Category: West Africa

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Ghana East Savannah 2023

Ghana is a poor country located in the West of Africa. In April 2023, our Ghanaian partners visited areas where clean water for bathing, cooking and drinking is often difficult to find. We undertook humanitarian work in east Savannah, one of the poorer parts of the country, to distribute aid to towns such as Shishipe, Nkwanta, Matlapor, Mabunge and Idepe.
Thanks to your kind donations, we were able to spend £10,000 which was used to provide food and water to 320 families during Ramadan.
£8,850 food
£1,000 drinking water
£150 travelling expenses

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Liberia media gallery

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Masjid e Ebrahim mosque, Liberia

Hadith: Uthman ibn Affan reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever builds a mosque for Allah, then Allah will build for him a house like it in Paradise.” [Bukhari, Muslim]

Caravan of Mercy recognise the immense virtue that Allah has placed on constructing mosques. For this reason, we have been encouraging the public to help us, help poor communities around the world who are themselves in need of a place to worship. After establishing good connections in Liberia, West Africa, we decided to initiate mosque projects there. Our first such construction being Masjid Ebrahim.

Caravan of Mercy were asked by a community in West Africa to help them rebuild their burnt down mosque in a poor suburb of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. The chairman (of Caravan of Mercy), Molana Ebrahim visited the country and inspected the site. On behalf of Caravan of Mercy UK and its supporters, Molana pledged to initially raise enough funds to complete the first phase.

On the 3rd of May 2018 in Birmingham UK, a young family man by the name of Ebrahim,  passed away as a result of a sudden heart failure leaving behind his wife and two daughters.
Ebrahim, who was born with a heart condition, was an inspirational character known for both his charitable attitude and positive manner. His grieving father, established a charity (The Ebrahim Kola Foundation Trust) and thereafter an event to climb on Mount Snowdon in Wales, UK, in August 2018. This fundraising event was organised with Caravan of Mercy and was supported by many family and friends. The foundation was initially set-up to benefit Ebrahim in the next life and for his name to be remembered.

Liberia is one of the smallest countries in West Africa, it has been devastated by a civil war that left the country in ruins. The war ended in 2003, but most of Liberia sadly remains underdeveloped. Ebrahim’s father said that his son would be most enthusiastic about building a centre of learning that would benefit generations to come.

It was hoped that the funding would provide a lasting legacy in his son’s memory and a means of reward for all those who have been involved in making this project happen. The aim was to raise £25,000 to build the Masjid and additional classroom facilities.

Construction for Masjid Ebrahim began 2 years after the fire in September 2019. The mosque is located in Freetown, lower Virginia (a western suburb of Monrovia), Liberia. A charity dinner was further organised in December 2019 in order to cover the final costs of the project. This charity dinner event was so successful that classrooms, toilets, bath and ablution areas have now been added to the mosque project.

In the end, over £25,000 was raised and spent on this venture which will, God willing, continue to benefit Marhoom Ebrahim Kola, his family, friends as well as others who have contributed towards it in some way, for many many years to come.

The mosque is was completed during the first half of 2020 and with additional funds, a water well was added, financed as a separate appeal towards the end of 2020 (see video below).

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Al Madina Islamic Academy

Caravan of Mercy has used your generous donations to build a school in the West African country; the Gambia. The school is called Al Madina Islamic Academy and is located in a town by the name of Serekundanding. Funds for this project came from the Tour de Gambia fund-raiser which took place earlier this year (January 2019).
At present, the students are using makeshift facilities for a school until the 1st stage is completed. We have purchased 100 square metres of land and building has already begun.
The 1st stage of this project will create 10 classes/ rooms. After Ramadhan, we expect to total 300 pupils at the school. The school teaches a number of Islamic as well as secular subjects.
With added funds, we plan to build a girls boarding orphanage as part of the Al Madina Islamic Academy.

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Eidul Adha 1438/ 2017

Caravan of Mercy donors benefited many poor Muslim families throughout Ghana, India, Cameroon, Bangladesh and Syria this year.

Cameroon:
Central African Republic victims in Borgop refugee camp in Cameroon on Eid day 10 Dhul Haj 1438 Hijra. (1st Sep 2017).
2800 families received fresh Udhiya/ Qurabani meat Alhamdu lillah.

Gambia:
250 families were served with fresh Udhiya meat Alhamdu lillah.
3 Cows and 7 Goats

Ghana:
5 goats, 1 cow
About 92 people received fresh Udhiya meat Alhamdu lillah.

India:
30,000 people received fresh Udhiya meat Alhamdu lillah.

The following photos are from Cameroon. Eid day 10 Dhul Haj 1438 Hijra. (1st Sep 2017)

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By car to CAR refugees

Humanitarian aid with Caravan of Mercy in Cameroon, West Africa, Ramadhan 1438/ June 2017 by Hamid AbuBakr, a brief account.
Brother Hamid was born in CAR and now lives with his wife and children in Leicester UK and has been a volunteer for Caravan of Mercy for 4 years, making humanitarian visits to Cameroon every year.
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274,000 refugees, mostly Muslim, have fled from their native Central African Republic (CAR). Almost all of them live in very poor conditions within isolated refugee camps throughout Cameroon.
Br. Hamid and Molana Ebrahim (head of CoM), traveled from Leicester UK to Birmingham UK airport. Their flight was to Istanbul (Turkey) with a final flight to Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport, Cameroon.
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The two CoM humanitarian volunteers spent 1 day in Yaoundé before they could board a 7:00pm train to Ngaoundéré (east Cameroon). This arduous train journey took around 14 hours.
The duo purchased food for the refugees in Ngaoundéré and then proceeded to load a rented truck which left before them for the Borgop refugee camp.
Hamid and Molana Ebrahim then took a car journey to go to Meiganga. From there they took another car 81 miles to the Borgop UN refugee camp and arrived the following day on Sunday at 2:00pm.
Distribution took 2 days.
There are 14,000 CAR refugees in the Borgop camp which is very small, over crowded and cut-off from everywhere else. The UN is supposed to support the camp residents but they didn’t receive food for 3 months. Some people couldn’t fast due to not having food to start and break their fast. The two CoM volunteers had purchased food to feed 1,500 people although they were faced with 14,000 needy people. Hamid AbuBakr stated that it was very hard for them to make a decision as to how to distribute the food. They made Mashourah (consultatiion) to break down the parcels so that more people could benefit from what they had. In the end they managed to feed 2,000- 2,500 hungry refugees.
Hamid said: “We slaughtered eight cows. Some people never ate [meat] since we gave them meat the same time last year.”
He further remarked: “It is very sad, you feel for them when you see how they live, the life over there. They are only depending on what Allah SWT and what people give them.”
Thanks to the CoM donors they were able to distribute rice, oil, sugar, tomatoes, pasta, onions and tea etc. around 10 different items to the needy CAR nationals.
Hamid added: “For last 4 years I have been going there, on the behalf of Caravan of Mercy, but this year I have found it to be completely different. And it is very very hard to make a decision because they have run out of food and the UN is not supporting them enough like the way they used to support them. At the moment the UN is only giving them cornflour, 15 kilos a month, so can you imagine 15 kilos of cornflour they have to just make that cornflour and dry it to become powder.” (Preparing cornflour is a 2 day process to make it into maize which they can finally cook with.)
“Alhamdullilah today we managed to give them rice, with rice it is much easier for them just to cook and for the children to eat. So we are trying our best by the help of Allah SWT and to support them and to give them at least food for a couple of days maybe for one week. And until that food is finished and then they go back to their normal life again, waiting for what Allah SWT provides them from our brothers and sisters from the UK, and [they] remember and send them their Zakaat, Sadaqat and Lillah. We really appreciate their help. In the refugee camp they are so desperate to see Caravan of Mercy over there because Alhamdulillah CoM is the only organisation which is on the ground in Borgop, supporting them and helping them and giving them hope to live.”

“Alhamdulillah we thank all those donors who remember them and send especially their donations through CoM and help those refugees in Borgop. It was a very frustrating trip this year. We saw a lot of things we never thought existed in even in the refugee camp. For example there is one boy we met there, by Allah, the whole day I was crying when I saw that boy. His leg is broken for 3 months, he has been sitting at home without any treatment. Without medication without any, even painkillers even Paracetamol. This boy was walking like this with a broken leg for 3 months. So we had to go to the office, UN office and shout at them and speak to them, then they managed to take action. So now we are working with Mawlana Ebrahim (head of COM) how we can support this boy to send him to hospital to get treatment. We thank all the donors and all the supporters who contribute their time their money their Du’aa (prayers). May Allah SWT give them long life, may Allah SWT give them Barakah (blessings) and may Allah SWT give those staff who work in CoM as well and ability to support because this is all that we are for.

We ourselves when we are going on the ground, Alhamdulillah we are sacrificing our time, we are taking risks to go there because even the area by itself there is no food. The area is a very risky area but we have to go there and help them for the sake of Allah SWT. So we thank everyone who contributed, may Allah reward you with good.