Helping Hand Foundation

Special Thanks to:

Wasimah (Gold Coast)
http://www.wasimah.com.au/

Gold Coast Mosque (Australia)
http://www.goldcoastmuslims.com/

Holland Park Mosque (Australia)
http://www.hpmosque.org.au/

Asim's Halal Meats (Gold Coast)
http://www.goldcoastislam.com.au/directory.html

Chirn Park Butchery (Gold Coast)
http://www.halalbutcherygoldcoast.com.au/


For those interested in world statistics:

1. From the total of the world’s population over a billion are hungry.
2. One in seven people do not have enough food and 55 million children suffer from malnutrition.
3. Malnutrition is actually more common in South Asia than Africa with over 600 million suffering from chronic hunger.
4. The world food Program estimates that 2.8 million infants will die over the next 5 years because of hunger.
5. Food prices are 80% higher despite better harvests in developing countries.
6. Malnutrition is not only from little food but also no variety in food.
7. Malnutrition in the first two years of a child will cause effects for the rest of the child’s life.

I’d like to present this short essay about charity and fundraising, and in particular, fundraising for our closest neighbors in Indonesia. It comes in the light of the ever increasing need; to help in a world of pressing conditions caused by the greed and avarice of a select few – the elite – the hidden hand – and at the expense of the majority, “us”.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of giving charity is the warm feeling of love one feels, after sincerely helping another human being who is in hardship. The Prophet of Islam, God bless him and give him peace, taught us to help our neighbors. Well it’s hard to find a neighbor in Australia who is poor and needy, but our closest neighbors in Indonesia are crying for our help.

Living in conditions that are foreign to western norms, most Indonesians live a life of struggle and poverty. The majority come from the villages of Java, where the economy is pressed and doesn’t move. Others leave the villages in order to find work, coming to the overcrowded cities to find much of the same struggle if not harder conditions – in the village it’s easy to go for a stroll and pick some fruit when hungry, but not so easy to find a good doctor, for example.

We don’t want to use scare tactics or use horror stories to make you feel bad and donate. But we do want to tell you about our work and how you can help too. Most of you know about the terrible conditions of developing countries, but if you don’t, then I suggest you travel and see for yourself. We invite you to come and visit us in Jakarta.

Our organization is called Helping Hand. We have been helping Indonesians for about 2 or 3 years now. We generally fundraise overseas – in places like Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and America. Our main focus is on helping orphans, but we also help the poor and needy. Other main projects include disaster relief, building schools and education.

Our main office – my house – is located near the centre of Jakarta. We search out the poor and needy in this area, although funds have been directed to the rural areas at times too. Working alongside my religious teacher, who lives near and teaches children of the poor, we get a ‘close up’ and ‘personal interaction’ with the poor and needy. We see the results rather than the money just going somewhere full stop.

We have a website at http://helpinghand2009.blogspot.com/. There are many photos and videos of our work. We hope you find the time to have a browse.

Some of our projects include:

Orphans:

• Provide food and money and school stationary to individual orphans.
• Helping orphanages in our area with food and money. You can see the videos on the website.

Poor and needy:

• Providing food and money. Especially during the month of Ramadan.

Education:

• Renovating schools.
• Providing school equipment like books, black boards, desks and chairs.
• Paying for teachers wages.
• Granting scholarships for students.

Construction:

• Building and renovating mosques and schools

Disaster Relief:

• Providing food, money and support for disaster victims

All in all it can be rewarding for everyone. Those with more time can help physically by fundraising, educating or volunteering. Others with less time can help by donating. As you have probably seen we have donation tins at Asim’s Halaal Meats and Chirn Park Butchery.

We do request your help and we do extend a warm welcome to anyone who would like to come and visit us in Jakarta. Thank you for listening, may your lives be filled with joy, and the well wishes of those you help.