Published on May 26 2009 by Ali Khan (Naib Mohtamim Ishaat)

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By the Grace and Blessings of Allah, MKA UK UK held the 2009 Charity Challenge on Sunday 10th May in Bradford (North East Region).  God Almighty blessed the humble efforts of MKA UK with a well organised event, record attendance, record participation and the highest level of fundraising achieved at an MKA UK charity event.

The location of the event was highly significant to MKA UK UK who have had the honour of contributing significantly towards the building of the Al Mahdi Mosque in response to the express wishes of our Beloved Khalifa, Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V (atba). It was felt that the recent completion of the mosque should be celebrated by the hosting of one of MKA UK’s flagship events.

Indeed, the attendance peaked at over 1,000, with more than 800 Khuddam and Atfal completing various routes up to 10km, which started and finished at the Al Mahdi Mosque and circled the picturesque Peel Park.
 
We are on target to raise over £100k. Save the Children, Great Ormond Street Hospital, NSPCC, Leukaemia Research, MacMillan Cancer Support, Humanity First,  Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability and Barnado’s will be among the beneficiaries of the event.

Overnight accommodation was provided at Baitul Hamd Mosque and proceedings began early on Sunday morning with the serving of breakfast. Final preparations included the set up of the registration through networked computers and databases to enable the registration process to run smoothly and aid accurate record keeping.

Many of the charities benefiting from the event and organisations supporting the event set up information stands in the exhibition area and banners around the site. As the start time approached, against the backdrop of the beautiful mosque and the Start/Finish Line - hundreds of Khuddam and Atfal, organisers, charity reps, sponsors and guests provided some really powerful imagery, encapsulating what this event is really about.

It is hoped that these powerful images displaying the genuine enthusiasm shown by 800 young British Ahmadi Muslims to raise money for British charities goes some way to enhancing community and multi-faith cohesion in the UK. For Muslims, service to humanity is a religious duty. Islam requires its followers to help the needy and to alleviate the suffering of people, regardless of age, gender, race and religion.

After greeting many of the participants and silent prayer, Sadr MKA UK Tommy Kallon Sahib started the race.  First to go were the serious competitors attempting to run the whole route, while the walkers and Atfal (completing shorter routes) followed shortly after. The winner of the event was Salman Muzaffar, of North East Region, who completed just under 9km in 36 minutes.
By the Grace of God Almighty, all the participants finished within two hours of start, photos were taken of every competitor and they were given their times so that they could get their certificates to aid the collection of promises.

After Salaat, a delicious lunch was served to all participants as the VIP guests also arrived for the final session. Representatives from the charities, local council, police force as well as the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Godfrey Bloom MEP and Judge John Gullick were among the special guests, while we were also blessed with the presence of our Respected National Ameer Sahib who travelled up from London for the final session. These guests joined Sadr Sahib, senior members of the Bradford Jama’at, the Event Committee and the North East Khuddam Team for lunch and the final session.

First to speak during the final sessions was Sadr Sahib who provided a brief history of the event, its purpose and gave a vote of thanks to the Chairman of the event, his team and all the guests for attending.  Fahim Anwer, Event Chairman, then gave a brief report of the event, details of the fundraising results and thanked individual members of the National and North East teams for extraordinary efforts, which had resulted in this most successful event.

Prizes were then distributed, followed by some words of gratitude by each of the charities whose representatives were present. The Lord Mayor of Bradford was then presented with a cheque for the Lord Mayor’s Charity, followed by Lord Judge John Gullick, who said a few words relating his long-standing affinity with the Jama’at. 

Proceedings concluded with Ameer Sahib’s address, in which he highlighted that through such events, MKA UK was setting a shining example of how Muslim youth in Britain today should behave and engage within their communities.

In a letter to all Khuddam after the event, Sadr Sahib said:

“The Event Chairman, Fahim Anwer Sahib and members of his Committee, and the host Regional Qaid, Yousaf Aftab Sahib, and his regional team all deserve our special and earnest prayers, along with all the Qaideen, Regional Qaideen and Mohtamimeen for making it a truly memorable event. 

“I hasten to remind all Khuddam and Atfal therefore that the work is only half done. As a matter of urgency, we need to start the work of turning promises into cash and I would be much obliged if you could commence this task immediately so that we can be in a position to give the funds raised to the nominated charities soonest. To those who were not able to attend, it is not too late to get involved and raise some funds for our charities. (We can accept cheques on behalf of any one of the charities we are supporting this year).

“This event is important in raising much needed funds for people and children less fortunate than ourselves and desperately in need.  However, it also does much to raise our profile as Ahmadiyya Muslim youth as a force for good, in addition to improving community cohesion and relations.”

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