Sada-e-Watan Sydney
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IMESA hosted Fundraising Iftar at Bowman Hall in Blacktown Sydney
The Indian Minority Education Society of Australia Inc (IMESA) held a fundraising Iftar event on Sunday 17 March 2024 at Bowman Hall in Blacktown with well over 300 people in attendance. NSW Minister the Hon. Jihad Dib, in his video message, applauded IMESA's efforts.
The program commenced with Quran recitation and Ramadan talk by Moulana Abeer ul Hassan Thanvi, a locally raised Imam, educated in South Africa. He emphasised the importance of education for Muslim children and appealed for giving zakat and Sadaqat during the holy month of Ramadan.
MC Dr Nisa Sheriff told the audience that IMESA aims to increase the educational levels of poorest Muslim children in India. Indian Muslims, nearly 200 million in number, are among the poorest communities, having below average levels of education, and suffer from deprivation of their basic needs. She quoted figures to reveal very low representation of Muslims in education at all levels.
Current political environment is also not favourable. Education is the only tool which will strengthen their socio-economic condition.
NSW Minister Hon. Jihad Dib, MP
NSW Minister and Member of Bankstown said that Ramadan was different this year due to atrocities on people of Palestine in Ghaza. He called for immediate ceasefire.
He was appreciative of the fact that within a few years since he had attended IMESA's launch programme, IMESA has achieved DGR status. He said it was the proof that IMESA must have done quality work, did everything that satisfies government requirements, with legitimate practices and strong governance and transparency and congratulated IMESA for this achievement.
Hon. Jihad Dib said that the first word revealed to the holy prophet was 'Iqra - Read" and it was important that all Muslim children achieve education and in countries like India, poverty does not stop them from going to school. IMESA's role in doing so is of extreme importance, Mr Dib said.
During fund raising, a few video clips from IMESA run classes in various parts of India showed how tutoring at IMESA run centres improved the educational performance of these poorest children. The children, parents, and teachers told their stories and experiences and extended their gratitude to IMESA for the continued support.
IMESA has now been operating for a few years, continuously expanding its programmes to more cities across various states of India. Currently IMESA projects are running successfully in Vadodara in Gujarat, Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Boisar in Maharashtra, Hyderabad in Telangana, Dehradun in Uttarakhand, Bangalore in Karnataka and Dinajpur in West Bengal benefiting hundreds of the poorest children and their families.
The fundraising call was very well received by the attendees who generously donated to the cause. The fundraising team consisted of Dr Nisa Sheriff, Dr Sofia Khan, Mr Zahid Jamil, Dr Syed Aslam Shaheer, Mr Shahnawaz Ali, Mr Parveen Jang, Mr Asad Farooq, Mr Taufeeq Shaikh, supported by a team of volunteers. They urged the guests to help this one of the most deprived Muslim community in the world. Mr Zahid Jamil applauded the patrons for their generosity and thanked the team members and the volunteers for their tireless efforts.
IMESA seeks to improve the lives of these families through promoting education, both encouraging children to stay in school, and encouraging parents of child labourers to enrol their children in school. It is achieved through educational campaigns, providing additional financial support for families (school fees, uniforms, compensation for lost income of child labourers), and providing after-hours study spaces and tutoring support.
By providing vulnerable children with an education, IMESA seek to improve their future employment and economic opportunities, to improve their overall socio-economic status, and ultimately pass on these benefits to their families and the broader community.
Please visit https://imesa.org.au/ for more details of the organisation and its activities. Your donations to IMESA are tax deductible.
Mr. Zahid Jamil and Dr Nisa Sheriff
