CoEJ Secretary General, Br Mohamed Dawood on a recent visit to Tanzania, visited the Bilal Muslim Mission Mwanza Branch on the invitation of Alhajj Br. Sibtain Meghjee, the President of Mwanza Jamaat.

On the visit, Br Mohamed Dawood said:
‘I was truly touched by the extraordinary efforts and commendable work to help the needy as elucidated by Alhajj Sibtain Meghjee during my visit.  Having experienced in person some of the noble initiatives, it only made me realise, that these efforts should be truly acknowledged, highlighted and raised in profile within our Community, so that everyone can celebrate this good work and through awareness encourage our members to participate by contributing in any way possible, as every little bit helps."

I was very impressed with the arrangements at the Bilal Muslim Mission in Mwanza, where I was present during the Fiqh session before iftar. It was pleasing to see the youngsters effectively engaged, some taking notes and generally captivated by the interactive lecture delivered by the Shiekh. The session was quite interesting and very informative, it was particularly pleasing to see the keenness with which the children raised their hands in the question and answer session on the topic at the end. I later realised each correct answer was rewarded with Tsh 200 (equivalent to 10p).

I was shown exemplary hospitality and kindness by the Bilal Muslim Mission volunteers and am thankful to them. I would urge our members if able to pledge at least one Iftar in Ramadhan (cost under £200) as I truly believe they are deserving, with iftar often their only main meal of the day I am told.

I am grateful to Alhajj Sibtain Meghjee the President of Mwanza Jamaat for taking the time to show me around on my trip and enhancing my understanding of some of the other local initiatives and making me aware of all the good work to help our fellow Muslim brethren.

I am also aware that Alhajj Sibtain diligently and quietly beavers away to help improve the plight of Muslims locally and I feel that we should help him by raising awareness of some of his noble local initiatives, which I believe are managed within a transparent and accountable framework.

Some of these initiatives include, building toilet facilities; water wells; desks and chairs for schools; wheelchairs and other walking aids for the disabled; assistance to achieve self sufficiency through the provision of training in learning skills such as sewing with a sewing machine provided to those that attain a certain level; subsidised equipment such as popcorn machines which are then paid for in instalments from the revenue they help generate.’

Other notable examples of initiatives are as follows:

Tricycles for the disabled
Tricycle No.75 was handed over to Mr.Pascal Dismas of Mabatini area on 20/8/10 who sadly had both of his legs amputated due to gangrene at Bugando Hospital. A non profit organisation named KIVULINI made the initial approach for assistance so that when the wounds were healed completely, a tricycle would enable Mr.Pascal to become mobile. His mother sincerely thanked and prayed for the donors of the tricycle for timely assistance as it would allow her son to move around freely, visit his loved ones and manage his affairs without being dependant on anyone.

There are many similar cases where a tricycle is desperately needed to enable a disabled person to live a better life, provide for themselves and be independent, something we take for granted.

Hospital Equipment
Nyanguge Hospital, a local hospital needs basic equipment such as mattresses, bedsheets, mosquito nets, blankets and basic improvements to the toilet facilities. It is estimated that approximately £2000 would be sufficient to meet all the basic needs

Desks with Chairs Appeal
Since this campaign was started, 200 three seater desks have been provided to schools and a further 200 will Insh’Allah be delivered in the next 6 weeks. The need is imminent and it is hoped that initially 400 desks can be provided to local secondary schools. A single seater desk and chair made partly of wood and metal costs approximately Tsh 55K (£25) each and for each desk 3 trees are planted to compensate for the wood used.

School Toilets
To celebrate the auspicious occasion of three wiladats of our Aimahs (AS) in this month of Shabaan, 9 power flush toilets and one store room were handed over to Malangale Primary School in the district of Magu on Thursday 15 July 2010.

This primary school has 369 students with very poor and unacceptable toilet facilities. The headmaster of the school was very appreciative as the school risked closure due to lack of facilities. The children thanked in their own way by displaying small banners which read ‘THANK YOU NO MORE UTI’ and another one reading ‘ASANTENI SANA’ (translated ‘THANK YOU VERY MUCH’).

Another similar project being considered is at Mwajombo Primary School in Misungwi District which has about 1300 students. The condition of their facilities can be seen below:
About 10 toilets are needed at an estimated total cost of Tsh 7,000,000 (£3,200) to provide basic sanitation facilities which will alleviate sanitation related medical conditions.

If you can help in any way or require further information please contact the CoEJ Secretariat (secretariat@coej.org)

Secretariat