Feeding Humanity, One Family at a Time

Help for Humanity is inspired by the efforts of Shaykh Hassan Cisse (RA), a renowned Islamic scholar and humanitarian from Senegal, West Africa. Each month for countless decades, Shaykh Hassan spent out of his own wealth to provide rice to underresourced families in Senegal.  His efforts sustained hundreds of families throughout the country. Help for Humanity was started by a group of African American Muslim students who witnessed Shaykh Hassan’s tireless efforts firsthand during their time in Senegal. Since 2012, Help for Humanity has strived to uphold Shaykh Hassan’s legacy by addressing the problem of hunger, one family at a time. Help for Humanity has distributed more than ten tons (or 23,000 lbs) of rice to hungry children, parents, and adults in Senegal.

You helped us meet our goal twice before.

In 2015, your generous donations helped us raise enough money to feed 25 families in Kaolack, Senegal for an entire year. In 2016, you showed your immense support again by helping us continue our efforts for another year. 

Word has rapidly spread throughout Kaolack about our food distribution program. Each month, the line of hungry people awaiting bags of rice continues to grow. During Ramadan, when we provide sugar, oil, and dates in addition to our regular bags of rice, even more hungry individuals show up in hopes of receiving help. We desperately want to meet this growing need.

Can you help us expand our efforts? This Ramadan, we want to raise funds to feed 100 families each month for an entire year.

There is an urgency for hunger relief.

Approximately 47.6% of people in Senegal live in poverty. In rural areas, such as Kaolack where Help for Humanity works, 1 out of every 4 households experiences food insecurity, which means that they do not consistently have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. 14.4% of children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition. By distributing rice and other basic food items to families each month, Help for Humanity directly addresses this issue. Our ongoing efforts have helped families feed themselves and maintain healthy, active lives.

Seeing hunger, taking action.

The majority of people on Help for Humanity’s core team have spent considerable time over the last three decades in Kaolack. We have seen firsthand how families eagerly gather around a plate of food and instinctively invite a hungry neighbor to join them. We have seen firsthand how mothers stretch food meant for their immediate family because they cannot eat knowing their relatives go hungry. We have seen the powerful ways in which members of the Kaolack community embody the Prophetic spirit, rallying together to support one another in the midst of poverty. 

As we pursued Islamic education during our time in Kaolack, we wanted to pay it forward to the community that so generously supported our own personal and spiritual growth. Through the rice distribution initiative of Help for Humanity, we cultivate long-lasting, trusting partnerships with the Kaolack community to help address the problem of hunger.

Our Islamic duty

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah said:

Allah will say, 'Son of Adam, I needed food but you did not feed Me.' 
'My Lord, How could I feed You when You are the Lord of the Worlds?'
'Did you not know that one of My servants was hungry but you did not feed him? If you had fed him you would have found its reward with Me.' – Al-Bukhari

Verses 8 and 9 of Surah Al-Insan of the Holy Qur'an state:

“And they feed, for the love of Allah, the poor, the orphan, and the captive. (Saying), "We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks.”

Who we are:

Help for Humanity is an initiative of Nasrul Ilm America, a nationally registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Nasrul Ilm America endeavors to promote understanding, cooperation, and engagement between Muslim and non-Muslim communities through education, humanitarianism, and cultural exchange.

We need YOUR support!

1.    Donate to our campaign.

2.    Share this campaign with your friends, and make sure to use the hashtag #helpforhumanity!

3.    Visit our website and learn more about our work.

4.    Connect with us: Facebook: Help for Humanity/Nasrul Ilm America and Instagram: @helpforhumanity/@nasrulilmamerica

5.    Make dua for our initiative!

If you have any questions or would like to get in touch with us, please email:

anyanna@nasrulilmamerica.org 

hassan@nasrulilmamerica.org

ajib@nasrulilmamerica.org