Latest / After Maghrib 🌙 / Ramadan Overload: The flood of charity appeals

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Ramadan Overload: The flood of charity appeals · After Maghrib 🌙

• 0:00
  Bismillahirrahmanirrahim summer, I didn't call him in a hotel
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  lobby and sisters. Welcome back to the aftermarket
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  podcast. Hope your shyamalan's going
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  good. Of course we've obviously had a
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  number of days now hopefully to get into the rhythm of things
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  and amongst all the craziness and the blessings of this holy
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  month, as always questions, and requests and conversations
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  surrounding charity, and that's really something wanted to get
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  into today. And obviously it's a very close
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  discussion to a heart. But there's something closer to
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  me today and I said, I'll do it. Alaikum, salaam, we haven't been
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  this close and no, no clothes and clothes and body as well as
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  every year. We try to improve our
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  spirituality but Sean like, you know, this year.
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  Let's give more in the world in terms of Charity?
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  Yes, yeah. Something we all need to work
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  on. Absolutely.
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  Absolutely. Obviously guys, this is a big
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  discussion so we need a good team with us and handling.
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  Today we've got that. We've got brother Salim custom
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  some alikum, walaikum, Salam but I didn't bro.
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  Nice to see you and system. I'm Haley, making a reappearance
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  on optimal how it is. Now, as have you guys back home,
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  this is obviously a huge conversation where she starts
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  it. That's a big question.
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  What's on your minds, me? Yeah, when you think about, for
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  example, you know, we spoke about, we want to improve
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  giving. Yeah.
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  Is the month of Allah, the month of giving.
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  What's the first thing that comes in?
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  There was an interesting one, obviously Salim and Mom, you
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  guys are from the Zahra, trust, and the work that there are the
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  Charities doing this month is phenomenal, you know, across the
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  board and that's maybe something, which we can use as
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  examples, but I think a lot of people want to ask the question,
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  firstly, why is there such like a focus now in Ranma?
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  Allah is it is it capitalizing on people's spirituality and
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  their softheartedness? Are you kind of taking advantage
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  in that sense when, you know, people are feeling spiritual and
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  joyous or high time? Yes.
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  Thank season is a month of giving at the end of the day,
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  and it's in the moments when were fasting where we can really
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  think about people who are, you know, from vulnerable families,
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  people who are underprivileged, who don't have what we have, one
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  of we think about the time, it can't want the time comes for us
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  to break our fast. We know that there's going to be
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  a play at the end of the You know, and I'll table there's
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  going to be drink for us to break off us with, but their
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  families who don't have anything at all.
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  And that's really where you start to think about people who
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  are less fortunate than you. And that's when you do want to
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  give back. So, it's not so much.
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  A like you said, capitalizing on people's emotions during the
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  month, but it's a blessed month of why not given a month, where
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  your rewards are multiplied. Mmm, I think also like when you
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  look at to put it another way, you could say the Moscow
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  capitalizing on people wanting to be more spiritual I wanted.
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  Yeah, it's not that it's more a case of in the month of Ramadan.
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  Like you know, we're more spiritually inclined.
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  We try to be the best versions of ourselves and I think charity
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  is a big part of that. I mean, we have traditions in
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  Islam. Don't need to kind of number
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  them all but like, you know, giving is a big part of being
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  Muslim. Yeah.
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  And so it's almost like we've kind of reaffirming and maybe
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  it's the time. When some people only given that
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  in that period, like with fasting, you know, we've we have
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  to faster Only month and we were having a conversation before.
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  I'm not going to name names, but some people here mentioned, you
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  know, we don't fast as much. I feel about myself by the way,
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  not not any other one, and it's almost like the month is an
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  invitation to do good, and to be the best version of yourself.
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  So let's make the most of that. Hmm, you know what, I'm on being
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  the month of giving. And, you know, every year We
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  always want to as I said, a bit earlier, we want to improve our
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  spirituality but how can we say, for example, outside of Ramadan?
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  How can we be inclined towards giving more like you know you
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  working as hard trust? You've had a lot of experience
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  working there. What why is it definitely
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  Ramadan and outside the crime of on what changes are such as
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  Muslims to give more Ramadan and how can we you know change the
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  way that we donate or give towards charity continue outside
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  of the holy month? You know, I think From personal
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  experience, I Madonna spiritual and we feel a bit more Sunset, a
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  more humble more, you know, you know, you know what it is.
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  I think generally attitudes towards charity are interesting
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  and I'll give you my own personal experience.
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  Okay. So, ten years ago, I went far by
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  in, for I think one of the first times, maybe a little bit more
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  than 10 years ago, and we actually stayed with the Zohar
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  trust. This is well before I work
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  there, anything like that. And I remember checkmarks with
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  me on give a talk, you know, about the work that there's a
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  trust does and it's still early days.
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  And at the end people will have you want to make donations to
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  the trust and I remember whoever was taking the donations, they
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  were like, okay, what do you want this for?
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  Is it for Orphans in for widows, and for Education?
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  What's it about? And I promise you, I turn to
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  someone next to me and I was like, you know, this is all
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  Showmanship like it's just going to go into a pot and know just
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  do what they want with it. But they want us to feel like
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  it's going to snow and then possible would like what 10 12
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  years. I'm not working the organization
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  under Le and we have a project team.
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  We have a program team and their role is to make sure That if
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  someone has given money for Education, it has to go towards
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  education. And I think people we kind of
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  almost overlooked because in Islam, obviously it tells us to
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  give charity, to be charitable. We have these Charities that do
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  that. But I don't think people really
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  understand and appreciate how much work goes into that.
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  I just look at it, like, oh, people are trying to capitalize
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  organization, I don't know. Like, what's your experience,
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  been because you've obviously engaged with the trust before,
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  like when you're producing shows and things like that.
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  How have you found it? So I think my first introduction
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  to those are her trust was a couple of years ago.
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  We were doing live fundraising shows as you were in on those
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  shows as well, didn't have that much knowledge or experience
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  like working with Charities, this close.
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  But what was really phenomenal? Was actually seeing the work
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  firsthand actually being delivered.
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  So for example, the Waterworld Waterworld was a big thing,
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  couple of years ago. And people were like raising
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  funds for water wells and I thought, well why not?
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  Let me put it on social media. Dia me and my sisters together.
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  We're like let's do a fundraiser will start raising money for
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  water wells we did and I thought okay well the money is going to
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  charity now they'll do whatever they want with it and that was
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  that never thought back. Like you said fast forward.
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  Again, a couple of months. I receive an email and it has a
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  video of the water wall that was built with my family name
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  underneath. And I was like, wow, this thing,
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  it's not ideal but the fact that it was then delivered to my
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  inbox and I saw it actually, you know, come to fruition.
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  I was like, oh, you know, wow, this is amazing.
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  And I only wanted it only made me more inclined to donate
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  father to charity, that I know actually my money and delivered
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  on what they said they will deliver on.
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  Yeah, you know, such a had the same It's that year.
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  So I was I was helping with the fundraising back then and
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  someone close to me a member of my family did the same things
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  they donated towards the water. Well completely forgot about a
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  couple of months later. You get a video that
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  interviewing the people who have benefiting, you know, people are
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  using the water walls for will law.
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  They using imagine every time someone donates towards a water.
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  Well and then their people are doing will do with that water.
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  Every time they praise Allah, your stretch, your area is
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  crazy. Honestly, subhanallah and I
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  think, to be honest, when we're raising this question about
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  that, And stuff like that. It's mainly to I think address
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  concerns or questions that the community have all right because
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  obviously you shall move on. You know we have handle up many
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  she our Charities many, she our channels talking about different
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  charities and then outside of that and that's just in the UK
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  but obviously imagine worldwide. There's an abundance.
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  Okay, so I think maybe people will ask that question.
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  Well, firstly, why do we have so many Charities?
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  Okay, because there's so much Choice.
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  Why can't these Charities come together and address the
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  problems in one pot with one effort, you know, non
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  politicized and a non partisan effort to address poverty and
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  whatever it might be. And why Can't We join forces?
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  Because obviously, that's something which which people
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  have asked. You know, we see the channel
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  channels this year, we see different charities raising on
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  different channels and people also ask questions, what would
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  you kind of? So there are so many Charities
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  and they're all doing wonderful things, but I feel like every
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  charity focuses, maybe on a particular aspect or is better
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  at doing one thing. Another.
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  So it's not a case of like, you know, it's either one or one
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  against another, it's more about, well, what are you
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  passionate? What caused a you passionate
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  about and can that charity of your choice deliver on that
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  passion that you have towards a particular?
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  Cause I think there's even like you have local charities in the
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  UK. For example that cater very much
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  specifically for the needs of the people here.
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  Yeah then you have international Charities.
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  I will focus on particular countries or areas and things
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  like that and I think it's it's more.
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  Or a case of one appeal or what is that appeals to you as an
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  individual. And I mean, just out of interest
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  for you guys. Like, what are the, what are the
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  kind of clothes? Is because I know for myself,
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  like again, before being involved in the charity sector,
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  I know there are certain things that whenever I'd see that, I'll
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  be okay, I have to give it all ya.
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  What is it for you after Isis? Last relief to me.
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  Emergency emergency disaster. Emergency, disaster relief.
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  Okay. But then how do you pick the
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  charity that you give to us? The question recharge?
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  But I mean question I'm asking. So I mean the first Is that you
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  know, this podcast will not only have we not all Charities, not
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  all Charities, respond, firstly and respond quickly, that's the
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  second thing. So I think that's immediately
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  filters out a number of Charities and usually in the
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  aftermath of a disaster, you're talking about like the Tokyo
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  earthquake that happened a few weeks ago and bombings and
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  obviously the attacks, for example, on the Hazard Community
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  and Afghanistan, things like that, you want to find something
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  immediately because you're drawn, you know, to that and you
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  also help the most. Yeah, like at least Two or three
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  days after. And, at least for me, I've and
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  I'm not just saying this because you guys are here, but I've
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  always seen said t as like the first respond.
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  That's me. At least I know we're turkey.
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  That was a big thing. But yeah, in terms of how to
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  pick, I don't really know. I think its credibility that you
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  develop over a number of years with a particular charity.
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  That then helps you make that decision easier.
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  Because we were having a conversation about this earlier.
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  We were saying that when it comes to charitable
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  organizations, you almost have to have some sort of affiliation
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  with Either someone or something ization is because it's a matter
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  of trust thing and once you know someone you can trust them.
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  Then you know, that, you know, your funds are safe in their
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  hands. Basically.
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  I think that that plays a massive role as that Patricia
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  you guys. So I said it's going to ask does
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  that put pressure on you guys as representatives of the charity
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  that if you think, if you know that credibility comes when
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  people know you and trust, you does that not put pressure on
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  you and your personal lives. Like, I have to wrap this
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  charity. Everywhere, I go, I wouldn't say
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  pressure, but that there is Ways that thing like people have
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  questions like they know about the turtle, for example, even
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  when they talk about a little bit TV or whatever, it is, any
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  organization, if you're on the screen, if you've been involved
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  in any capacity, they're going to ask questions and you're seen
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  as like the, the spoke how's the channel doing?
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  Yeah. I think like any organization,
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  any business is tied down to That's true, but I think like
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  talking about like disaster relief again, I'm a big cynic,
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  and I think every example like it will just show how cynical I
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  was, I would always see, for example, there's a hard trust at
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  the Forefront like the first charity to respond and I was,
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  how do these guys like, it's impossible, how can they, you
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  know, be be at a straight away but then take the the Syria and
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  turkey earthquake. So, again, now being on the
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  inside, we get to see what happens.
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  So, within 24 hours, we deployed a rapid needs assessment team
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  with two, doctors who went out Ow.
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  Wow. That's 12.
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  Doctors 12 on day, one, doctors doctors and the footage that was
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  coming through as well. That was filtering on a group.
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  It was within, like, 24 hours, we have these doctors
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  volunteers. By the way they are, there were
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  volunteers on people. And by the way, we were the
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  first, I have to mention, were the first, she a charity to
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  respond. And that's a, that's a massive
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  thing. Yeah, of course, of course.
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  But like, what I was saying is that, I think, you know,
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  sometimes it's because within within charity, it's very easy.
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  I'm, as I said, I'm a skeptic. All right, so, even like, when
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  we're like, oh, we're doing this.
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  I'm like, okay, we really, and they're like it within five
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  hours, there's pictures, and there's reports.
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  And there's all this. Well, that's the beauty of
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  technology in the, the world we live in now.
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  Yeah, you can see the effects of where your money is going.
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  As beautiful. You know, nothing else.
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  Actually interesting. This time around was Herring,
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  the reaction of our team on the ground to the response because
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  that's not something that you ever get to kind of feel, you
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  see the pictures and you see the work being done.
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  You know that aids has been delivered in your like, okay.
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  And I kind of job done. Got the money, got the funds,
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  and we delivered, but it's there for that, like their passion and
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  their like, their servitude and oil and they were telling us
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  about how for example, taking photos of the scene.
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  It was scaring some of the victims of the earthquake
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  because it was kind of giving them flashbacks of what was
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  going on around me ride, you can imagine the darkness and then
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  like a flashlight of a photo. And just that the feeling that
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  they felt when they saw people's reaction to that, and people
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  like fleeing and running away and and just for them to
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  describe that. Really like hit home and it made
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  us actually like visualize what it is.
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  That actually you, they're putting their lives at risk like
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  when they're going on there, when they're at the Forefront
• 13:44
  trying to represent the organization and deliver Aid.
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  That's another thing that goes missed all the time and I think
• 13:50
  like I always so when I've been to Iraq a few times with the
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  trust, the last couple of years and we always try and take
• 13:57
  families donors, anyone that's there I'm like come out let's
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  let's deliver some Aid together because when you actually
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  experience it firsthand like I remember one time We were doing
• 14:06
  some filming for some, some marketing work and I was trying
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  to make sure that we have the right angles and you know, we've
• 14:12
  got the right shot and this and that and I remember would it was
• 14:15
  winter time. So it was very cold and we did
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  it with some rugs and like water heaters and an actual physical
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  heaters as well. And I remember when we left
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  like, the woman said, Thank you. And she was speaking in Arabic.
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  I couldn't understand much of what she was saying, but that
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  for me, that, that moment where we kind of lucked out and said,
• 14:33
  thank you that she was so genuine.
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  So Thankful. And it kind of just made me
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  realize that actually forget the filming, like we're actually
• 14:41
  helping somebody and it makes it so much more real.
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  And I think the, the fundamental issue in my head for people here
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  is that when they give money to the charity, that's the end of
• 14:50
  the process. Yeah, but that's the beginning
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  for us. When you work within the sector
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  that's like, okay, fine now we've got the funds now we have
• 14:56
  that Duty or fulfilling it and it's yeah, I think if people
• 15:00
  have the opportunity whether it's locally or internationally
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  to volunteer or get involved with a chair, Charity and like
• 15:06
  be a part of delivering Aid and and being face-to-face with
• 15:10
  beneficiaries. You you can't look at charity
• 15:13
  the same ever again. Hmm.
• 15:15
  You know before you start as a team before you went and let's
• 15:18
  say you went on the ground and you saw the amazing work that
• 15:21
  you guys do. Did you ever question where that
• 15:24
  money is going? I'm just, I'm just wondering in
• 15:26
  what way, for example. Let's say I've donated something
• 15:29
  towards Let me give the example of Orphans or widows.
• 15:34
  You are collecting. For example, you are marketing,
• 15:36
  you advocating for Zara trust but you actually never there but
• 15:39
  when you want on the ground, how did that make you feel to
• 15:41
  actually see that money? Impacting directly, those people
• 15:44
  that need the most? Like I said, I think it's what I
• 15:48
  think is important for people to hit, ya know.
• 15:50
  It's, it's, it's night and day. Like you can't not only see the
• 15:54
  first, the first few months, I went out.
• 15:57
  I think after three months of working at the trust and it
• 15:59
  feels like a desk. It was like any other job, like
• 16:02
  you're sitting there, okay? You have your analytics, you
• 16:04
  have your fundraising, you have your marketing and I thought
• 16:07
  about in marketing. So make sure the emails go out,
• 16:09
  okay? Make sure the links are all in
• 16:11
  order and it looks like guys have amazing marketing, but
• 16:15
  constantly bombarded, but no. So that was that was, that was
• 16:21
  it, right? And then as soon as you hit the
• 16:23
  ground and even like, for example, being at the mall kid
• 16:27
  so you know, during our by n, we have we have desire to smoke a
• 16:30
  bowl for 70. Most I think westerns were
• 16:32
  pretty much stopped at their amazing.
• 16:34
  I've been there many times Amazing place on the
• 16:37
  hospitality. Yeah, we tried but even being
• 16:41
  there and the last couple years I've been fortunate enough to
• 16:44
  spend like a week there. It's it's just the pictures.
• 16:49
  Don't do it justice and it's like our brain itself and I know
• 16:51
  you guys are spoken about on the podcast but like you can't you
• 16:54
  know, for people that have never been fired by in, you can't
• 16:57
  describe it to them, to make it make sense.
• 16:59
  Hmm, it's the same. With this like working serving
• 17:03
  at the at the Mochi volunteering you know helping distribute Aid.
• 17:07
  Like you can't I can't put into it I can't do it justice so I
• 17:11
  can't keep you like a concrete answer, but it's something
• 17:14
  people have to experience. You know, when you, when you
• 17:16
  think about the the industry at large, whether you were talking
• 17:18
  about non Muslim Charities, or even on share Charities or even
• 17:22
  within our own Community, there's a lot of governance that
• 17:24
  comes with your industry and a lot of compliance issues and
• 17:28
  things to take into consideration over the last.
• 17:30
  For 10 years, they've been numerous scandals for a, like a
• 17:34
  number of Charities, which have been wrongfully taking people's
• 17:38
  money for themselves. Okay, obviously the charity
• 17:41
  commission, the government and various bodies, do the sort of
• 17:46
  compliance, and they do do the scrutiny on Charities, to avoid
• 17:50
  the risk of corruption and, and Miss allocation of funds.
• 17:54
  Internally. Firstly, how would you respond
• 17:57
  to someone? Because, obviously, in this
• 17:59
  month, like I said, people He said, I'll being bombarded with
• 18:02
  Charity like nudges online brought.
• 18:06
  What's that forwards and broadcasts live appeals on TV
• 18:10
  sponsored ads on YouTube? Like, everywhere you go, you
• 18:13
  see, Chad give us money. Give us.
• 18:15
  So for you guys, how would you respond to someone who says
• 18:19
  these Charities are taking our money for their own pocket?
• 18:21
  This is a payout season for them, it's about bonuses of
• 18:25
  paychecks and admin fees and stuff like that.
• 18:27
  Because obviously, I'll be very honest.
• 18:28
  I've been in conversations in the last few years.
• 18:30
  Where people say, you know, you're seeing having tea with a
• 18:33
  group of people, and they'll start saying, or do you know
• 18:35
  this charity takes this much money from you and that child to
• 18:38
  takes less. So give to these guys because
• 18:39
  they charge less. Just what I mean, I think
• 18:42
  obviously it's a difficult conversation to have.
• 18:44
  But how do you approach that internally and how to respond to
• 18:47
  people? I'd say, can you please read the
• 18:49
  72 page annual report that we just finished making because it
• 18:53
  literally sheds light on all the different projects that we have.
• 18:56
  It's impossible. Absolutely impossible for us to
• 19:00
  be able. To deliver all these projects
• 19:02
  and there are so many projects that we deliver on.
• 19:04
  If we were taking people's money in so that everything is on
• 19:08
  territory commissioner website. So you can actually go on there
• 19:10
  and you'll see how transparent the funds are in terms of
• 19:12
  expenditure in terms of income and what's coming in, what's
• 19:15
  going out. So it's not a secret, it's
• 19:17
  something that is visibly there that you can see for yourself
• 19:20
  but I think also like the the charity commission regulation
• 19:23
  everything else. That's the that's not the gold
• 19:27
  standard of compliance. That's like the bare.
• 19:30
  Um yeah. And that's an honest lummox ton
• 19:32
  of combat, exactly right mother and all of that.
• 19:35
  So we we have our own internal processes to make sure that
• 19:39
  spending you know we have a whole like purchase order form
• 19:41
  system for spending so that you can't just I can't just buy
• 19:44
  something. So you guys need to pay me
• 19:46
  because I did this, I have to get it approved to be justified.
• 19:49
  It has everything I had Justified.
• 19:51
  And I think that, I mean, you know, we're here to kind of talk
• 19:54
  about all these things. Marketing is another thing,
• 19:56
  right? Yeah.
• 19:57
  There has to be budgets for things like marketing of course.
• 20:00
  And I That's something that people need to appreciate that,
• 20:04
  you know, if we're talking about aiding as many people as
• 20:06
  possible you need to be able to even if reach everyone.
• 20:09
  Yeah, it's paying for MailChimp or ads on Facebook or whatever
• 20:12
  it might be. But I think that then comes down
• 20:15
  to like finding that middle ground.
• 20:17
  Yeah. Because you know, there are some
• 20:18
  Charities for example that spend crazy amounts of marketing and
• 20:21
  the percentage of money that reaches beneficiaries is quite
• 20:23
  minimal. Now they grow at a rapid scale
• 20:27
  but then how many people are benefiting about it, I don't
• 20:30
  know, maybe the wrong ones that have more legs.
• 20:32
  So it's that's like a whole thing that, you know, you have
• 20:34
  to figure out, but this stuff is important.
• 20:38
  Have you worked with other Charities.
• 20:40
  I've not worked inside another charity, but I'm work alongside
• 20:44
  other Charities. Okay.
• 20:45
  That makes sense. Why?
• 20:46
  Well, I do have a follow-up question.
• 20:47
  I just wanted to say that's perfect.
• 20:49
  Thank you very much, interesting.
• 20:52
  Okay, cool, others. Number of, kind of like a couple
• 20:55
  of misconceptions on the throw you guys about the industry at
• 20:57
  lunch, okay? The first one is about Out
• 21:00
  Scholars. Okay, and my larger and stuff
• 21:03
  like that. Why should I give to an
• 21:05
  independent private charity? Well, I can get directly to a
• 21:07
  scholar, who's got his own charity or give for example,
• 21:10
  myself apart. And that can be distributed
• 21:11
  according me. It was a very nice, a fair
• 21:14
  enough question. The thing is, you have to also
• 21:17
  remember that not every single person necessarily wants to give
• 21:21
  their money just got like there are a lot of people who are not,
• 21:23
  you know, who are also miss trusting of Scholars.
• 21:25
  Yeah. So you know there's something
• 21:26
  for everyone really when it comes to charity with regards to
• 21:31
  like why not. Like if you are someone who
• 21:34
  doesn't mind giving your money to a scholar, it's again, it's,
• 21:37
  it comes down to the passion you have for the cause and would
• 21:40
  that scholar be able to deliver on that?
• 21:42
  Really cause that you're interested in because you
• 21:44
  mentioned earlier that for you, for example, its emergency
• 21:46
  response. That might not be something that
• 21:48
  a scholar might be able to deliver own, right, because it's
• 21:51
  that's something that's quite, you know, critical.
• 21:53
  And they might be able to feed orphans and widows, for example.
• 21:55
  And if that's where your passion lies and that's where the cause
• 21:57
  that you want to have fun and then so be it.
• 21:59
  So really, it's really important to understand what the actual
• 22:03
  donor is wanting from this journey of donation.
• 22:06
  I think I've also like so I've been to centers and talked about
• 22:11
  charity. And in a lot of centers because
• 22:15
  their fundraising, for their own mosque or whatever else often
• 22:18
  that I okay. You can speak but you can't fund
• 22:21
  raise, okay? And that's so you would think,
• 22:24
  okay? How did you do that, right?
• 22:25
  It's very difficult. No, it's very easy.
• 22:28
  It's very straightforward because what you do is you talk
• 22:30
  about the projects that we're doing.
• 22:32
  And and my my ask other thing I say at the end is look, I'm not
• 22:35
  here to fundraise for the die-hard trust obviously would
• 22:37
  welcome your donations from not gonna say no to that but
• 22:41
  fundamentally I think the Potent thing is that people remember
• 22:44
  that there is a lot of need in the world.
• 22:46
  And whether you give to there's a whole class or any other
• 22:49
  charity, just be mindful of our brothers and sisters around the
• 22:52
  world and give. Yeah, I think for me, you know,
• 22:55
  if that refers to the fact that I feel comfortable with okay,
• 22:57
  give that if it's another chart to give to the other charity but
• 23:01
  you know again coming back to this whole like monopolization
• 23:05
  and competition between Charities, fundamentally as long
• 23:09
  as Charities are run one and are doing good work.
• 23:12
  I just want people to Give to charity.
• 23:13
  I think that's the main thing that matters.
• 23:15
  I'm glad you made that point actually because when you look
• 23:17
  at like the needs assessment and various parts of the world,
• 23:20
  whether it's like war-torn zones or you know, regions of conflict
• 23:23
  oil or natural disasters, the need is so high that no child.
• 23:28
  No one charity alone can actually meet those needs.
• 23:31
  Yeah and and and the approaches are very different from each
• 23:35
  other. To some people have like
• 23:37
  microfinance projects. For example, some people deal on
• 23:40
  deal with short terms of food and water.
• 23:42
  Water and emergency medical type stuff.
• 23:45
  Others work on longer term, housing, education
• 23:49
  sustainability. Yes, it's a long-term
• 23:51
  sustainability. I think, you know, just from my
• 23:54
  own experience of the first like we tried to kind of do a bit of
• 23:58
  everything because you can't have, there's no point kind of
• 24:02
  doing a longer term stuff. If people are malnourished and
• 24:06
  people can't afford to send their kids to get an education,
• 24:10
  there's no point, building is amazing schools and having that
• 24:12
  information Structure. But at the same time, we don't
• 24:15
  want to be handing out food Parcels, you know, till the day
• 24:19
  of judgment, we want to try and get people out of those cycle
• 24:24
  out, the cycle of poverty. And I think also that there's
• 24:26
  always a question around local charities versus International.
• 24:31
  And I think one of the things to bear in mind, if you look at the
• 24:33
  UK, for example, the UK system is not perfect by any means,
• 24:37
  there are obviously Charities like like software and hand on
• 24:40
  heart that deal with local issue.
• 24:42
  Shoes. But I would I would argue that
• 24:46
  generally speaking the the infrastructure in the developing
• 24:50
  world needs development essentially, like it's nowhere
• 24:55
  near the level that we have here.
• 24:56
  So while we haven't NHS, for example, there isn't that
• 24:59
  medical support a broad. So in the countries that we
• 25:02
  operate, they have nobody, they have no money, you know, we're
• 25:06
  talking about a lot of female red households in societies
• 25:10
  where women cannot work It's a lot more difficult for women to
• 25:14
  work so they have no means of getting a livelihood.
• 25:17
  Yeah, I was in the UK. We don't have that problem for
• 25:19
  foggy Misty. I'm not saying it's any easier
• 25:21
  here than it is there but just so we have some sort of
• 25:24
  government help to step in. Exactly.
• 25:25
  There is, there is an infrastructure here and again,
• 25:27
  it's not perfect and people do struggle.
• 25:29
  I'm not trying to belittle the struggle here, but in some of
• 25:33
  the places we operate. I mean, you know the the Syria
• 25:36
  and turkey earthquake. The reason why all those
• 25:39
  buildings fell was because they weren't didn't have good.
• 25:42
  Structures are the foundation for a week because there's no
• 25:45
  regulation around that all people were cutting Corners,
• 25:47
  right? And and that's something that
• 25:49
  find we do have here like with grenfell for example.
• 25:52
  But I would say to a lesser extent I think you know that you
• 25:54
  remember the whole cutting situation but more often than
• 25:58
  not things are built well here and we don't have those kinds of
• 26:02
  we are the end of they were part of a global community and we
• 26:05
  have a responsibility to help our brothers and sisters
• 26:09
  wherever they are. Whether it's a local leader,
• 26:10
  whether it's an international lead.
• 26:12
  Like We have to like take some sort of, you know, humanitarian
• 26:16
  responsibility. You see what issues are rising
• 26:19
  around the world. We have to be mindful of what's
• 26:21
  going on around the world. Yeah.
• 26:23
  Because obviously at the end of the day, we know about the
• 26:25
  importance of Neighbors in this slum, the local responsibility
• 26:28
  but also we know Allah Mohammed Salah everyone.
• 26:30
  It's Adam says that the one who does not wake up in the morning
• 26:33
  and is concerned about the state of the almost not from us.
• 26:35
  So there's a responsibility on us on both ends.
• 26:38
  The kind of locally and internationally said, I want to
• 26:40
  ask you this obviously this. Reminds us reminds me of
• 26:44
  conversation. We had a couple of weeks ago,
• 26:45
  about kind of the cost of living Christ is here.
• 26:48
  And it's like the issues people are going through.
• 26:52
  How do you feel about that? Because obviously people are
• 26:53
  struggling right now. And obviously, we're having this
• 26:56
  conversation. Now, I think the fact people are
• 26:58
  struggling, I think it's a good thing, because we can solve
• 27:01
  relate to the struggles that happening around the world.
• 27:04
  Yeah. And if we feel like we can't
• 27:06
  make ends meet. Yeah.
• 27:07
  We are. We are, you know, getting a
• 27:09
  taste of what people's daily reality is like ice.
• 27:13
  A very small taste that it does because if I was love a roof
• 27:16
  over our head, whereas many dogs, we still have food.
• 27:19
  Yeah. And I think just before the
• 27:20
  podcast sister Maria mentioned that you know during Ramadan we
• 27:23
  know that there's a plate on our table for Far From Any, that is
• 27:26
  not there. So the fact that we can solve
• 27:29
  get a glimpse of what actually is life for them.
• 27:33
  I think that should allow us all and give more and you know we
• 27:36
  have many narrations from the lobbying from the sheriff that
• 27:38
  animates we have Imam al-sadiq we have him on board over and
• 27:42
  arguably apology. Okay, so now they all say that
• 27:44
  when you give in charity, actually increases your risk of
• 27:47
  wealth and health doesn't always ultimately.
• 27:49
  Well, you know, I always find interesting about that because
• 27:51
  even I have that person reflection if I'm you know, end
• 27:54
  of the month is coming and Bank financing.
• 27:56
  It. Ya know I'm thinking maybe I
• 27:58
  should give but I think what we what I suffer with Italy
• 28:02
  sometimes is like that lack of trust in Allah.
• 28:06
  So you know you know God has promised us that you get more
• 28:09
  risk. God promised your wealth grows
• 28:12
  but We don't have that conviction.
• 28:15
  You know, we thought could have to work.
• 28:16
  Yeah, Generations. But then actually, when it comes
• 28:19
  to like pulling out your money when I get ya and I've always
• 28:24
  I've always tried to use Music scared.
• 28:25
  Now, I've experienced this twice, you know, and I can say
• 28:37
  is I think like so I always try when I you know, when I'm a
• 28:40
  center for example and there's a fun You know, someone's there
• 28:43
  with a table. Whatever.
• 28:44
  Charity is, always try and give firstly because I've worked
• 28:48
  behind the table and I know how difficult it.
• 28:50
  Yeah. But also I think like, you know,
• 28:52
  if I can give I should and and more often than not, we can.
• 28:56
  But I don't know why we hold ourselves, but to be honest,
• 28:59
  I've done that myself here before anyone else.
• 29:01
  And, to be honest, I sit. Can I just mention if something
• 29:03
  just to say, you know, if we are actually having a cost-of-living
• 29:06
  crisis, I think we can also plan our the way we handle our
• 29:09
  finances, much better send for having daily coffees, Cut two or
• 29:14
  three a week you know you'll save a couple of pounds and that
• 29:17
  could either go towards your house, bills.
• 29:19
  Whatever is all go towards charity.
• 29:20
  Yeah, so I think cost of living, there's a whole conversation
• 29:24
  unless it comes down to your knee as well and it, you know,
• 29:26
  quality of quantity in Islam like and we live in a world
• 29:29
  where you've got apps like, this is as a TR cry so you can donate
• 29:33
  at the tip of your finger, you could be on like a boss or on
• 29:36
  the train and thinking that you know what?
• 29:38
  Probably I should give money to the extra mile for example and
• 29:40
  I'll do when I get home. But now we can do it.
• 29:42
  Anytime Anyplace like you pull out your phone, if you're
• 29:45
  listening this conversation, guys.
• 29:46
  Like why why not take advantage? Like, literally honestly, it's
• 29:49
  very simple. It's very own protection right
• 29:51
  now, we grew up with like paste other everyday Health.
• 29:54
  Yeah, you'll be protected and then it's really exciting.
• 29:57
  I don't do that sometimes. And then when the days I do, I
• 30:00
  literally get protected on Mike, I'm Parris.
• 30:03
  I definitely Situational like 1 inch that thing helped something
• 30:16
  I've done. Yeah, you know, you know, one of
• 30:18
  the nicest things I've experienced working on the
• 30:20
  trust. We have a few people that caught
• 30:23
  up on a regular basis, multiple times a week to donate, because
• 30:30
  we're not as tech savvy or whatever else.
• 30:31
  They donate. One, two, three, four pounds.
• 30:34
  Over the phone, we take their details and we take the
• 30:37
  donations, and it's the same people.
• 30:39
  It's really nice and it's so beautiful right?
• 30:41
  That, like, people are That bothered.
• 30:43
  And again, it's always the older generation, I think our
• 30:46
  generation. Yeah.
• 30:46
  Find, we have apps that were more tech savvy, but I feel like
• 30:51
  General in this like a almost a different conversation.
• 30:53
  But generally, like the way the community the way the community
• 30:56
  is moving. We're not like our parents
• 30:58
  generation. So you look at, you know,
• 30:59
  volunteering at the mosque. For example, it's still the
• 31:02
  older generation that are doing most of the hard work and
• 31:05
  slowly, you get one or two younger people, but we haven't
• 31:07
  got that same Spirit of generosity and giving.
• 31:10
  Yeah, that our father, Of our forefathers had.
• 31:15
  I don't know why that is, I mean, that's a different topic.
• 31:17
  Ya next week, I'm down like that.
• 31:20
  I like it. I like it.
• 31:21
  Now obviously there's a lot to take into account.
• 31:25
  Obviously, this is where we're now kind of media should all
• 31:27
  move on. And we've got a couple of weeks
• 31:29
  left and the next week or especially coming week is going
• 31:34
  to be defining for are coming year and Charles and throughout
• 31:38
  for the fate of us and for everyone watching the other
• 31:41
  quite the help. Yeah, exactly.
• 31:42
  So how How do we approach that kind of from from, not just from
• 31:45
  the giving perspective. But even from reflection
• 31:47
  thinking about, like you said to them being thinking about the
• 31:50
  plight of people around the world.
• 31:52
  What where would you guys kind of advise people to begin in
• 31:56
  terms of like making this next few days?
• 31:57
  Really count? This is why I thought I was
• 32:01
  gonna say, I'm not, I'm not in a position to necessarily on.
• 32:04
  I say that like it's actually quite sad in a way because when
• 32:08
  you start approaching the Knights of Destiny, the idea.
• 32:10
  Kinda, you know that I shall run.
• 32:12
  One is coming to an end. Yeah.
• 32:14
  And it's almost like your opportunities for giving are
• 32:17
  also like, you know, doing darling away throughout this
• 32:20
  month. You've had ample opportunity to
• 32:22
  give and the likes of Destiny. We all we know how like how
• 32:25
  powerful they are and and the ability they have to change our
• 32:28
  destiny. The importance of giving in
• 32:31
  those nights is multiplies. I don't know by thousands,
• 32:34
  right? So, it's definitely a time to
• 32:37
  consider how you're going to spend your money in those nights
• 32:41
  and what your money can actually do for people around the world.
• 32:45
  Again, when it comes to donating, it really depends on
• 32:48
  what your passion about what your cause is.
• 32:50
  But if, for example, you really want to see, you know, self
• 32:54
  sustainability projects, happening around the world, like
• 32:57
  I was thinking about selling as I can.
• 32:59
  Really want to mention this. But, you know, the step towards
• 33:01
  our projects and just seeing like there's these kind of micro
• 33:03
  financing projects where you're able to fund, okay?
• 33:07
  A project like Photo project where a young boy, who's an
• 33:12
  orphan. For example, has a whole family
• 33:14
  to support is able to through your donations, have a whole
• 33:18
  livelihood, okay? Out of something that you've
• 33:20
  donated forever, based it for the rest of our, for however,
• 33:24
  long as it was aliens, but for however, long and and he's able
• 33:27
  to now provide for his phone, his own family.
• 33:29
  Stir your donation. So imagine you did that.
• 33:32
  For example, only, I don't like to think about the amount of
• 33:36
  rewards you'd be getting to know that you're actually providing
• 33:39
  for someone who's providing for a family and these microfinance
• 33:42
  projects are wild. So like with something like
• 33:45
  this, I think you're looking about two thousand dollars.
• 33:47
  One thousand five hundred dollars for one of these
• 33:49
  rickshaws and that's given out this given someone for free and
• 33:53
  they paid back on a monthly basis over 10 months or 12
• 33:56
  months. Once the money has come back to
• 33:59
  It's a 2000 is come back, then a new Rickshaw is bought and given
• 34:03
  to another person. So you're welcome donations,
• 34:07
  this anime has. And that is the last in the last
• 34:12
  year. In fact, I don't think I've
• 34:13
  heard any other Cherry to do this with?
• 34:15
  No it myself. I think he's, I saw it firsthand
• 34:18
  the like the smile that happiness and joy on that the
• 34:21
  past, the recipient of that Rickshaw.
• 34:23
  I think you're giving them the opportunity for them not to
• 34:26
  extend their hand. Exactly, so that's cool.
• 34:31
  It's what? And I think to answer what her
• 34:34
  mother was saying, like, for me, personally, the Knights of
• 34:38
  clutter. And I hope my WhatsApp doesn't
• 34:40
  blow up after this, but when, when people send me messages
• 34:43
  around these nights asking for donations, I just, I don't say
• 34:47
  no. So, please don't message me in
• 34:49
  these nights but, you know, I mean, like, isn't it after my
• 34:51
  videos all no, no. But even so, literally even if
• 34:56
  it's five pounds, even one pair of riding.
• 34:58
  It was gift. Cuz I'm like, I and and also,
• 35:00
  you know, this this top, maybe my talking like switch kicks in
• 35:04
  but like you know six nights or three nights in the yeah.
• 35:06
  But I just feel like, you know, if there's any time to give for
• 35:10
  me. Personally, it's in these.
• 35:11
  Like, yeah. And you know what Allah says, I
• 35:13
  mean if we could be we can show Rama to each other for even a
• 35:17
  short period of time. And a lot of anti was telling us
• 35:20
  that this night is more great than a Thousand Nights.
• 35:23
  For example, then Allah will be merciful to us.
• 35:27
  You know, we're displaying Merton's Chris, you know that
• 35:29
  Guy who also holy prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhe
• 35:31
  wassallam. He said, what is this LOM?
• 35:33
  And the holy prophet replied by saying, Islam is to worship the
• 35:36
  Creator and to be beneficial to the creation.
• 35:38
  And the most beneficial people are those who are most
• 35:40
  beneficial to his creation. Like if you can be beneficial to
• 35:44
  last creation, you've conquered what you've cracked the code of
• 35:46
  Islam, in my opinion. And a lot of surely, and a nice
• 35:50
  of Destiny. Allah is going to display his
• 35:52
  LACMA to us in return for what we've hopefully done for someone
• 35:56
  else. And like I said, it could be
• 35:57
  anything, you know, like we've had more far too.
• 35:59
  Bibi Khadija, Islam, Allah here. They had an office.
• 36:01
  She gave her wealthy Islam. And without that moment husband
• 36:06
  and he said, I'm, we gave his wealth twice away in his life to
• 36:08
  Islam and obviously the shahada to Bubble a Tom coming up and,
• 36:12
  you know, like this surely, surely, surely surely there's,
• 36:15
  there's no coincidence in these three major occasions in this
• 36:18
  holy month when it comes to like being charitable and being
• 36:21
  giving. Like, it must show that the
• 36:24
  importance of Charity in this. Holy month is as important as
• 36:27
  fasting in many cases. Because it's about Community
• 36:30
  spirit in my opinion, at least. So yeah, I mean it's why do we
• 36:35
  give if bars or why do we do all these things?
• 36:37
  And we give we give boxes of dates to our neighbors, and all
• 36:41
  these thing it's because this is a month where we are, meant to
• 36:43
  be giving like a hot. So Soft.
• 36:45
  So I think it's it just makes sense that this is the right
• 36:48
  time. Although we have that example of
• 36:51
  late departments that are somewhat Lolly, huh?
• 36:53
  When the the poor and the needy they were fasting.
• 36:56
  Yeah and that the poorly with come to the house of Wildman
• 36:59
  Sahara. And they will ask for food items
• 37:02
  that I was give, you know, all that she's prepared to those in
• 37:07
  need and I think was about three days.
• 37:09
  Yeah, and that's not the noise. It's not something that anyone
• 37:11
  can do and be going. Well, I just ruined that story.
• 37:14
  I do I paraphrased it by just reminded me how the importance
• 37:17
  of, you know, taking care of others and this is what the
• 37:20
  month is all about. You know, we take care of
• 37:22
  others, Allah will take care of us and I think that's something
• 37:24
  we should always bear in mind for our stage, but I've had two
• 37:27
  questions knowing that You two are on this podcast today
• 37:31
  character. No.
• 37:33
  You mean you don't have to argue that the topic, was it just
• 37:36
  something? I like the most common excuse
• 37:43
  for someone. When you, for example approach
• 37:45
  then you want to contribute on a donate towards the scores.
• 37:48
  What's the reason for thing? I can't People are sick of my
• 37:51
  broadcast messages. Pretty much it.
• 37:56
  I don't have money. Mmm, well I've given a ready.
• 37:59
  Yeah. Yeah, and I think people have
• 38:02
  their reasons. They don't like our job is to
• 38:06
  try and raise funds for the beneficiaries here to do our
• 38:09
  work. I don't ever take it personally
• 38:12
  obviously, but like people have their reasons but usually it's I
• 38:15
  don't have my card on me. I don't have any cash then we
• 38:17
  have our card machine like yeah, let's do it.
• 38:20
  I'm in a rush this. There's always reasons but but
• 38:23
  you know it is what it is. That people have to be inspired
• 38:26
  to donate. Hmm, I think that's the other
• 38:29
  thing. Like it's, I don't wanna, I
• 38:31
  think even the way that we collect charity needs to be kind
• 38:34
  of honorable. So it's not about shaking people
• 38:37
  down and even I've had this as well.
• 38:38
  When I've literally been in situations where someone's
• 38:42
  holding a card machine and they know me that acid.
• 38:44
  Even come here, come here, come here and another guy.
• 38:46
  But yeah, put 50 put 50 and then like, I don't even want to give
• 38:50
  50. Let him know what it's for, but
• 38:52
  kind of feel pressured into doing it.
• 38:53
  Yeah, I usually don't reduce it. So, speaking of card machines of
• 38:56
  Interest, like some sentence, and I've seen Charities actually
• 38:59
  have like a kiosk so think what is the card machine?
• 39:02
  And that's the beauty of it that you can do it whenever you feel
• 39:06
  like giving an unforced. So it's like more sincere.
• 39:10
  But you see what I find interesting is some people like
• 39:13
  to do it like that. Like, I again I there's times
• 39:15
  when I'll see a card machine and I'll be feeling generous, I'll
• 39:17
  not want to give it a future and in private, but an Testing Lee,
• 39:21
  some people wanna be asked. Yeah, they want to be like,
• 39:25
  please, you know, your is, if you're doing as if they're doing
• 39:28
  you a favor by actually, obviously, it's kind of the
• 39:30
  other way around if you like they want some sort of
• 39:32
  recognition. Yeah, I'm sure we're calling
• 39:35
  jobs in like personal Journey when it comes to donations,
• 39:40
  everyone's different. Some people need to feel
• 39:42
  inspired and need to feel connected to a project.
• 39:44
  Some other people just feel like you know what, this is
• 39:46
  definitely better at like, let me just just donate, you know,
• 39:48
  my to ward off evil for me. What Give charity, if I'm being
• 39:51
  really honest. It's probably to address my own
• 39:54
  insecurities or like to, to try and make myself feel better.
• 39:59
  And like I might give because I feel like, like I remember 15
• 40:04
  chart button the mod. Like you guys put out this
• 40:06
  poster and I was thinking, like, I'm Gonna Leave This dirty
• 40:09
  because it said, he taught me, how told me what to do in our
• 40:11
  month? Some might as well give to them.
• 40:14
  But like, for me, it's kind of like, I gave because in a way, I
• 40:17
  don't have it selfish or not, but I think a lot of people
• 40:20
  might have That and like you said, my people give a different
• 40:22
  reasons either because they don't buy that and they don't
• 40:24
  difficulties, or because they want a recognition, or because
• 40:27
  they want to feel like their money's going to use.
• 40:29
  And these are the right people who are experts in the industry
• 40:32
  that could distribute the money. Well, or someone like me, who
• 40:34
  might feel like I've got like a personal struggle with like a
• 40:37
  personal insecurities and this might like, what's the word I'm
• 40:41
  looking for? He's a, my knees.
• 40:43
  Yeah, I feel bad. Yeah, kind of like firefight my
• 40:46
  own opinion of myself to see what I mean.
• 40:49
  And I think this is You know, it goes back to that conversation
• 40:52
  about a llama and and compassion that these are the days while
• 40:55
  eyes is muscle and us and if we can show Mercy elsewhere, will
• 40:58
  have he's not hot. I'll say one thing though.
• 41:01
  After after slaying. Some people, overwhelmingly my
• 41:04
  experience of the last couple of years with the trust has I've
• 41:08
  been awestruck by by the generosity of people.
• 41:11
  Yeah, so like people that that I know, for example, my network
• 41:15
  will reach out to me and give and give very open handedly.
• 41:19
  Not I've even Ask them but they know they know that I work in
• 41:22
  the trust and they want to facilitate, you know, getting
• 41:24
  work done for a particular project or in a particular area.
• 41:27
  And I'm not even, I mean the the earthquake as an example like I
• 41:31
  remember, you know, every day, every other day I'd message,
• 41:34
  Myron be like another person's just given 5000 3000, more Sean.
• 41:37
  And and it's amazing. I think like, you know, when you
• 41:41
  see it, most with things like these kind of tragedies where
• 41:43
  it's a very apparent and real situation but it's it's
• 41:49
  heartwarming. I guess to be able to actually
• 41:51
  see that because people people, you know, usually the
• 41:54
  experience, when these things happen is, you will see the news
• 41:57
  and the destruction of everything else.
• 41:59
  But you don't, that's because we're reacting, because we
• 42:01
  actually seeing it and I just hold this right now.
• 42:04
  The fact that we're not actually continuously giving charity, if
• 42:07
  it's not natural disasters and stuff because we forget that
• 42:11
  actually people this is true. If we get those all things we
• 42:13
  forget. There's with those a leads me to
• 42:15
  my second question. Why do charity is not as a team
• 42:18
  in particular? But why did charities in General
• 42:20
  always focus on widows and orphans because it touches the
• 42:24
  heart because I know I've got two girls know and whenever I
• 42:29
  hear a story about often or something, I am deeply
• 42:31
  connected. Why did those two in particular
• 42:33
  widows and orphans the Charities focus on?
• 42:38
  So whereas we know there's other other other places that the
• 42:41
  money can go towards. Well, we know that there's so
• 42:44
  many narrations about like the prophet and orphans and like,
• 42:46
  the most famous one, like me and the orphan like this, the
• 42:49
  prophet. But also has seeing them up
• 42:53
  close orphans and widows and just realizing that they don't
• 42:57
  have like the infrastructure that we have here.
• 43:00
  When we're comfortable, we've got our families and
• 43:01
  everything's kind of intact over there.
• 43:03
  You've got a woman who's having to fend for herself or another
• 43:05
  worked a day in her life young children.
• 43:07
  I just had to support a narrow as well as a trauma because we
• 43:10
  forget the trauma side of things.
• 43:12
  We forget, like the mental health, the depression, and the
• 43:16
  PTSD that comes with, with the trauma of, of losing a husband,
• 43:19
  or losing a loved one. One.
• 43:21
  So, I think for a lot of people as well, it's a really close
• 43:26
  cause to their heart, because women and children are the most
• 43:29
  vulnerable, like, members of society.
• 43:30
  At the end of the day for me, when I see, you know, members of
• 43:35
  our community pass away, like The Wider community in the UK,
• 43:39
  especially younger people when they have young kids.
• 43:42
  And I know people who have who have passed away with kids, you
• 43:45
  know, less than three years old or whatever.
• 43:47
  Like, I'm like, my Breaks for them.
• 43:51
  But they have family, they have everything.
• 43:54
  And then when you just think about the fact that these people
• 43:56
  don't have the the safety security that others have it,
• 44:02
  like, how can you not? You know, I mean, I think it's
• 44:05
  for me, it's a simple as a kiss enough to lose the breadwinner
• 44:08
  in your family and to not be able to fend for yourself after.
• 44:11
  But it's as Mariam said, like the the form element, the site
• 44:14
  that the mental part of it is enough difficulty, then imagine
• 44:19
  not being able to Spurs you sustain a life support number.
• 44:25
  The last one of the last. If not, the last question for
• 44:27
  you guys is, can I ask you what? You're, you're like, what pulls
• 44:31
  you towards or what? Cause pulls you towards giving
• 44:34
  you ask me as a disaster relief. They didn't say anything.
• 44:38
  He doesn't give me that again. Sorry what what what what?
• 44:43
  What pulls your heart. So I'll see you talked about
• 44:45
  water talked about disaster relief or talked about widows
• 44:47
  and orphans as orphans orphans. Yeah, honest.
• 44:50
  Office. I have some Icy handle, our Mayo
• 44:53
  marketing increase. When it comes to off, install
• 44:55
  the Cheerios out because it goes back to the same point that we
• 45:00
  forget cochlear. There's actually opens out
• 45:02
  there. Yeah unfortunately what law they
• 45:04
  have nothing to eat but hungry and these days it's a forget
• 45:08
  food through the fight for a second.
• 45:10
  They can't live a normal childhood.
• 45:11
  The only they're growing up they could be 56 years old and
• 45:15
  they're doing a man's job. That's 30 40 years old trying to
• 45:18
  trying to bring money to the home.
• 45:20
  So they can put food on the table.
• 45:21
  I've seen videos, you know, handle our social media has
• 45:23
  allowed us to witness directly. What is happening with these
• 45:27
  people and their lives, my friend, and to everyone
• 45:31
  listening and watching as a life, we don't want to be
• 45:34
  involved in in terms of, we don't want to live that life.
• 45:37
  And for me, knowing, as I mentioned that, I got two girls.
• 45:40
  Well, I just imagine, that's my daughter.
• 45:43
  I go crazy, I go crazy. Isn't a simple thing like water?
• 45:47
  Yeah. Any we know how important water
• 45:49
  is. Especially especially I got I'm
• 45:51
  gonna mention, I share the loot, the importance of water, and
• 45:54
  carbon and Ashura play something with the heart.
• 45:57
  So whenever we have, for example, someone was above the
• 45:59
  water wall, we should just put ideas on which is just put above
• 46:03
  and below. All these all these things that
• 46:05
  we have strong connection with just give as much as we can.
• 46:08
  Honestly, I have a final question as well.
• 46:16
  So I think for the longest time, I've always, it's a bit boring,
• 46:22
  I'll be honest, but I've always give it away most needed.
• 46:23
  So usually on websites, you have that kind of where most needed
• 46:26
  option. And, and the reason for that is
• 46:29
  because I think like, sometimes our motivations, like you're
• 46:32
  mentioning, you know, it's very personal.
• 46:35
  So, if it's often specifically, that's what, that's what you're,
• 46:38
  you know, one person affects you but I personally believe that
• 46:42
  Charities are best place to allocate funds where needed.
• 46:48
  So actually maybe, you know, in a particular period.
• 46:50
  Enough money for the orphans and widows but there's a different
• 46:53
  project. Yeah, education, talking.
• 46:55
  And I think so, my Approach person is that it's a bit dry.
• 46:59
  It's not as the most is motive as yours.
• 47:01
  Always so amazing. But you can adapt to any
• 47:03
  situation because I think that way and, you know, like I would
• 47:07
  always encourage people to give to the kind of where most needed
• 47:10
  pain because that then enables the Charities to spend the funds
• 47:13
  appropriately. Yeah, they'll know where it's
• 47:16
  working the best. I like, yeah.
• 47:17
  What about you, Mary? He stole my house and I Jake I
• 47:20
  was going to say that, but then I remembered that I have been
• 47:22
  touched by like individual projects, especially Medical Aid
• 47:27
  related project. So again, like I have to mention
• 47:30
  the annual report but inside there's a burn victim.
• 47:32
  A little boy, an eight-year-old boy, when he was to his, the
• 47:36
  room caught fire from a heater and he like, suffered like
• 47:39
  severe burn injuries, all over his body, and he was told by his
• 47:44
  teacher, in school, a couple of years later that he should stay
• 47:46
  at home, because he was scaring other kids.
• 47:48
  Oh my gosh, this boy has Um, undergone five surgeries with a
• 47:52
  lot more to come, but from the five surgeries out, he's
• 47:56
  undergone thanks to donations that we've received is quality
• 48:00
  of life has definitely improved and they've, and he now lives
• 48:03
  are not a normal life goes to school, is that getting on with
• 48:05
  it? So the quality of his life has
• 48:07
  drastically. Improved another examples, baby,
• 48:09
  mette, what she'll remember from a couple of years ago again this
• 48:12
  baby it was a matter of life and death.
• 48:15
  One needle, one needle, yes, it's an expensive, it injection.
• 48:18
  But that one needle again, Who came forward?
• 48:21
  They they donated. And this boy is now living his
• 48:25
  life. Normally like, he's a, we're
• 48:27
  sponsoring. His education is getting all of
• 48:29
  this. So to impact individuals, and to
• 48:32
  impact their life, that's it's not the same.
• 48:35
  As I care may be donating towards.
• 48:37
  I can go to her feeding 200 people feeding thousands of
• 48:39
  people, but impacting the quality of that, one person's
• 48:42
  life. That's pretty powerful kick.
• 48:43
  Can I just sit on baby metis? So this this case came about
• 48:48
  very early on what can we? It's on this baby.
• 48:51
  Matthew story. I can we find it there like an
• 48:53
  article. It would be an annual report
• 48:55
  from last year. That move is another baby.
• 48:57
  Actually who's got the similar similar problem.
• 49:00
  She called Baby Miriam at the moment that we are raising
• 49:02
  funds. For again, it's a matter of life
• 49:04
  and death. For this child, I'll give you a
• 49:06
  brief overview. So spinal muscular, atrophy is
• 49:09
  what he has is, a degenerative muscle disorder.
• 49:12
  I'm not a doctor but I hope this is all accurate enough.
• 49:16
  But essentially the chances of living beyond the age of Of to
• 49:20
  are slim to none for long and and baby Matthew.
• 49:23
  When that case came to us, he was about, I think six or seven
• 49:26
  months old, and a month or two in.
• 49:30
  I went to Iraq and we met baby Matthews parents and him.
• 49:36
  And we hold this baby in arms, and at this point without the
• 49:39
  injection, he's dying within two years.
• 49:41
  He's dying. And again, like, you know, you
• 49:45
  see the justgiving page and WhatsApp messages and But when
• 49:51
  you, when you hold a child and you know, that the chance of
• 49:55
  them all or their life is literally dependent on on you
• 50:01
  and your work. There's there's nothing you can
• 50:04
  do but crazy, I'm trying to get this days.
• 50:06
  I would actually add on to that that there was at the person who
• 50:10
  they'll someone who basically was contacted via social media
• 50:13
  about the case of baby metis. So this girl she went to a
• 50:17
  number of organizations and said, would you be able to To
• 50:20
  help this baby, you know, it's the come to light.
• 50:22
  This is the situation. Then of Charity, said sorry, we
• 50:25
  donate to all the dolphins we help orphans.
• 50:27
  We can't really like put all our money towards helping this one.
• 50:29
  Child, the only charity that actually stepped forward and
• 50:31
  said know what? We want to do something about
• 50:33
  this. Actually we want to change this
• 50:36
  baby's life and we actually want to save his life was Zara trust.
• 50:39
  And I have to say it was from that point forward that I
• 50:42
  thought well like they're willing to do things
• 50:45
  differently, they're willing to put someone's life like to value
• 50:49
  it that much. That's like a direct Impact
• 50:54
  Martial law, because, you know, you can give making it Rain Eric
• 50:59
  to orphans and just in general and you just don't know what's
• 51:01
  happening. But to hear stories like this
• 51:04
  inshallah, you know, we can do more those listening or
• 51:08
  watching, even yourself a mad at me.
• 51:10
  Yeah, so controls. That's cause again, it's
• 51:12
  important. Yeah.
• 51:30
  For us to reflect on this and has been working with and big TV
• 51:35
  for a number of years, and has doing been working with us as
• 51:38
  individuals, and so many others from the community for so many
• 51:41
  years. And the work they're doing is
• 51:43
  like amazing. Martial are second to none in a
• 51:45
  lot of cases, so there's two things.
• 51:47
  I want you guys to do all three things.
• 51:49
  One is to follow the workers, I do.
• 51:50
  Especially this holy month just to pick up your phone and donate
• 51:54
  so easy. Like we're talking about you can
• 51:56
  do on the app, you could other website, anything else I'm
• 51:58
  missing on the live shows this one Milan and three subscribe to
• 52:05
  Alpha Locker. Okay, that's the most important.
• 52:08
  Why did you kill it? We were doing something that's
• 52:11
  got to be done as well but yeah, thank you so much guys.
• 52:16
  Really appreciate. It means a lot to have servants
• 52:19
  like you on this. Podcast.
• 52:21
  I did have one question though. Yeah this is the final
• 52:24
  weigh-ins. Johnny we you know early on in
• 52:27
  the conversation I had mentioned this thing where there is some
• 52:30
  sort of mistrust. Yeah, nothing is a point.
• 52:32
  I asked this question and the Charlotte you too can you know,
• 52:35
  he's my mind on this matter because many people ask this
• 52:38
  question and I used to have this thought process many many years
• 52:42
  ago and that is, for example. Why is the hardly any
• 52:48
  transparency of where your money is going?
• 52:51
  Now I'm not talking about generically like for me to give
• 52:54
  more. I would rather go do that
• 52:56
  directly. I'll be very honest.
• 52:58
  Like I know, for example, my mom is going to Iraq as an example.
• 53:01
  I'll give her the money and she is doing.
• 53:03
  They're paying directly. Whereas if you don't mind me
• 53:06
  asking what was she do with it? Exactly, she would go directly
• 53:09
  and give it to those who actually need it.
• 53:10
  So she ensure that they will have the some not advertising my
• 53:13
  mom here. This she will go and show.
• 53:15
  Behind the scenes, my mom behind the scenes, she would go.
• 53:19
  And make sure for example, that there is a debate has go into
• 53:22
  this often family. There is this, I think that's
• 53:24
  happening. I know is how I know what's
• 53:26
  happening. So I'm comfortable in giving
• 53:28
  this money, whereas Charities, they just say, for example,
• 53:31
  there are orphans give us money, I don't know.
• 53:40
  Why can we trust us to do this job?
• 53:43
  How can we trust your heart trust to deliver?
• 53:45
  Liver on this and where we can put our minds at ease and give
• 53:48
  more go deep on our pockets because there's a difference, we
• 53:51
  can get five pounds but why why can we give for a waik?
• 53:55
  How can we change that five pounds to 50 pounds?
• 53:58
  500 pounds, 55 thousand pounds, rather than us doing it directly
• 54:02
  once a year. Whereas we also her across can
• 54:04
  deliver on this continuously. So let me give some extent.
• 54:07
  Yeah, that's an exhaustive. This is before I accepted a job
• 54:09
  at like I trust you I went out to Iraq just to you know you
• 54:14
  know scrape the organization a little And see how they operate
• 54:16
  on. Just gonna pause you because I
• 54:18
  thought it didn't finish. My point is that it's not fight.
• 54:22
  Sorry, the reason why I ask this because I have done this before.
• 54:26
  Yeah. To other Charities, okay?
• 54:28
  Okay. And wasn't often related by was
• 54:31
  like, for example, building water walls education,
• 54:34
  continuous help in farming, but all we saw was one who so on and
• 54:38
  that's it and there were still asking for money.
• 54:41
  So the water was being built, or they have about nothing else for
• 54:43
  the last five years, but they still take A money for water
• 54:46
  wells that they're not building. That's when we lose that trust.
• 54:49
  But how can we trust our trust? Okay, so I'll go back to my
• 54:52
  story that I went out to Iraq and I went to just go up the
• 54:57
  organization. I went to say Nia where would
• 55:01
  people were staying? Because it was a Divine and it's
• 55:03
  all just women lying everywhere and I was told to go ask for a
• 55:06
  particular woman, I don't know if we should mention her by
• 55:08
  name, I was asked a girl to look for this particular woman.
• 55:12
  She's a woman who basically carries out needs assessment for
• 55:15
  People in the local area and I thought you know like what kind
• 55:20
  of needs assessment are they really going to carry out like a
• 55:22
  nurse sort of thing? She's just a woman of volunteer,
• 55:26
  hope it doesn't get paid. She's no Sheena.
• 55:27
  Nothing like that she's the woman who wants to give back so
• 55:31
  I go meet her again. Like he said very skeptical
• 55:33
  about the whole thing like what conversation?
• 55:35
  I really going to have with this woman, woman's educator can
• 55:38
  speak English as well. She starts telling me about how
• 55:41
  they carry out needs assessment for the widows and the orphans.
• 55:45
  Sorry, we do families like we're female-led household.
• 55:49
  They have like a file on every single family that they take
• 55:53
  care of and not just that, what that what each family is like
• 55:57
  received, what their situation is, they still need to be part
• 56:00
  of the system. Have they become a little bit
• 56:02
  more independent, sure, somebody's, it's basically
• 56:05
  they're they're assessed almost every single year.
• 56:07
  So this needs assessment thing was actually legit and for her
• 56:10
  to know the families on a personal level of aside from the
• 56:13
  fact that they're receiving, you know, do Sizzle Aid, whatever it
• 56:16
  is that they need support with these women are invited as part
• 56:19
  of like a mental well-being, program, every single week that
• 56:23
  are take part in the festivities and celebrations and you know
• 56:26
  like to make something and bring something with them.
• 56:28
  They're part of a community. Yeah, when I saw that, I saw the
• 56:31
  passion this woman had by the again, like I said, she's not an
• 56:33
  employee. She's just doing all of this out
• 56:35
  of her own love for giving back. I was actually like, you know,
• 56:40
  like literally breathtaking away like by the whole situation just
• 56:43
  to see like and I really want to To highlight the work that these
• 56:47
  people do this easy for us, like, like sitting inside were
• 56:49
  not officers, you know, getting along with our day jobs.
• 56:52
  But these people who are on the ground, actually, delivering the
• 56:55
  aid, and helping impact people's lives, and in such a personal
• 56:59
  way, that's something that, you know, it's not easy to come by,
• 57:03
  I think, just to prove it out onto that.
• 57:05
  I think. So, like, for example, you talk
• 57:07
  about the remaining things like that, so my mom has a hook up in
• 57:10
  Kenya and so like every time it comes to one of these season
• 57:13
  she's like oh we're doing this there.
• 57:15
  You want to do it whenever and and you know, she has that set
• 57:19
  up. I think not everyone has access
• 57:21
  to a network or a framework like that, right?
• 57:24
  That's number one. Secondly, what often happens and
• 57:28
  this is like very recently had a conversation with somebody who
• 57:31
  was on a WhatsApp on like a large.
• 57:34
  You know what's up group? And someone from Yemen was also
• 57:36
  on that what's our group and they reached out and message the
• 57:38
  brother and was like, listen I need help.
• 57:40
  Can you help me blah, blah blah. You know, we have all of these
• 57:42
  needs. They asked us to kind of Of find
• 57:46
  out from our local team in Yemen, what the situation is,
• 57:48
  whatever this individual had, messaged many people asking for
• 57:53
  support. Now, I'm not a, you know, it
• 57:56
  might be a legitimate need, but what happens if I give money and
• 57:59
  then you give money and then Ahmed, and my name, he will give
• 58:01
  money independently right now. He's got four times, the money
• 58:03
  that he needed for that one item, right?
• 58:06
  There's no accountability is no due diligence, right?
• 58:09
  And, and that's a big part of it.
• 58:11
  So I remember live on forth over that way.
• 58:13
  Yeah, and one of the trips that I went on We met some.
• 58:17
  These were like, often household so there were no parents in the
• 58:19
  picture, which is offense, but they're the oldest kids were
• 58:22
  like 18, 19 at times. I would like seven eight kids in
• 58:25
  the house and literally, like, you got a 19 year old as a head
• 58:28
  of the house whose Breadwinner, and also trying to do
• 58:31
  everything. But like, you know, that often
• 58:33
  generally don't get good jobs because people know their offers
• 58:36
  exploit them, they pay them. Let's say it's a whole, it's a
• 58:39
  whole thing. But what I found, really
• 58:42
  interesting from our perspective.
• 58:43
  This is very early on, at my time with Des The her trust, I
• 58:47
  was talking to a but I need a kind of local rep and I was
• 58:50
  like, oh, so like what do we do for this family?
• 58:52
  He said, well, these families, they get their educational
• 58:55
  support from one organization, they get their housing and rent
• 58:58
  support from a different organization.
• 58:59
  We just support them with gifts. I need and, you know, things
• 59:03
  like that. That's what we do.
• 59:04
  Because there's no point in doubling up, you know, for an
• 59:06
  external about taking pictures of these kids and be like, oh,
• 59:08
  we're doing everything for them, but that level of understanding.
• 59:13
  And one of the things I love, when I, when I go on the That I
• 59:15
  see our local teams, how they interact with the families.
• 59:20
  Like you know, we say that that local experts they know like you
• 59:23
  know, we're going into random like Villages and there are
• 59:27
  houses that you can barely Quan houses firstly, they know how to
• 59:31
  get there without sat-nav without anything.
• 59:33
  You're on a side street of a side street, whatever and then
• 59:36
  they know the family's intimately, they know the names
• 59:41
  of all the children in all their ailments and everything else.
• 59:43
  They're dealing with. Yeah, having That level of
• 59:46
  understanding and knowledge and I think being able to scale,
• 59:49
  this is the problem and I've spoken to people have started up
• 59:51
  their own Charities as well or doing stuff in like an ad hoc
• 59:54
  manner. There's that there's a limit
• 59:55
  that you reach until you get to a point where you need an
• 59:58
  infrastructure you need a system to have like you know
• 1:00:01
  Fingerprints of all the Widow's that come in and we have all the
• 1:00:03
  information though I can show you after after this podcast
• 1:00:06
  like an issue show me aftermath of complexity when you when you
• 1:00:12
  want to scale and be able to help as many people as the
• 1:00:15
  Sahara. Stars on an annual basis, you
• 1:00:17
  need an infrastructure. So I would say, well, I guess
• 1:00:20
  what bless the the mothers both yours in mind, that doing things
• 1:00:23
  like that, every mother and every mother, you know what I
• 1:00:26
  mean? Like it all counts.
• 1:00:27
  I think that's the main thing that we will help every little
• 1:00:32
  science. Thank you so much, guys.
• 1:00:34
  Thanks so much. It has been a pleasure,
• 1:00:35
  obviously praying to Allah, you are Marl accepting everyone at
• 1:00:38
  home. Pray for us.
• 1:00:39
  When you're born, you're breaking your fast tomorrow and
• 1:00:41
  supporters that I trust. They're doing incredible work.
• 1:00:45
  Yeah, they follow. Follow the aftermarket podcast,
• 1:00:47
  follow hit that subscribe button and obviously follows her tears
• 1:00:51
  will donate since I had, do they and yeah you know how it is
• 1:00:54
  guys, we appreciate subscriptions.
• 1:00:56
  Obviously it's been an amazing month so far and also more to
• 1:00:59
  come. So stay tuned.
• 1:01:01
  Thank you for your time. Stopped by a local doctor, might
• 1:01:03
  hear what Captain?