When we think of Ramadan, we think of families breaking our fasts with our families and friends, praying salah together, be it at the masjid or home. One of the blessings of Ramadan is the bonds we build with one another, growing spiritually collectively. If we reflect for a moment, whilst many of us take this for granted, many others amongst us do not share the same privilege. They usually spend Ramadan alone. This can be a very difficult experience and one that can leave us feeling isolated.

Some of our brothers and sisters are new Muslims, so despite being around family, they fast for the sake of Allah, whilst their families do not, and some of us have Muslim family members who do not fast, sometimes only one or two people from the family actively fasting. Some of us are sick, and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some of us are in a vulnerable position with our health therefore unable to be around anyone. Just imagine feeling anxious about the arrival of Ramadan because of how it can affect your mental and spiritual health from being alone.

It is important we develop our perspective here; this helps us reorient ourselves, and doing so can aid us in being content with our individual tests.

Last Ramadan was our first Ramadan during the coronavirus. No one knew what to expect. Everyone was afraid of how lonely it was going to be, how we would get by without our extended family iftars, without our Taraweeh congregations, and qiyam nights at the masjid.

Some of our fears came true. We were tested with loneliness and the inability to meet many of our loved ones during this blessed month.

One of the biggest gifts we received last year, however, was perspective. Allah SWT taught us a lot about our priorities when it comes to Ramadan. With our social gatherings out of the question, we learned that we might have been spent our previous Ramadans wasting quite a bit of time socializing instead of spending it in the worship of Allah SWT. As our hearts yearned for the masjid, we also learned that we should have taken advantage of the times when the masjid was open by visiting more and spending a longer amount of time there.

South Manchester Badly Hit Around 300 homes in Didsbury and Northenden were evacuated last night, with families having to spend the night at Manchester City Council’s rest centre at Wythenshawe Forum, or Didsbury Mosque which had also opened its doors to those affected by the floods.

Our UK response team visited both sites and handed out 108 packs of biscuits and 162 juice cartons to families in need of food and energy.

Abid Shah, Human Appeal’s UK Programmes Manager said:

“As a Manchester charity born and bred we wanted to do everything we can to help people affected by flooding, especially just down the road from our HQ. “We delivered hundreds of cartons of juice and boxes of biscuits to help see Northenden and Didsbury families through what must be a difficult night for them.

Fundraiser Spotlight – Nick Fisher

At Human Appeal we are thankful for every single person who either donates to us or helps us with our fundraising activities. Without any of you, we simply would not be able to change the number of lives we do on a daily basis, in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

Today we want to shine the spotlight on Nick Fisher, better known as Indigo Traveller, who has been working with us this year to raise funds for those who need our help the most in Lebanon.

Nick joined us on a visit to Lebanon in October and saw first-hand the good that Human Appeal is doing to turn people’s lives around, but he also saw just how much work there is left to do to help Lebanon get back on the road to recovery.

Last winter, you helped to provide warmth and comfort to over 16.500 vulnerable, displaced and refugee families.

Turkey Earthquake: Human Appeal is Assessing the Situation