Sallah: How a small Borno NGO helped street kids to celebrate in a big way 

One little local nongovernmental in Borno has in the past year and months been changing the face of humanitarian endeavours in Maiduguri.

Ummin Rashida Care Foundation (URCF) is a humanitarian outfit that has been assisting the poor and less privileged to survive the scourge of poverty and deprivation, especially amongst persons affected by the ongoing insurgency.

From crowd-funding appeal to help Almajiris get warm clothing to survive harmattan, to the distribution of treated mosquito nets to help Tsangaya kids fight malaria, to helping widows to get accommodation, and even helping a community get its dilapidated mosque rebuilt, Ummin Rashida continues to touch the lives of ordinary people extraordinarily.

Recently, Ummin Rashida Foundation made another remarkable gesture this week when it helped Almajiris and street children in Maiduguri to celebrate the Eid el-Kabir in a big way.

At a time when the cost of buying a Sallah ram was a luxury far above the means of even the middle class, the NGO stormed four different locations of Maiduguri where they slaughtered and shared cow meat with the kids in the street.

Aisha Adamu Izge, the Chief Executive of URCF said the idea of sharing meat to the needy during Sallah was not only aimed at providing protein to their meals but also to give them a sense of belonging.

“In our usual way here at Ummin Rashida Care Foundation, the aim is to provide support to the needy especially at the times they needed it most,” she told The Humanitarian Times.

“With the support of the kind hearted and spirited individuals who partnered with us, we have been able to purchase two bulls which we slaughtered and shared to hundreds of Almajiris and street children to enable them also have meat to eat during this festive period,” said Ms Adamu, a school teacher who formed the NGO to make a difference in the humanitarian arena.

“The two bulls we slaughtered were shared to hundreds of kids at Polo area opposite Atal hospital, we shared at Dandari in Mashamari Community under Jere; we were also at
Gamboru community under MMC and at
Kofa under Konduga local government,” she said.