Orphans in Need Celebrates Childhood

Orphans in Need Celebrates Childhood

Dr. Mozammel Haque

Orphan in Need celebrated Childhood on 26^th April at V&A Museum, London, in aid of orphans and widows. Lord Sheikh and Lady Sheikh are the patrons of the Orphans in Need. The event was attended by members of the House of Lords  and the House of Commons, including Rt. Hon. Rushenara Ali, MP for the Bethnal Green andBow and Rt. Hon. Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West and also Mak Chisty, former Commander of Metropolitan Police.

Lord Sheikh and Lady Sheikh donated

10,000 Pounds to Orphans in Need

At the end of his opening speech, Lord Sheikh and Lady Sheikh donated 10,000 (ten thousand) pounds to the Orphans  in Need. Lord Sheikh said, “In view of the great work of Orphans in Need, Lady Sheikh and I would like to donate the sum of 10 thousand pounds to this marvellous charity. I would ask you to contribute whatever you can and whatever you can afford happily. I cannot ask anyone to do something unless I am able to do it myself. I am pleased to state that HSCB Muslim Network have donated a sum of £60,000 which would be to pay for the distribution of food in Kashmir during Ramadan.”

Mr. Ikhlaq Husain informed that the event was a big success, and your participation and pledges for donation meant a lot to us. He said, “To date, we’ve received pledges of over £300,000 for Widow Food parcels and still counting. Your donation will enable us to provide critical support to our orphans and widows. We truly appreciate your kind support.”

Welcoming Address by

Lord Sheikh

On behalf of Orphans in Need Lord Sheikh warmly welcome the guests and audience at the event. “Both Lady Sheikh and I are proud to be patrons of Orphans in Need, said Lord Sheikh.

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Moral Duty and Responsibility

He also mentioned, “These events mark our responsibility to care for some of the most helpless and vulnerable members of societies around the world. I believe that we have a moral duty to support charities through giving our time and resources wherever possible.”

Muslim and Charities

“Muslims all over the world believe in giving to those less fortunate than themselves.

We are coming up to Ramadan. In the month of Ramadan, our body and mind are thinking of fasting. We also like to help others. Although Muslims donate to charities at all times but during the month of Ramadan, the contributions tend to be large and generous.

UK Muslims gave 100 million pounds to charity

Lord Sheikh mentioned the contribution of UK Muslims to charity. He said, “UK Muslims gave £100 million to charity during Ramadan last year. That's £38 a second.

I made this point in one of my speeches in the House of Lords and the Minister in his reply said that he had to verify this figure by talking to his advisors. I am pleased that the Minister also emphasised this point in his summing up remarks. I think it must be noticed that Muslim charities help and support and also provide aid to Non-Muslims as well as Muslims. There are countries where the Muslims are in a minority but the charities have provided support to everyone.”

Proper Safeguards of Charities

Speaking about the accountability and transparency of charity, Lord Sheikh said, “In regard to all charities, it is imperative that the governance is right and there is accountability and transparency in every aspect of their work. The charities need also to have proper safeguards which must be implemented at all times to ensure that people who are vulnerable and need help are not abused in any way. Anis Musa has assured me that they had adequate safeguards and systems in place to ensure that children and recipients of benefits are at all times treated with respect. There are charities were things are not quite right, but I have looked into the affairs of Orphans in Need and I am satisfied that their governance and systems are right.”

“It is therefore imperative that there are proper checks and balances on all activities and there needs to be adequate supervision of the staff at the sharp end. It is also imperative that the trustees are totally dedicated to the charity and are volunteers. I believe that this is the case with the trustees of Orphans in Need. Today we are here to support Orphans in Need,” mentioned Lord Sheikh.

Orphans in Need and its activities

Speaking about the charity, Orphans in Need and its activities, Lord Sheikh said, “Orphans in Need is a charity that is dedicated to improving and empowering the lives of vulnerable orphans and widows. It is a UK-based charity, but they operate throughout the world supporting over 24,000 orphans and numerous widows in fourteen countries. These countries include: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Gambia, India, Kenya, Mali, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sri Lanka. The organisation supports children all over the world. They provide housing, healthcare, food, clothing and a stable lifestyle for orphans. The organisation supports children all over the world. They provide housing, healthcare, food, clothing and a stable lifestyle for orphans.”

The Philosophy of Orphans in Need

Speaking about the philosophy of Orphans in Need, Lord Sheikh mentioned, “The philosophy of Orphans in Need can be summarised under the following headings:

*Orphans need to have suitable accommodation

*Each child is clothed, educated to the highest standards and fed healthy nutritious meals.

*Each child’s health needs to be looked after and medical care would be provided.

*Orphans in Need also gives food parcels for widows and orphans.

These food parcels are their lifeline and some families rely on the food parcels for their survival.” 

Importance of Orphans in Islam

Speaking about the importance of looking after and taking care of Orphans in the religion of Islam, Lord Sheikh mentioned the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him);. He said, “The provision of support to orphans is very important to me as my own religion of Islam places a great deal on helping orphans. Muslims feel a special affinity with orphans for the simple reason that Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, was an orphan. It was reported that the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, once held up his forefinger and middle finger and pressed them close together like this.”

“He said that anyone who cares for an orphan will be with me in Paradise like this. I have always been struck by this saying of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, as narrated by Abu Hurairah: “Whoever caresses the head of an orphan (in affection) solely for the sake of Allah, a good deed will be written to his account for every hair over which he passed his hand”. The lesson that Muslims have taken from this is that to help an orphan is to choose companionship of the Prophet himself,” mentioned Lord Sheikh

Worldwide orphans estimated to be 153 million

Lord Sheikh also mentioned that the number of orphans’ worldwide is estimated to be 153 million. I would like to emphasise, whilst we cannot help all the orphans in the world, Orphans in Need makes a huge difference in the life of every child they help.”

Lord Sheikh visited Orphans in

Need orphan village in Delhi

In 2018 Lord Sheikh was invited by the Indian Government to attend a conference in India. Lord Sheikh visited the Orphans in Need orphan village near Delhi. About this orphan village, Lord Sheikh mentioned, “In the village, twenty-two houses have been built. Each house accommodates twelve orphans and a widow. When I arrived at the village, there was a number of widows who had gathered to obtain food parcels. I saw that each widow was given a bag containing rice, flour and mixed cereals. I was asked to hand over the food parcels and spoke to the women who were widowed and had children. These women were a mixture of Muslims and non-Muslims. I could see that they were happy to receive the food parcels as it could sustain their family. This is the impact that Orphans in Need has.”

The work of Orphans in Need in Pakistan

Lord Sheikh then mentioned about the work Orphans in Need undertake in Pakistan. He said, “In Pakistan, Orphans In Need has recently built high quality orphanage in Islamabad, which is 5 story building for orphan girls where 26 girls are now being provided with accommodation, food, education, health and holistic care. 24 more girls will be admitted to this orphanage by the end of this year. I have not myself seen the orphanage, but I have seen a picture. Orphans in Need also support two other orphanages which are managed by a partnering organisations in Pakistan. In addition of course, they provide monthly food parcels to widows in underprivileged areas. There are numerous cases where Orphans in Need have made a colossal difference in the lives of Orphans.”

Three Muslim issues Lord

Sheikh talked about

As a British politician who is active in the House of Lords, Lord Sheikh spoke briefly  about three Muslim issues; these are a) Prevent Strategy need to be reviewed; b) Definition of Islamophobia and c) Establish a National War Memorial for Muslim Soldiers and labourers.

a) Prevent Strategy needs to be reviewed

Lord Sheikh said, “I have very strongly argued that the Prevent strategy needs to be reviewed and I am very glad that this will now be undertaken by the Government. I have however tabled a question in the House of Lords to ensure that the review will be independent, credible and will have trust of all key stakeholders.”

b) Definition of Islamophobia

Lord Sheikh said, “The second point I wish to refer to is that I tabled and led a debate in the House of Lords on the subject of Islamophobia and made several points. I emphasised that the definition of Islamophobia must be accepted by the Government if we are to make a meaningful change and the Minister, Lord Bourne, responded that he is “always open to dialogue”. We therefore need to keep this issue alive and pursue the matter.”

c) Establish a National War Memorial

for Muslim Soldiers and Labourers

Lord Sheikh said, “The third point is that I have held events in the House of Lords and spoken about Muslim soldiers and labourers who fought in the First World War. There were over 2.5 million Muslim soldiers and labourers who fought in the First World War which is not well-known or appreciated. Therefore, in the House of Lords I said that we should establish a National War Memorial for Muslim soldiers and labourers for their contributions during the First World War. The Government will support this idea, but we are seeking support from the Muslim community and I will request that the community do back this idea. I hope that you can support this initiative. If anyone would like to know about our plan, then please speak to me or Mak Chishty who is on our table.”

  

Lord Sheikh and Lady Sheikh

Donated 10,000 Pounds to Orphans in Need

Lord Sheikh said, “In view of the great work of Orphans in Need, Lady Sheikh and I would like to donate the sum of 10 thousand pounds to this marvellous charity. I would request Mr Anis Musa and Mr Ikhlaq Hussain to come forward as Lady Sheikh and I would like to present them with a cheque. I am pleased to state that HSCB Muslim Network have donated a sum of £60,000 which would be to pay for the distribution of food in Kashmir during Ramadan.”

After the opening speech of Lord Sheikh, Rt. Hon. Rushenara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow and Rt. Hon. Naz Shah, MP also spoke on this occasion.