Blanket Drive 1428 (October 2007)

"Any believer who is generous and good-tempered is always protected and guided by God until he enters Heaven"
–Imam Jaffer As-Sadiq [AS]
" A person who fulfills the need of one of our friends is like the one who has fulfilled the need of all of us (the Ahlul-bayt)."
- Imam Musa b. Ja'far al-Kazim [a] Bihar Vol.100, pg.121, sec.2, no.26
 

As the winter months approach, families residing in cold environments prepare themselves by ensuring that there is sufficient warmth in the homes. However, take a moment to consider those whose home is a simple tent, who have been displaced by decades of war in their homeland. Consider the children that do not have warm clothing, or a reliable source of heat, or even a warm bed?

In this Holy Month of Ramadan, we request you to make a difference by purchasing a blanket for the needy and deserving families of Iraq . The Najaf Campaign has set a target of 5000 new blankets to be sent to Iraq in the next month. Inshallah the blankets will help provide some relief to families living in such basic conditions in and around Najaf (photos attached).   
Blankets can be sponsored for $ 10 US/CAN or 5 UK Pounds or 40 UAE Dirhams

A Letter from ANAR HABIB for NAJAF CAMPAIGN

I wanted to share with you first-hand what I saw in visiting the Refugee Camp myself. In Zilhajj, we had an opportunity to visit the camps and deliver food to the families there personally. This is an extremely brief account of what u can see there..

The state of the camps was overwhelming. Families of 5-7 members live in small tents that are as large as the average single bedroom. There are no beds, no electricity, no bathrooms in the tents (a make-shift hole outside the tent), and no furniture. The number of clothes for an entire family was more than we had in one of our suitcases. They all take turns sharing a large out house in order to shower. The only nice thing in the tent were blankets (the blankets that many of you ensured got there during the Najaf Blanket drive).

There are 1000 children who live on this camp, many of whom are orphans. Many of the children ran outside to greet us when we came. Innocent children joyfully shook our hands saying salaam to us and taking turns saying their names. "Isme (my name is) Ali," "Isme Hayder," "Isme Zaynab" and the list of Shia names continued as we looked at these innocent, dust-covered children and babies, some without shoes, many without a sweater (we were wearing winter coats and 2 pairs of socks!), but all with a smile of hope in seeing us there. These are innocent Iraqi children who live less than a 20 minute drive from the Haram of Ameerul Mo'mineen A.S. who desperately need our help.

One mother took us into her tent and asked us to come and see her 11 year old daughter whose face was partially black and disfigured. Her daughter is suffering from cancer and requires an operation which she cannot afford. She pleaded for us to do something to help her daughter. And there were other sick children and other mothers who held on to my abba, pleading "Tabbaan..."

Our goal right now is to sponsor not only the orphans in this camp, but the orphans who live in the slums of Najaf (whose situation is actually more dire and desperate than the orphans in this camp!). It costs $30 a month to sponsor an orphan which allows the orphan to be fed and clothed for a month. Our goal in the next 10 days is to have 250 children sponsored so that as of Feb 1, these children will be fed and clothed. If you are interested in sponsoring a child for a year, please e-mail me directly. We will accept pre-posted cheques or cash. Next year, we will ask if you want to re-new your sponsorship.

One does not need to sponsor a child to contribute and make a difference. Every little bit will help and no amount is too little. There are several other projects to which one can contribute including emergency healthcare cases, a school for these children, and on-going healthcare for these refugees (among others). Please visit our website at najafcampaign.org for more information.

May Allah SWT reward you amply in this world and the Hereafter for your generosity, especially in these dark days of Muharram in memory of the orphans of Imam Husain A.S.

May Allah SWT hasten the reappearance of our 12th Imam ajf.
Anar

UPDATES

Salaamun alaykum,

The following attachment (pdf document) is an update on the progress of the ongoing charitable work conducted by Najaf Campaign. In addition to this report, we have placed Video Highlights of Najaf Campaign projects in Iraq on YouTube as follows:


November 2007 Trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s76y3qJhZcQ

General NC Progress 2008 (Low Resolution): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb20s8t3u2Y

General NC Progress 2008 (High Resolution): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qay5zJq3XlU


We thank you sincerely for your continued support!
Jazak-Allah
The Najaf Campaign Team

DOWNLOAD PPS (Powerpoint file)