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Islamic Relief

Orphan Sponsorship in Yemen
Location: The governorates of Sana’a, Saadah and Taiz
Number of Beneficiaries: Over 210 orphans and their families
Start Year: 2006
Status: Ongoing



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Project Overview

Islamic Relief launched the Orphans Sponsorship programme in Yemen in May 2006 in the governorates of Sana’a, Saadah and Taiz.

Sponsorship provides orphans and their families with enough money to cover their basic needs including food, shelter, healthcare and education.

Project Background

Widows and orphans are amongst the poorest members of Yemeni society. Men are the breadwinners of the household, so when there is no man in the family there is no sustainable income.

Widows often struggle to provide for their family because female literacy in Yemen is low, making it difficult for women to find work. Also, many women do not have any income generation skills, which makes it harder for them to sustain even a small income.

Project Objectives

  • To improve the standard of living for orphans and their families;
  • To ensure that all school-age orphans receive an education and attend school regularly;
  • To ensure that orphans have access to adequate healthcare;
  • To reduce the number of orphans engaged in child labour;

Project Activities

  • Distributing monthly sponsorships;
  • Monitoring sponsored orphans through school and home visits;
  • Expanding the project to reach more orphans;
  • Developing the Orphans Sponsorship programme so that orphans and their families benefit from IR’s seasonal Ramadhan and Qurbani programmes;
  • Assessing how orphans can benefit from other projects, such as school supplies distribution;

How Islamic Relief Helps

"Islamic Relief is striving for a fairer world. Our mission is to help the poor and needy to live sustainable, self-reliant lives within safe and caring communities. Our work is guided and shaped by the core values of accountability, humanitarianism, neutrality and impartiality, inclusiveness, integrity and co-operation, all of which are also integral to the Islamic faith."
Dr Hany El Banna - Founder of Islamic Relief

Islamic Relief was established in 1984 and our unique approach is the result of these many years of hands-on experience.

  1. Where possible we adopt a community partnership-based approach; encouraging community involvement, understanding and ownership of projects.
  2. We run the majority of our field projects ourselves, giving us direct insight into the problems faced and how best to solve them.
  3. We aim to empower those we help in order to achieve sustainable results.
  4. Though our emergency response teams are quick to respond to emergencies around the world, we continue to support communities long after the initial media interest has died down.
  5. We recruit staff locally to benefit from their local knowledge. This ensures that we are culturally sensitive and allows us to reach communities and areas other organisations cannot.
  6. Where necessary we coordinate our work with other reputable aid agencies, local organisations and governments.

Millennium Development Goals

Islamic Relief is committed to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which have been agreed by the world’s leading development institutions in an effort to meet the needs of the world’s poorest by the year 2015. 

The goals:

  1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
  2. Achieve universal primary education
  3. Promote gender equality and empower women
  4. Reduce child mortality
  5. Improve maternal health
  6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
  7. Ensure environmental sustainability
  8. Develop a global partnership for development

For more information about the MDGs, please visit: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

Islamic Relief