Fighting starvation

The Muslim Student Association (MSA) raised close to $90,000 through a benefit dinner March 17 to aid the starving citizens of Niger and northern Mali. About 400 people attended the MSA’s First Annual Humanitarian Relief Dinner held at the Westin near the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Niger and Mali, located in West Africa, are currently in the middle of the worst hunger crisis seen in 20 years. According to the Islamic Relief Organization, 3.5 million people in Niger and another 1.5 million in Mali are starving. The famine was caused by poor rains and locust invasions that ruined crops. Unfortunately, the livestock are also dying from starvation and drought, affecting the citizens’ sources of income and ways of life. MSA was eager to help in the fight against starvation.

“The idea behind the banquet was that it was a humanitarian event and focused on awareness of the suffering that no one knows about. So many people in Niger and Mali are suffering; 8,000 children are dying. I found out less than a year ago,” said Burhan Mirza, president of MSA. “The important thing is doing what we can to help them once we are aware.”

MSA originally planned to hold the benefit dinner for West Africa in November, but in the previous month a massive earthquake had struck Pakistan and India, leaving about three billion homeless.

“We were going to host dinner for the Niger and Mali victims, but during that month the earthquake happened in Pakistan and India. We didn’t know which place to address,” said Fariha Bhatti, the Da’wah events coordinator for MSA.

“So we felt that because the earthquake was more set in, we should raise funds for the earthquake victims in Pakistan. We raised about $17,000 to benefit the earthquake victims in Pakistan and India.”

However, MSA also realized the importance of providing aid for the citizens of Niger and Mali and began preparations for a benefit dinner to be held early during the following year.

“We thought that we shouldn’t just leave out Niger and Mali, so we talked to our community members. We felt it was important to make it a community event versus just keeping it at the local level. We felt we must involve the entire community,” Bhatti said. MSA sought funding from the board of directors at a local masjid, or mosque, located in the area surrounding Tech’s campus. “They offered their support. From there we started planning,” Bhatti said. MSA soon realized that much more homework was needed for the project to be a success. The project’s culmination date was set for second semester.

“Money came from donations people [made] on the spot,” Mirza said.

Overall, the night was centered on awareness of the suffering around the world.

Imam Siraj Wahhaj, one of the most prominent leaders in America’s Muslim community, spoke at the event, along with Naeem Muhammad who was also a speaker for the evening.

“Different speakers had slightly different focuses. One of the speakers was from the agency who received the money. He talked about the situation in Niger and Mali, showing [us] statistics and videos of what they were doing there. Our keynote [speaker] focused on how it was our duty as Muslims to help others who are less fortunate and for us to be aware of what is going in the world,” Bhatti said. There was also one additional speaker, a poet by the name of Brother Dash.

MSA has hosted several events during the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 school semesters to benefit those who are less fortunate and in need.

For example, last semester MSA hosted a fundaising event during the month of Ramadan—the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.

“Every year there is a month called Ramadan where we fast. We created pledge cards for the students on campus, who agreed that they would fast for a day,” Fariha said. Businesses in turn pledged to donate a certain amount of money for each student who agreed to fast.

MSA has an active membership of approximately 200 members who are bound together by their faith of Islam. According to members of the organization, MSA focuses on promoting brotherhood, sisterhood and unity among the Ummah—the community of believers and the Islamic world.

“We mostly do dinners, lectures or some form of entertainment; the events are usually large-scale gatherings,” Mirza said. As president, Mirza is mainly responsible for executive work and managing the cabinet. He also ensures that proper communication occurs between cabinet members.

For more information about West Africa and MSA, the organization encourages visiting cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/msa or sending emails to msa@gatech.edu.

West Africa: plagued by hunger

• 3.5 million people in Niger and 1.5 million in Mali are starving
• Niger was the world’s second poorest nation before famine struck
• Mali’s northern border is the Sahara desert. 16% of Gao and Kidal, parts of northern Mali, are “actutely malnourished.”

Source: BBC News