Final Reflection for Islamic Relief Women’s Empowerment Trip to Jordan: Touching Down in the U.S
As we said farewell to the beautiful people we met in Jordan, I was flooded with a range of emotions. “What will their future hold? What are the ways we can influence foreign policymakers and affect change on a top-down scale? How do we find the right balance between urgent relief and sustainable longterm projects? How can I hold on to this sense of urgency and not feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people who need assistance?
I was reminded of the story of the boy and the starfish written by Loren Eisley:
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” “Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…” I made a difference for that one.”
Many people have personally messaged me asking how they can get involved with relief work. The first thing you can do is sign up to become an Islamic Relief volunteer and get disaster relief training: (http://irusa.org/disaster-response-team/). These national relief efforts range from providing assistance to those affected by the California wildfires to rebuilding homes destroyed by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Internationally, do not underestimate the power of your dollar. While it doesn’t feel like your money is making a huge difference, believe me, it is. When we spoke to the IR operations manager in Jordan, she told us in Jordan alone, IR sponsors 2,793 orphans and 2,143 are funded by IRUSA. When I spoke to Anaam, a widowed woman who has to take care of 7 children, she said she knows that the IR sponsorship for three of her children will be consistently on time and she depends on it for their ability to attend school and purchase school supplies.
Shaimaa, orphaned at the age of 2, is an excellent artist and recites to us a poem dedicated to her mother that moves all of us to tears. Imagine on the Day of Judgement where you will have the blessed opportunity to meet those that your charity has helped. Imagine Allah being pleased with you that you were able to relieve the suffering of another, provide them with an education, or help a mother sleep at night knowing that she will have enough food to feed her family. Imagine how your good deeds will be multiplied on the day we desperately need them to be because you trusted in Allah’s promise:
إِنَّ الْمُصَّدِّقِينَ وَالْمُصَّدِّقَاتِ وَأَقْرَضُوا اللَّـهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا يُضَاعَفُ لَهُمْ وَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ
Indeed those who give in charity men and women, and lend to Allah a goodly loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit), and theirs shall be an honorable good reward (i.e. Paradise).
We are almost there- please help today: https://www.launchgood.com/…/marwa_aly_for_syrian_women_ref…
