governments for little contributions with which they finance the education and other needs of the children. Unlike other such organisations that scam the public using such initiatives as a bait, Ummah Support Initiative (USI) have a very transparent method that allows donors to monitor the activities of the organisation and how their donations are applied.
I introduced some friends to the organisation and, Alhamdulillah, they have confirmed to me that some of them have already started sponsoring some orphans at different levels of their educational pursuit. Established in 2006, USI has proudly assisted 6,200 children and still counting. With just N20,000 annually one could pick an orphan for sponsorship through school and USI will arrange a meeting between the donor and the beneficiary. From then on, the donor could monitor the progress of the beneficiary through quarterly reports and physical visitations.
One may also chose a one time off option of paying N3000 examination fees of beneficiary, N6000 to provide English/Maths textbooks for a beneficiary or N2000 to provide exercise books and writing materials for a beneficiary or N5000 to provide malaria treatment for a beneficiary. There is also a one time off option of donating N10,000 to provide a woman beneficiary with empowerment to start a business of her choice.
It’s quite laudable that people could dedicate their time to plan such a beautiful and easy scheme to assist the vulnerable and the less privileged. N20,000 in a year is not such a big deal when put side by side the satisfaction of saving an orphan out of a life of hopelessness and misery. Orphans are the responsibility of the society hence, we should strive to lend a hand in making their lives better.
Of course, people that left behind orphans never planned for life to be so cruel as to interrupt their parenthood and deny their children the comfort of a father and a mother. That, however, is the secondary concern. The primary concern is the reality that our children could be the beneficiaries of a similar scheme organised by other kindhearted people. We shouldn’t keep swimming in a false sense of invincibility while assuming we are immune from the hostilities of life. Let’s lend a hand where we can. The child we help today is not a victim of divine hostility but a test of our humanity.
May Allah SWT increase the management of USI in kindness and strength to raise the organisation to a higher level. Please contribute even if by sharing this post to reach as many as possible.
For further information please contact Danjuma Abdullahi on 09095607810, e-mail: usg35@yahoo.com
USI is also open to suggestions and ideas on how to make their support services more impacting.
Jazakallah