The Republic of Sierra Leone, a country located in West Africa, got its name from its characteristics. Due to the abundance of lions in the country, the Portuguese gave this name, which means mountains with lions. With a surface area of 71.740 square kilometers, Sierra Leone is home to more than 6 million people. Founded by freed African slaves, the country was liberated from being a colonial country in 1961. However, like many colonial countries, it could not achieve political stability after gaining its independence, and lost power day by day amid civil wars. Sierra Leone, which is very rich in diamond mines, has unfortunately been condemned to poverty by the attempts of the colonialists.

Unexpected Explosion

An unexpected and painful event occurred in Sierra Leone recently. In Freetown, the capital of the country, a tanker carrying oil and a truck collided with each other in traffic. Then, unfortunately, the oil tanker caused a big explosion. The oil spilled from the overturned tanker before the explosion caused the flame to spread with the explosion. These spreading flames left the environment and unfortunately the people in flames. Authorities also report that more than 90 people were killed and 100 injured in the explosion.

IHCRO is in Sierra Leone!

After this deplorable event, we consider it our duty to share the pain of our Muslim brothers. We cannot afford to bring back the lost souls, but we can do what is necessary to treat our wounded brothers and sisters. As IHCRO, we started our campaign in order to meet the hospital expenses and post-treatment needs in the tragic event where about 100 injured. I hope the donations we collect will heal the wounds of our brothers from Sierra Leone. We should not forget that Allah tests us in various ways. The calamities that befall us are examples of these tests. Let’s make the test of our brothers easier together.

The first people to talk about malaria, history of which goes back to 300 BC, are the Ancient Egyptians. It is known by everyone today that malaria, which occurs in swampy areas and is said to cause high fever, is a disease carried by mosquitoes and transmitted by their bites. The disease, which is common in certain regions of the world, is more common between latitudes of 45 degrees north and 40 degrees south. It is also known as the disease of tropical and subtropical regions. It is an acute febrile illness with an average incubation period of 7 days. Although the symptoms are seen at the earliest 7 days (usually within 7-30 days) after going to the malaria-endemic area, they can also be seen a few months (rarely up to a year) after leaving the malaria-endemic area. Therefore, febrile illness within the first week following a possible mosquito bite is most likely not malaria.

Africa’s Troublemaker

As we mentioned, malaria, which is frequently seen in tropical regions, is unfortunately a disease that Africa cannot get rid of. The countries with the most malaria in the world are Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, India, Cameroon, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. As can be noticed, the majority of these countries are African countries. Malaria is the cause of death for 10 out of every 100 children who die in Africa. According to the World Health Organization, 286,000 Africans died of malaria in 2019. More deadly than Covid-19 in Africa, 94% of the deaths caused by malaria worldwide occurred within the borders of Africa.

IHCRO is in Cameroon!

We stand by our African brothers and sisters in their trials with malaria. There is no doubt that both death and life are from Allah. At the same time, the lives we have are entrusted to us by Allah. It is our duty to protect this trust. For this reason, everyone should receive the necessary treatment against diseases in order to protect the trust and should not persecute himself. However, unfortunately, as in the case of our brothers and sisters in Cameroon, many people who lack the means to protect their trust continue their lives in this way. Here, too, another duty arises for Muslims who have the opportunity: to help their poor brothers and sisters. We, as IHCRO, are trying to fulfill this task with the malaria clinic we opened in Cameroon. May Allah bless everyone who supported this work.

Benin is a country located in West Africa. It was a former French colony and gained its independence in 1960. In the country where French is the official language, the majority of the population is Christian. About 27% are Muslims.

It is a low-income and food-scarce country with an estimated population of 11.2 million and predominantly rural areas. In 2018, it ranked 163rd among 189 countries according to the human development index. Like other African countries, Benin is trying to cope with many problems. Approximately ten percent of the population cannot reach food, and an average of thirty-two percent of children under the age of 5 have developmental delay due to food insufficiency.

Our team in Benin carries out our projects by identifying the needs of the people of the region. Last week, we distributed food parcels to a hundred families in a rural area. Our team went through long and difficult ways to reach the village people and delivered your relics.

As in other African countries, our projects will continue at full speed in Benin. We will continue to work with our teams with all our strength to implement food, water and all other needed projects.

The 60th orphan home that we continued to build within the scope of one hundred orphan houses we started in the last month of Saban and Ramadan have been completed in Benin. A project that transforms from poverty, homelessness, mud or tree branches into warm homes…

According to the Department for International Development, Benin was hardest hit out of the 1.6 million people in Africa who experienced the consequences of the severe rains.

In 2010, when more than 680,000 people were compelled to abandon their homes due to severe floods brought on by torrential rainfall, demands for humanitarian relief to Benin increased once more. Many people may suffer terrible and long-lasting repercussions from the loss of their houses, cattle, clothing, agricultural equipment, and seeds.

As an organization, we continue our humanitarian aid activities in Benin, as in all of Africa. Since orphans are always our priority, we included the country of Benin in our orphan homes project and we continue to complete our homes here as well.

It is a pleasure to see another orphan family with smiling faces. We will try to quickly complete the remaining forty orphan homes. God bless those who contributed.

“عن عثمان بن عفان رضي الله عنه قال: قل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: خَيرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ القُرْآنَ و عَلَّمَهُ“ 

“As reported by Osman ibn Affan (r.a), the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: The best of you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches It.” 

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said that the best people are those who learn to read the Qur’an, memorize it, try to understand its meaning, then teach others what they have learned and encourage people to live according to the Qur’an. 

As IHCRO, we attach importance to Quran school projects all over the world and continue to complete our Quran schools. Our Sheikh Khalis Quran school was opened in Niamey, Niger, and the representatives of our Australia and UK branches personally attended the opening. They examined our project on site and opened it. In addition, the regional minister of national education and the governor attended our opening. Discussions were held on the importance of such projects for the future of the country, and we hope to continue working for our Quran schools in this direction. 

Our children in the region were learning the Qur’an in a classroom made of hut straw, but now they will have a better opportunity in this school that we have opened for them. May Allah increase their numbers.