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Alif has no refugee status and his foot condition requires medical care, both of which prevent him from working. As of September 12, 2014, they were evicted from their home because they couldn't keep up with their rent. Alif’s health got worse in a short amount of time, and doctors were recommending amputation, but he opted out for a natural treatment instead. Jobless, homeless, and with poor health conditions, what originally was a way out of their own country to safety and security became a huge burden of one worry after the other.

Our applicants at National Zakat Foundation are at the lowest point in their lives: they are struggling to pay rent, get a job, and even put food on the table. Some may have been forced to flee their homes because of domestic violence, or flee their country because of war.

Reflecting is a key tool in the lives of Muslims, so as we reflect upon our days at work, school, or wherever you spent your day, lets not forget to reflect for those that won’t be able to break their fast due to poverty or food shortages. Some of these people muster enough courage to seek help - and NZF is there to help them. Please continue to support us so we can all work towards alleviating poverty at our doorstep.

Alone and in debt, Madiha Khan needed assistance. She lived in Canada with her two-year-old daughter as a permanent resident, but her husband still lived and worked in Pakistan. She visited him for eight months, but when she returned to Canada alone, pregnant, struggling financially, and experiencing food insecurity, she needed assistance more than ever.

One of the biggest characteristics that a Muslim is supposed to embody is kindness. Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ‘alaihi was-sallam said, "Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith." (Muslim). We are taught from a young age through the Qur’an and Sunnah to how to treat people, plants, animals, ourselves, families and friends. One thing we often neglect in being kind to are strangers. We do this unintentionally or intentionally but regardless, we won’t smile at the next person that walks by, or give up a seat for someone else on the bus ride home.

"I fast to empathize with the poor". We hear Muslims saying this when non-Muslims ask us why we fast during the month of Ramadan, but which poor are we empathizing with: the poor millions of miles away in third-world countries or the poor in our own neighbourhoods?

Imran*, his wife and their three young children recently moved to Canada on refugee status after experiencing Islamophobic violence. The trauma caused his wife to develop severe psychological distress and attempt suicide. Her fragile health, coupled with schizophrenia and the continuation of antipsychotic medication, impacted her obligations as a parent.