Charity plans to sacrifice 5,000 animals

PESHAWAR: The Ummah Welfare Trust (UWT) will sacrifice 5,000 animals in the upcoming Eidul Azha for distribution of meat among the deserving people, said its patron-in-chief Maulana Mohammad Idrees.

Talking to reporters, he said that collective sacrifice of animals would be carried out at the trust’s main centre located at the Grand Trunk (GT) Road in Nowshera.

The UWT, which has already established a slaughterhouse and dairy farm to meet food requirements of its students, does not have enough space for sacrifice of animals in such large numbers, this is why the volunteers will observe the religious obligation in the open.

The slaughterhouse and dairy farm have been established to avoid purchase of milk and meat from the market.

During a visit to the Ummah Academy that houses 700 orphan students, it was observed that the another 60 kanals of land had been reserved for the slaughterhouse, dairy farm, Dhobi Gaat, and technical education.

About 70 cows, besides goats, were seen in the specially prepared agricultural farms and halls equipped with big fans and water coolers.

The volunteers and staff members were busy in washing clothes and bed sheets for students.

The students are not allowed to come here for getting their required items but it is the responsibility of staff to provide them in their separate rooms.

Maulana Idrees said the UWT, which was initially established to provide relief in emergencies and still working in 27 countries of the world, recently distributed Ramazan Package to 1,50,000 families and winter kits to 45,000 families.

The UWT, he added, had also constructed houses for 300 orphans, wells and hundreds of mosques in various parts of the country. He said the UWT also established medical camps, provided treatment to helpless patients and machines along with skill training to widows.

“We have also established another orphan centre in Wana in South Waziristan, where 475 orphans are receiving education,” he said. 

Realising the miseries of orphans, he added, it was decided to permanently work for orphans and that was why they established an academy to provide better education to helpless children and make them useful citizens.

The academy includes a hostel established on 148 kanals, a dispensary, minor operation theatre and a record room having the records of patients and their treatment, a library, computer rooms, tailor room, and big shops with books and all required items for schoolchildren.

The principal, Dr Naveed Ahmad, said that he had visited 22 countries but he had not seen such arrangements and facilities for orphans anywhere in the world.

He was satisfied with the standard of education being imparted to the students in the academy and said their students got A plus results. He said one of their students recently qualified admission test for the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology and one each was admitted in medical and engineering colleges.

Volunteers were seen cooking food in clean kitchen and students in dining halls. Every student has his separate cupboard in the hostel room and they have been accommodated according to their age group.

This correspondent offered Zuhr prayer in the Academy mosque, where more than 700 orphans followed their young prayer leader, an orphan himself.

Like those of mature people, the minor students remained for tasbeehat for a while after offering collective prayer.

Later, Arabic teacher Maulana Naveed Ahmad, said it was a part of their training to say tasbeehat after the prayer.

Maulana Naveed, who is MPhil in Islamiyat, said that the students get two and a half hours religious education daily after Fajr prayer.

Out of the total 30 classes, 12 are for Hifz-e-Quran (learning the Holy Quran by heart).

After taking lunch and rest, the students go for games in four playgrounds including football, basketball, volleyball and cricket. The students attend Hifz-e-Quran and other classes after Maghrib prayer. The UWT also provides Rs5000 monthly each to those students who complete learning the Holy Quran by heart.