Educate a Girl in Kashmir

Dear HOPE Friends,

I wanted to thank you all personally for your generosity and support of HOPE USA this Ramadan! By the Grace of God, we broke fundraising records this year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. In total, our Food Rations, Door-to-Door Iftar Distribution, and Eid Clothes for Children campaigns have benefitted 30,000 needy people in Pakistan since the coronavirus pandemic started. This Ramadan HOPE USA was able to accomplish the following with Zakat donations:

• 3,500 Food Ration Bags Distributed (each bag feeds a family of 6 for one month)
• 6,500 Iftar boxes/Biryanis Distributed
• 550 Children in Kashmir and Muzaffargarh will receive new Eid Clothes during Eid ul Adha (postponed from Eid ul Fitr due to the lockdown)

Our impact extended from rural and adjoining areas in Karachi to Katchi Abadi's to interior Sindh to Muzaffargarh to Azad Kashmir.

Please note that HOPE USA also uses Zakat year-round for the following noble causes:

• Life-saving surgery for the poor at HOPE Hospitals
• Medicines from HOPE Hospitals for the Poor
• Monthly food rations for poor families
• Doctor's visits for poor people at HOPE Hospitals and clinics
• Education tuition and supplies for children in HOPE Schools

Many of you I know personally, and I wish to extend my sincere thank you to all of your for an incredible Ramadan. I honestly prayed for all of you this year. I pray that God Almighty accepts all of our efforts and grant us the capacity to do more. Ameen!

The pictures below are for our Food Rations Distribution efforts in Azad-Kashmir during Ramadan.  Many of these families are daily wage earners and were adversely affected by the economic fallout from Covid-19.  Specifically in Azad Kashmir, your Zakat donations were used to benefit 300 needy families with food rations, including the teaching staff of the students in our Kashmir schools:

• 100 Kashmir families received cash to purchase food rations when access to Kashmir was blocked
• 200 Kashmir families received Food Ration bags once access was restored

 Thank you all for your incredibly generous donations during this past month.  We are so humbled to have a group of supporters like yourselves.  

Best regards,

Ambereen Siddiqui
Director - HOPE USA

Links:

• HOPE USA website

Dear HOPE Supporters, 

The HOPE USA team and the students of Kashmir wanted to wish you a blessed and joyous EID!  Thank you all for your incredible contributions towards the education of these children.  It is only through your generosity that impoverished children who live in the mountainous areas of Kashmir are able to attain an education.  The mountains of Kashmir are difficult to reach due to their location and freezing temperatures and we are proud to have instituted our HOPE home schools in these regions.  Home schools were a neglected concept in much of Pakistan, but we are humbled to have had thousands of students prosper through our home schools. 

In the next couple of months I will be bringing you highlights of this incredible fundraising that occurred in Ramadan and how it will help the families in Kashmir, especially during the coronavirus lockdown where all the families have been financially impacted.  Meanwhile, we wanted to wish all of you:

~Just look at all the lives you've touched this year~

~May God Almighty accept our efforts and grant us all the capacity to do even more in the future.  Ameen!~

Have a wonderful and safe Eid!

Links:

• HOPE USA website

Dear HOPE Friends, 

I hope that this update finds you and your families safe and healthy during this unprecedented time!  Like most of the world, the coronavirus pandemic has brought about changes for the students you are supporting in the HOPE Kashmir home schools.  The schools have officially been closed as of March 10, but students have been receiving homework from their teachers to complete on their own so they do not fall behind.  Obviously the schools in Kashmir are not equipped for "e-learning" as in the United States, but the teachers are doing their best in light of the situation.  Additionally, the HOPE home school teachers are continuing to receive their salaries amidst the lockdown so as to not impose an economic hardship on their families.   

Because the students that the HOPE school serves are children of daily wage earners, their families have been adversely affected by the lockdown.  In order to alleviate their financial hardship, the HOPE USA team will devote all extra funds collected for this project during the lockdown towards food rations for these families. 

We are aiming to raise money to feed at least 200 families. 

For just $20 we are delivering grocery rations to these needy families.  

One ration bag can feed 6 people for one month and includes the following: 

Wheat flour for tortillas- 11 pounds: $2.60

Rice - 6.6 pounds - $3.60

Lentils - 2.2 pounds - $1.60

Milk powder - 0.5 pounds - $3.50 

Sugar - 4.4 pounds - $1.50

Cooking oil 1 quart - $2.20

Tea leaves - 0.5 pounds - $4.50

Bag packing/delivery - $0.50

_______________________________

TOTAL             $20.00

The pictures included in this report are from March 2020, prior to the lockdown. 

You can participate in this effort by donating towards this campaign.  Thank you to all of you for helping those less fortunate!

Best regards, 

Ambereen Siddiqui

Director - HOPE USA

Links:

• HOPE USA website

Dear HOPE Supporters,

We hope that all of you are healthy and well and that 2020 is off to a wonderful start!  We wish you and your families a healthy and prosperous year ahead!

Every year in winter, the HOPE Pakistan team, along with HOPE founder Dr. Mubina Agboatwalla, visit the 35 home schools in Kashmir. This gives the HOPE team a chance to visit and monitor the schools along with providing the students with new winter clothes, food, school supplies, and gifts. The end of the 2019 was no different. The HOPE Pakistan team made the arduous journey to the mountainous area of Kashmir to visit the flourishing schools there. The team was able to distribute hundreds of new clothes (Old Navy uniform pants, flannel sleepwear, sweatshirts, hats, socks), biryani, cake, as well as school supplies such as new backpacks and stationary.  Here is a summary of the activities: 

• The food items distributed were: biryani (rice and chicken specialty dish), juice boxes, chicken rolls, samosa (meat-filled pastries), pakoras (fried appetizer) and pastries.
• Clothing items distributed among the 1,310 students included: sweaters, pants, shirts, shoes, socks, and hats.
• School supplies that were given out included school bags, pencil pouches, and stationary items.
• Handwoven shawls were given to the teachers as a gift. 
• Every student in Kashmir received a gift which sparked some happiness on their faces.  
• Aside from the distribution, exciting activities including tableaus, song performances, special recognition to high achievers, and a motivational speech by Dr. Mubina Agboatwalla. 

We at HOPE USA wanted to thank each and every one of you for your support of our Educate a Girl in Kashmir campaign!  It is due to your generosity and support that we are able to provide educational opportunities for underserved children in Kashmir.  For a full slideshow on the Kashmir trip, feel free to visit our website blog: 

https://www.hopecharityusa.org/post/hope-team-distributes-clothes-food-school-supplies-to-students-in-kashmir-schools

Thank you again for your support and committment! 

Best regards,

Ambereen Siddiqui

Director - HOPE USA

Links:

• HOPE USA website