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« Back to Chapters (Archived Material) Ramadan Activities in 2008 The CCMW Montreal and West Island Chapters completed their Ramadan activities by paying a visit to the L'Abri D'Espoir Shelter on Notre Dame street. We had started our activities with the donations, assembling and delivering of the Ramadan baskets that continued till the last quarter. Our member Inge Reed had suggested that the women at the Shelter were asking about Ramadan Food (since last year all the leftovers from the Saturday Iftars at MCQ used to be delivered to them). So we had a quick meeting and since the 27th of Ramadan (say did anyone notice that the 9th month of the lunar calendar fell exactly on the 9th month of the solar calendar?) and decided that we shall cook a SPECIAL meal for the ladies there on the declared date for the "Ramadan Solidarity Day". The menu was decided and ladies took on themselves different dishes to cook. The contact at the Shelter was a wonderful young lady from Congo and we had such good cooperation from her. She received us at the Kitchen where we brought 50 chicken legs cooked Indo-Pak style, Pea Pulao, Lentils and vegetables (Secheles style), Salad, 2 kinds of Desserts (I NEED the recipe for those lovely desserts since I did not get to taste them). Jacqueline, the Chef and our contact there, organized the food into Hot Serving platters (huge chaffing dishes) and it was served buffet style. She briefed us that we would encounter very different attitudes because the women might not be very talkative or in the mood to communicate and also, we had to make serving plates (as is the rule of the Shelter to minimize wastage). The ladies are allowed to come back 2 or 3 times, as long as they finished what they have on their plate. 5:15 was dinner time for them, at 5'o clock one of the volunteers came and set the tables, then at 5:10 we started making the plates and placing them on the counter where they were picked up by the ladies as they came in and lined up. We said hello and they were smiling and happy with all the AROMA that they were getting. We wished them bon apetit and told them that it was our Holiday that is why we were celebrating with them. I think that made them relax a bit and they enjoyed, complimented and thanked us when they came back for seconds. Jacqueline was saying that they RARELY ever came back for seconds and she was surprised that some even came for thirds. There was one lady who kept saying that I have told them here that I will not eat pork, so we knew that she was Muslim and we chatted with her (now I am hitting myself on the head saying "Why did you NOT give her your card?) and asked her where she was from etc. Most women came back and complimented us and Jacqueline even wanted (and wrote down) the recipes. One more thing that needs to be mentioned here that we gave them some little gifts also (like shampoos, lotions, good soaps etc. in gift bags) and sweets and toffees were provided for the children (we did not get to see the children as they are supposed to be in a different section). Jacqueline said that the gifts shall be given at their snack time later on in the evening. All the food and the gifts were provided by our members. We cannot forget to mention AND thank our male-CCMW member & supporter (and here everyone knows I mean Shahbaz Ashraf) who drove us on Friday on a reconnaissance mission to see where this place was, then organized all the food in the van and delivered it to the centre, then picked us up. What gave me a lot of encouragement and hope was the presence of two young members who came there to help and when they had done their duty of putting desserts on individual plates they left to go to the Masjid "MCQ" where they helped set up tables, food, water, coffee etc. all the organizational help that they needed over there since it was "Ramadan Solidarity Day" and the masjid had an open house. So CCMW was present wherever needed. Bravo girls. Thus ended another year of "Sharing & Caring", may God Almighty accept our efforts to uplift and help humanity. Speeches On-going events: June 29th, 2003 April 23 March 8 November 21 - 23, 2003 Concordia University, Montreal, QC Siema Abbas and Hina Ansari, from CCMW West Island (Montreal) chapter, will be making a presentation at the Transforming Spaces: Girlhood, Agency and Power conference at Concordia University, Montreal on November 21-23. The title of their presentation is "Sisterhood and Empowerment through Islam". For details, please visit: Montreal W. Isd - Annual Report 2002 This year, our chapter has been busy and by and large, quite successful. To date, we have held 8 regular meetings. Many of our members have been active in both Muslim and mainstream communities. Our activities focused on women and women's issues, but were certainly not limited to only women. Individual members have organized activities out of their own initiative that allowed them to best use their strengths. Our efforts to liaison with other groups in Montreal have increased. We offer organizational help and support to other Muslim and non-Muslim groups. The youth have been active this year: during the summer, they organized a drive to collect clothing and non-perishable foods for the needy, with the guidance of one of our more experienced members. The community response was overwhelming. Most of the items have already been distributed but the remainder is being stored in a warehouse, offered by "Helping Hands", a local community organization. Our regular activities have continued and are strong. This year, we delivered 75 Ramadan baskets to needy families during the Holy month. Telephone inquiries have been received from France, by Muslim women seeking assistance and advice, regarding possible immigration to Canada. They were directed to the appropriate Government offices. A letter writing campaign, both in English and in French was held to protest the occupation of Palestine and withdrawal of Israeli troops. This very successful activity (over 250 letters were mailed out by post to various Govt. offices) also led to the organization of Women's March in Downtown Montreal. The preparation and the mobilization was done entirely by a Women's Committee and the interaction and help given by the male members of the various organizations was tremendous. Apart from the Muslim organizations mentioned above, the input and active participation by the General Union of Palestinian Canadian Women, Women Against Occupation, Canadian Palestinian Foundation, Medical Aid to Palestine and SPHAR made this event a success. Our interfaith meetings with Jewish ladies have been a success. On their request to observe our prayers, a visit to the Mosque was arranged in co-ordination with the Imam. We were also invited to the Synagogue to observe their service, then we had a 'Joint Service' with them at the Synagogue. Another member facilitated a Basic Computer Skills workshop that introduced those members who are not familiar to the world of computers. It was a dynamic workshop, appreciated by all those who attended. Although the annual 'Blood Drive' was not held this year, two of our members are on the Board of Hema Quebec Volunteer's Association. This year, the importance of donating blood has been made evident as a member of the community recently lost her son to leukemia. Due to this incident quite a few members enlisted for bone marrow registry. On a continuous basis, members have been volunteering their time by giving emotional and physical support to women who need it. The annual conference 2002 of Islamic Social Services was held in Montreal. This provided an excellent platform to discuss issues of the urgent need for social services within the community. It was the first time that Montreal Muslim Community had the opportunity of discussing problems at a public forum. Al-Hidaya, an organization which has purchased a building in the North of Montreal for a Community Center, has been in touch with CCMW chapter to ask for guidance and help in forming a women's branch and setting up a day care. Future Activities Our current project is our chapter's participation in the Canada Day parade in Montreal. Another initiative that we are actively pursuing is the creation of a fitness centre for women. We have offered our assistance to the Women's Vitality Association who are enthusiastically trying to structure a project that would allow women to have a variety of services offered to them under one roof, such as swimming, gymnasium, fashion boutique, beauty salon and a cafe etc. |
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