Humanity First in Ramadan (and always)

 

Under the guidance of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih^aa, the date of this year’s International Ramadan Appeal Telethon was set at Saturday 26 May 2018. 

The telethon consisted of a series of programmes by Humanity First in Pakistan, Ghana, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and the United States as part of the Ramadan campaign. 

This was the third time that Humanity First held a telethon in multiple countries on the same day. 

On the day, the first to broadcast was Humanity First Pakistan. The broadcast ran for just over seven hours from MTA studios in Pakistan as well as on YouTube, and donors could give towards the following projects: Gift of Sight, Water for Life, Maternity Camps run by the Global Health programme and the Chohra schools in Tharparkar run by the Knowledge for Life programme.  

The next country to broadcast was Humanity First UK. The UK event took place in Tahir Hall, Baitul Futuh and was broadcast live via channel 194 on Sky, as well as being streamed live on YouTube. 

A set had been created on which the bulk of the programme was presented. The hall also contained two call centres, one manned by Khuddam and the other by Lajna Imaillah. There was also a Finance Desk where donors could personally make donations and promises. Numerous displays showcasing various projects supported by Humanity First as well as a Large LED screen which showed the fundraising status as well as other imagery were put in place. 

The projects supported by the UK campaign included Water for Life, Knowledge for Life, Global Health as well as a new initiative launched by our beloved Huzoor^aa, namely the Institute of Special Education, Rabwah – a new school for children with disabilities.

During the broadcast there was also a transmission from Humanity First Bangladesh to give an update on the work carried out as part of the Rohingya Appeal of 2017. 

Alongside the UK broadcast were broadcasts from HF France and HF Ghana. The French broadcast was run from the main MTA Studios in Baitul Futuh, London and lasted 2 hours, while the Ghanaian broadcast ran from the new Wahab Adam Studios in Ghana and was transmitted as part of the UK broadcast. This was the first time that an African country had organised a telethon.  

The last country to broadcast from Europe was HF Germany. Their broadcast ran for 5 hours between 3pm and 5pm (CET) and like the other broadcasts, was also transmitted via YouTube.

HF Canada and HF USA also held separate broadcasts lasting 6 and 5 hours respectively. Humanity First Canada donors raised money to go towards programmes such as Orphan Care, Disaster Relief, Refugee resettlement and Food Bank. 

Humanity First USA raised an incredible total from their 5-hour broadcast, with donations going towards programmes such as Food Security, Knowledge for Life as well as the new Nasir Hospital in Guatemala.

In total, the Humanity First International telethons have thus far raised just under $3.3 million. 

The Ramadan  campaign still has 20 days to go. If readers would like to view any of the broadcasts, the recordings are available at https://humanityfirst.org/globaltelethon/ 

Readers can also continue to donate to the appeal by clicking the “Donate” link on the top right-hand corner of the same page.