CAIRO – Scotland has awarded Islamic Relief manager for his efforts to relieve thousands of people in ordeal worldwide, reported The Times on Saturday, January 23. “I congratulate Habib (Malik) on winning this award and for his commitment to international relief work over many years,” Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop said.
“It is particularly poignant to present this award at a time when its recipient is heavily involved in the international effort to assist those experiencing intolerable suffering and human tragedy in Haiti.”
Habib, 43, was awarded Friday the Burns Humanitarian Award for his efforts to relieve disaster-ravaged people around the world.
“My work with Islamic Relief has never been for my sake, but for the sake of those voiceless millions around the world who scream but are not heard,” Habib said.
“Robert Burns himself was born into poverty and has been described as a poet of the poor, and an advocate for social change,” he said, referring to the prize founder.
Launched in 2002, the Burns Humanitarian Award aims to recognize groups and individuals who help, aid and enrich the lives of others through sacrificing themselves, money and efforts.
The prize winner receives 1759 guineas, a sum which signifies the year of Burns’s birth and the coinage then in circulation, as well as a specially commissioned hand-made award.
Previous recipients include Guantanamo Bay human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, Sir John Sulston, the eminent biologist who helped to decode the human genome and Adi Roche, the peace campaigner and Chernobyl activist.
Orphans Ambassador
Habib, of Lebanese origin, dedicates his time to give a helping hand to thousands of people harmed by disasters worldwide.
“I once walked with a woman for three hours to go and get one bucket of water, and then walked three hours back,” he recalled.
“The bucket was so heavy I could not carry it, but she did that every day.”
Habib was named the Scotland area manager for Islamic Relief and a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee, the umbrella organization that co-ordinates the British charity response to crises overseas, in October 2003.
He joined relief efforts in different parts of the world, including Indonesia following the 2004 tsunami disaster, Pakistan after a deadly earthquake in 2005, Sudan, Niger, Somalia and Haiti.
The Islamic Relief Scotland area manager is now busy raising funds for quake-hit Haitians, collecting more than £30 million in five days.
“It is hard for us, in our comfort zone in Britain; we cannot truly imagine what it is like,” he said.
“During the bad snow people were moaning about not having enough salt; they seemed to think that because their cars were slipping on the road they had real problems.”
Viewing himself as an employee for people in ordeal, Habib recalls hundreds of times he broke down because of the scenes of suffering people.
“When you appeal it has to come from the heart,” he said.
Established in Birmingham in 1948, Islamic Relief is an international Non-Government Organization seeking to promote sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities through relief and development programs.
“The orphans and widows I meet abroad can’t come here, so I have to absorb their pain then be an ambassador for them,” said Habib.
“When I stand on the stage, I am one of them.”
Source: IslamOnline
“It is particularly poignant to present this award at a time when its recipient is heavily involved in the international effort to assist those experiencing intolerable suffering and human tragedy in Haiti.”
Habib, 43, was awarded Friday the Burns Humanitarian Award for his efforts to relieve disaster-ravaged people around the world.
“My work with Islamic Relief has never been for my sake, but for the sake of those voiceless millions around the world who scream but are not heard,” Habib said.
“Robert Burns himself was born into poverty and has been described as a poet of the poor, and an advocate for social change,” he said, referring to the prize founder.
Launched in 2002, the Burns Humanitarian Award aims to recognize groups and individuals who help, aid and enrich the lives of others through sacrificing themselves, money and efforts.
The prize winner receives 1759 guineas, a sum which signifies the year of Burns’s birth and the coinage then in circulation, as well as a specially commissioned hand-made award.
Previous recipients include Guantanamo Bay human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, Sir John Sulston, the eminent biologist who helped to decode the human genome and Adi Roche, the peace campaigner and Chernobyl activist.
Orphans Ambassador
Habib, of Lebanese origin, dedicates his time to give a helping hand to thousands of people harmed by disasters worldwide.
“I once walked with a woman for three hours to go and get one bucket of water, and then walked three hours back,” he recalled.
“The bucket was so heavy I could not carry it, but she did that every day.”
Habib was named the Scotland area manager for Islamic Relief and a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee, the umbrella organization that co-ordinates the British charity response to crises overseas, in October 2003.
He joined relief efforts in different parts of the world, including Indonesia following the 2004 tsunami disaster, Pakistan after a deadly earthquake in 2005, Sudan, Niger, Somalia and Haiti.
The Islamic Relief Scotland area manager is now busy raising funds for quake-hit Haitians, collecting more than £30 million in five days.
“It is hard for us, in our comfort zone in Britain; we cannot truly imagine what it is like,” he said.
“During the bad snow people were moaning about not having enough salt; they seemed to think that because their cars were slipping on the road they had real problems.”
Viewing himself as an employee for people in ordeal, Habib recalls hundreds of times he broke down because of the scenes of suffering people.
“When you appeal it has to come from the heart,” he said.
Established in Birmingham in 1948, Islamic Relief is an international Non-Government Organization seeking to promote sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities through relief and development programs.
“The orphans and widows I meet abroad can’t come here, so I have to absorb their pain then be an ambassador for them,” said Habib.
“When I stand on the stage, I am one of them.”
Source: IslamOnline
