Zakat foundation gives hearing-impaired boy N6m in Lagos •Kidney patient, 51 others get lifeline

A five-year-old hearing-impaired boy, Ramadan Muhammed, was the biggest beneficiary on Tuesday in Ijegun, Lagos, when Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation (ZSF) disbursed N32 million to 53 people plagued with various health challenges.

Relatives assisted many of the beneficiaries to the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) head office of the faith-based charity organisation, venue of the distribution ceremony.

Ramadan Muhammed’s mother, Mrs Aminat Muhammed, who received N6 million cheque from the foundation, said her son’s ears were impaired and the doctor said the sum of N12 million was required to fix them.

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“We detected the disorder when he was two years old. When I realised that, I took him to the hospital. On getting to the hospital, the doctor said he had to undergo surgery to correct the disorder and the sum of N12 million would be required for the surgery,” she said.

She thanked Zakat payers for the gesture. “I am very grateful to Allah and ZSF for giving me N6 million out of the N12 million needed for the surgery. I pray to Allah to be pleased with Zakat payers for removing the burden from my son,” she said.

Miss Ganiyat Sanni, who is suffering from kidney failure and lying critically ill at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), got N2.5 million.

Her mother, Mrs Afusat Sanni, said she needed N8 million for a transplant. She recounted her daughter’s ordeal that started in 2014 amid sobs.

According to Mrs Sanni, she is donating one of her kidneys to her daughter.

“I was advised to donate my kidney to her with a treatment cost of N8.5 million. I had raised N3.5 million before coming here. With this cheque, it remains N2.5 million to complete the cost of the surgery. Nigerians should assist with the remaining N2.5 million and save my daughter’s life. I don’t want her to die.

“She is supposed to be writing the current Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) but she can’t due to her health condition. I just received a call from LASUTH that she needs blood transfusion urgently. Please, don’t let my daughter die,” she said.

ZSF Executive Director, Prince Sulayman Olagunju, in a remark before the disbursement of cheques to the beneficiaries, said the gesture was in line with the foundation’s tradition of prioritising health and restoring patients’ hope of regaining their health.

Foundation supports widows with cash in Oyo

In a related development, the foundation, in Oyo State, commemorated the World Widows Day 2019 in Ibadan on Sunday, June 23, with a support programme for 30 widows which saw them go away collectively with the sum of N450,000.

The state administrative officer of the foundation, Malam Qasim Durojaye, said the cash gift was a token of the organisation’s commitment to the general well-being of the widows whom he described as a most vulnerable group in the society, next to orphans.

“We are commemorating the World Widows Day, which the United Nations started some years ago. For Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation, this programme started last year when we gave a sum of N10,000 each to 30 widows. But this year, we are giving the same number of widows a token of N15,000 each,” Malam Durojaye said.

The beneficiaries, some of whom took turns to share their experiences so far as widows, listened to Hajiya Sherifah Akinlabi-Raji, a former widow – having remarried after the death of her husband – speak about how to cope with the challenges of widowhood and lead quality lives.

Hajiya Akinlabi-Raji, who was the first Amirah for Al-Mu’minaat (The Believing Women) Organisation in Oyo State, urged the women to see their situation as a trial from Allah.

She advised them to avoid begging for money or food from strangers but instead engage in occupations or vocations to support themselves with.

She urged widows wishing to marry again to be patient and seek Allah’s assistance on the matter.

Hajiya Akinlabi-Raji, who urged the society to stop turning widows into outcasts and embrace treating them with compassion, urged the government to make special provisions for widows and orphans.

The government should be out to assist widows in a lot of ways; take care of their children and empower them. They have a lot to do in empowering widows.