InnisfilToday received the following letter from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association regarding global community engagement day:
As every year since 2018, we have been spreading awareness on global community engagements which is critical for the support and implementation of sustainable communities. It not only brings issues and voices to the table, but also builds trust amongst organizations.
Global Community Engagement Day, Jan. 28, started with Andrew Coulson, former board member of Engage 2 Act, a not-for-profit organization. This day is celebrated in the importance of engaging the communities for a better outcome.
Unfortunately, since the pandemic started, it has been difficult for every organization. Three years into this pandemic and it is apparent that everyone has been affected in some way, shape or form. Among other things, the pandemic has highlighted social and economic disparities between groups of people in society.
Not only has this virus resulted in thousands of people becoming physically ill, but it has also affected people’s mental well-being. Covid-19 has caused tremendous change in lives.
Although there are many negative and stressful things that came along Covid-19, it brought communities together. People got closer to faith, to God, and towards their inner selves. Many organizations, and people reached out in this hard time and helped the less fortunate. The community engagement approach was altered due to the Covid restrictions faced by each and every individual.
Even now as many people practice social distancing, opportunities can arise to connect with people with limited mobility or internet access and keeping in mind the diversity of population with language differences. The idea is to spread awareness of the importance of community engagement keeping in mind the circumstances so that all groups can benefit from the efforts.
Throughout this pandemic, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s organization have had lots of time to connect as a household and to our community in various ways. One of the things we really got to focus on was the obstacles faced by the elderly, those trying to access resources, and those with language barriers. The community provides various platforms where the members can reach out to seek advice and to offer volunteering for community services.
As a member of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, it is one of the principles of our faith to help our fellow human beings. Following the teaching of Holy Quran, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association have been actively helping the community. Many members of the community have been feeding the neighbours or homeless, providing food for the sick, donating thousands of pounds of food and helping community members find jobs. All these efforts have been done thru community engagement.
Many webinars, and virtual classes have been conducted to spread awareness of the pandemic as well as the safety concerns. In keeping with the advice of our spiritual leader His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahamd, we followed public health guidelines, tried to maintain healthy diets, get in some daily movement breaks, and get adequate rest to stay above the ill-effects of the virus.
It has not been an easy go with this pandemic, but we have become more conscious about being grateful for everything that God has blessed us with. Acknowledging the positives and looking for the good things in difficult situations, has helped us cope with the effects of COVID-19.
Islam teaches to honour the rights of each and every member of community, such as right of neighbours, friends, sick, needy, orphan etc. It teaches us to be grateful to mankind in order to be grateful to God. Thus, Islam presents beautiful teachings of fulfilling the rights of others that leads to the creation of beautiful and peaceful community.
As a proud member of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, I welcome everyone to reach out, share your thoughts, and let us know how we can help to make our community a better place.
Madiha Majoka,
Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association