In 2010, a group of brothers from Dewsbury visited Accra, Ghana in Africa. The heart-warming welcome and hospitality from Muslims in Ghana, despite their obvious poverty, created a lasting impression on these brothers who decided they would band together and create something long term to help fellow Muslims in need.
What initially started as a small orphanage project has grown into a wider project to help provide Islamic and secular education for the underprivileged of this Ummah. Under the charity name Needs International the group of brothers raised funds to help build a permanent orphanage which is home to over 50 orphans, and work is on-going to build an Islamic school to help safeguard the deen & provide an education for the girls and boys of the future generations.
When our students heard that the brothers from Needs International were due to fly out to Ghana soon, they were excited to participate in the ‘Letters of Friendship’ project. This involved extending ‘a hand of friendship’ to orphans that they had never met by writing letters of support and unity, and to send a loving message to these children that they were being remembered by other children from across the world. The unexpected ‘snow days’ nearly derailed the project, but nothing could stop our year 8’s determination to see this project complete. Rizwana Apa was immensely touched by the students enthusiasm to put a smile on the faces of others who had very little.
Amongst other things the girls penned notes about themselves, their towns and their everyday lives. They decorated the letters in a variety of ways and also provided gifts to surprise the girls living at the orphanage.
The letters and gifts were received with great joy by the young girls at the orphanage, their joy was evident in the heart warming messages they sent to Madni students through a video message.
