Ramadan – not a day without kindness!

Our Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:”He who gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the same reward as him, except that nothing will be reduced from the fasting person’s reward”. (At-Tirmithi)

In ancient Kazan, in the rural backwoods of Bashkortostan, in the Caucasus Mountains and on the coast of the Caspian Sea launched Solidarity Foundation charity events during the holy month of Ramadan, known not only as the month of fasting, but also as the time of mercy, kindness and helping the poor.

Thanks to donations from the Russian Muslims in the holy Ramadan Solidarity Foundation was able to provide help to many people in need – to feed the poor, to pay for treatment of seriously ill people, to get children ready for school, to pay Zakat to orphans, the disabled and large families.

For the fourth consecutive year our volunteers have been working in the poorest regions of Russia – North Caucasian republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, and in the Muslim republics of the Volga region – Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, to bring joy in the bright days of Ramadan and to make easier the difficult life of the poor brothers and sisters.

A good deed is like a step to Paradise. Tatarstan

Throughout the holy month Solidarity team worked hard in Tatarstan, handing out food parcels, school kits, and arranging iftar meals for the needy. Dozens of poor people in Kazan and other cities of Tatarstan received our help and support in the month of Ramadan.

Gulnaz Sultanahmedova lives in Kazan together with her seriously ill son. Gulnaz is disabled of group II, she is ill very often. Obviously nobody in the family can work, and the pensions are barely enough to buy food. Our volunteers handed Gulnaz iftar packets with pasta, cereals, sugar, canned halal meat, dates, jam and other food products, so that they could enjoy the blessed month together with all the community.

“Everything we do is for Allah Almighty. And if we do not help these people, who will help them?”

“It was a pleasure helping these people. Especially when you see their reactions, the emotions. When you see that people start smiling and leave us with a prayer – that’s worth a lot,” said Syumbel Valiullina, the head of Solidarity Foundation branch in Tatarstan.

In Ramadan, charity is an obligation. Dagestan

Solidarity volunteers went to Makhachkala, Khasavyurt, Kizilyurt, Sulak and distant mountain villages of Dagestan to deliver some essential foodstuffs to the poorest and the destitute during the blessed month.

“The social situation of people in Daghestan is very heavy, there is high level of unemployment, poverty and disease,” said Magomedgadzhi Magomedov, a volunteer of Solidarity Foundation. “Everything we do is for Allah Almighty. And if we do not help these people, who will help them?”

Zagra Abdulina has been living huddled up in a tiny little room with her two children for many years. A bed and a table are all the decorations of this “home” with little space even for one person, not to say about the whole family. Zagra’s scanty salary hardly covers food and rent.

“Thank you very much!” was all the children could say, seeing a huge bag of food, but their happy eyes were more expressive than any words.

“It is very important, what we are doing today,” says Marina Tonaeva, a volunteer of the Foundation. “We share with the people what we’ve got – food, time, care. If everyone does the same, there will be much less poor and lonely people in the world.”

Ramadan: kindness creates us. Chechnya

The war has left a deep trace in the life of the Chechen Republic. The destroyed cities have been rebuilt, but many people who have been hit by the war continue to live below the poverty line. In these holy days the team of Solidarity Foundation visited the houses of the most disadvantaged – orphans, the disabled, single mothers and helpless old people.

“We’re visiting the poorest people who haven’t got enough money even for food. Can you imagine, some of them don’t have friges at all, because there is nothing to keep there?” says Jasmina Muslimova, a volunteer of Solidarity Foundation in Chechnya.

The husband of Milana Astamirova from Grozny was killed by some thugs, and she was left alone with five children. The family managed to survive on a welfare, but then another trouble came – their house was burned down. Three of the children received severe burns, and now they need expensive treatment.

Solidarity has come to the aid of Astamirov family – Milana and her children received gifts from our Foundation, so that they could feel our participation and support in the blessed Ramadan.

The war has left a deep trace in the life of the Chechen Republic. The destroyed cities have been rebuilt, but many people who have been hit by the war continue to live below the poverty line

“Help to the needy is certainly important, especially during the holy Ramadan, when the reward is increased manifold. We must remember that the companions of our Prophet used to give everything to the poor. We need to follow their example. Without mutual aid, without charity Islam is getting weak,” believes Abubakr, our Chechen volunteer.

Kindness as a way of life. Ingushetia

The family of Mikail Tugoyev lives in Nazran, but they are refugees from Prigorodny district of Ingushetia. In 1992 the UN built temporary houses for the Ingushes who had to flee their homes as a result of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict. These wooden houses were designet only for 2 or 3 years, but Mikail’s family, like many others, have been living there for 20 years …

Very few have managed to get out of poverty and move into new houses. But Mikail’s family cannot afford even a renovation in their barracks, because there is no work. And casual earnings are just enough to support his wife and three children.

Our volunteers handed Tugoyevs food packages from Solidarity, so that the family could lay the holiday table.

“Thank you for your help. Thank you for not forgetting us,” said Mikail.

Our action is a great support for people in need. It is especially tough for them during Ramadan

“Our action is a great support for people in need. Just imagine, there are families that haven’t got even tea, not to say about other stuff. It is especially tough for them during Ramadan. It’s so wonderful to see afterwards the happy faces of those poor people”, said Magomed Malsagov, our volunteer in Ingushetia.

To live means to help. Kabardino-Balkaria

High into the Caucasus mountains there climbed Solidarity team in Kabardino-Balkaria. Volunteers of the Foundation distributed iftar packages with some staple food products to the neediest and the poorest in Elbrus region.

7 out of 10 residents there are poor, and of course any help is very important for those people.

Larissa Afashokova’s husband died after a long illness and she was left with seven children. They live on a scanty pension, Larissa cannot work because of a disease. Neither can she check into a hospital, because there is nobody to leave the children with.

Our volunteers handed Larissa’s family food parcels and gifts for the children.

“Thank you so much for your support. May God reward you for your kindness,” Larissa was very grateful.

For the fourth consecutive year our volunteers have been working in the poorest regions of Russia to bring joy in the bright days of Ramadan and to make easier the difficult life of the poor brothers and sisters

“All these gifts brought tears to women’s eyes – many of them received such aid for the first time. And we were glad that we could help them. For them, these food packages were really ponderable, because they simply couldn’t afford it all themselves,” says Alina Dilaeva. “In Ramadan you want to do as many good deeds as possible. And you want Allah to accept them. The main thing is to align our intentions, not to forget that we’re doing it for the sake of Allah Almighty.”

The ineffable light of Ramadan. Bashkortostan

The team of Solidarity in Bashkortostan held a charity event among residents of poor villages, distributing iftar packages to the needy, large families, disabled and lonely old people.

Mininur Ahmetdinova is called affectionately Mininur-apai by her neighbors. For her the visit of our volunteers was a complete surprise. The elderly woman has long since been living alone, rarely visited by some relations. Only the neighbors help Mininur-apai.

Having learnt the reason for the volunteers’ coming Mininur-apai was moved to tears. “Thank you very much. May Almighty reward you for your kindness,” expressed she her gratitude in her native Bashkir language.

The team of Solidarity in Bashkortostan held a charity event among residents of poor villages, distributing iftar packages to the needy, large families, disabled and lonely old people

“Charity has been ordered to us by Almighty. People who haven’t had such experience are usually very surprised: why would you help strangers? But now, Allah birsa (God willing) they’ve also got this understanding,” said Zilya Kireyeva, representative of Solidarity Foundation in Bashkortostan. “It’s such a joy for us, to see the faces beaming with happiness.”

The holy month of Ramadan is ended. But we believe that the story of kindness, which has united hundreds of people all over Russia in this sacred month, will continue.