An Ilorin-based Non-Governmental Organisation, the Pious Muslim Women has announced its decision to feed about 2000 Muslims across nine states during this year’s Ramadan.
In a statement signed by the founder of the group, Dr Hamdalat Yusuf, the group noted that Ramadan is one of Allah’s special favours for humanity and for which humanity can hardly express sufficient appreciation.
“We members of the Pious Muslim Women therefore enjoin Muslims worldwide to abide by the scriptural prescribed tenets of fasting during Ramadan so we can all reap the benefits”
The founder of the NGO, Dr. Hamdalat Yusuf, said that this is the sixth in the series since 2014 when the group was established.
“Every year, we organize our Ramadan Feeding Programme. It is one of our many programmes aimed at benefiting the vulnerable in the society. Our Ramadan Feeding programme is a succor to widows, orphans and indigent Muslims in our community. We cover the major towns of nine states in Nigeria in which most of our members reside. The states are Kwara, Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Rivers States,”
“Our usual practice is to give raw foodstuff such as rice, beans, garri, wheat, semovita and groundnut oil, amongst others. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year, we decided to give a sum of N5,000 to each of our beneficiaries. The target is to feed about 2000 people across these states,” she said.
Yusuf said the distribution of the Ramadan food support to indigent Muslims began on Wednesday April 22, 2020.
Yusuf added that Pious Muslim Women generates the bulk of its funds from the contributions of members not only in several states of Nigeria but are also in countries like Canada, UK, South Africa, Ghana, Dubai, etc.
She stressed that the organisation, whose activities are mostly online, was founded primarily to improve on the spiritual development of its members.
However, it has expanded its focus to accommodate welfare of the indigent ones especially the vulnerable in the society.
Some of its programmes include youth empowerment through the free training of youths at its fashion training institute; providing support for entrepreneurial efforts of no fewer than 50 widows every year; scholarship grants to about 20 orphans at the three levels of education as well as ownership and maintenance of an orphanage, where it takes full responsibility for 10 orphans from age infancy to age ten.
