Story:Aishah Baroo
Local resident, Ghazala Aslam, has been an Islamic Relief Volunteer for the past three years.
She has always had an interest in volunteering and has been involved with charitable initiatives at the Hallamshire Hospital and with her work colleagues for Children In Need, before finding out about Islamic Relief.
Islamic Relief is a charitable organisation dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering. They are one of the members of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), alongside other leading charities such as Christian Aid, Oxfam and Save the Children. The charity is not about preaching Islamic beliefs but strongly believes in expressing faith and sincerity through action. Like the other charities, they largely rely on volunteers and donations to secure funds for their work.
Ghazala has been involved with several successful fundraising campaigns with Islamic Relief in Sheffield raising money for poverty-stricken countries and disaster zones.
Events have been held in Burngreave at the Masjid Umar Mosque on Barnsley Road and the Fatimah Centre on Brunswick Road. In the month of Ramadan last year they also launched a #Cakes4Syria Campaign in which they sold 405 cakes, adding £4050 to the fund for Syria. Their volunteers have also shown great dedication and commitment to the cause and Ghazala and others have climbed Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, and participated in a sponsored walk of 55km from Manchester to Penistone to secure funds for Syria.
She spoke highly of her experience with Islamic Relief, saying,
“They are helping people in various situations such as Haiti after the earthquake or more recently in Syria. They are also transparent, and tell people that 10% of the money they use is for running the charity”.
To find out more about Islamic Relief or to get more involved visit