On our team’s visit to Aceh, Indonesia during Qurban last year, we had the honour of meeting Mdm Rihana and her family. She welcomed us warmly into her home – made sure we were comfortable, served us drinks, and introduced us to her 3 lovely daughters. As we spent time with her, we would come to learn that her smiling, friendly appearance masked a great deal of grief and suffering.
In February of 2020, her husband suddenly passed away from a stroke. He had no prior illnesses, and his death left Mdm Rihana’s family reeling. In one terrible night, she became a widow and sole breadwinner, and her children became orphans.
For a family already struggling with poverty, this tragic loss was almost too much to bear.
But Mdm Rihana picked herself up and kept going. Despite having multiple health problems of her own, she found a way to make a living to support herself and her daughters. “I have to be strong for my children”, she shared with us through tears,
Every morning, Mdm Rihana gets up at 4am to begin preparing for work. She sells bakso, rice, and other common Indonesian dishes from a small stall in front of her house. But even though she works till late at night, she earns just barely enough to get by day to day.
Her face lit up in joy when we asked her how her youngest daughter Alyssa is doing in school. As a recipient of our orphan sponsorship, Alyssa is thriving in school, attending extracurriculars, memorising the Quran, and eating enough to keep her energy up through the school day – all thanks to her sponsor.
Mdm Rihana shared how receiving the sponsorship was a huge weight off her shoulders, and how grateful she was that someone out there was helping her give Alyssa a brighter future.
For our team, it was truly eye-opening to see just how much of an impact our program had on Mdm Rihana’s family. With your monthly sponsorship, families like hers have a little breathing room as their child’s school fees, meal allowance, and health needs are provided for.
When you sponsor an orphan in need, not only do you play a part in changing their future, you also earn the reward of being close to our beloved Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., who was an orphan himself. The Prophet S.A.W. once said: “The one who cares for an orphan and myself will be together in Paradise like this,” and he held his two fingers close together to illustrate. [Bukhari]
This Rabi’ul Awwal, the month of the Prophet S.A.W., join us in changing the lives of orphaned children in need. For just $80 a month, you can ease their struggles and help build them a brighter future, and a road out of poverty.
Find out more about how you can help today!
