Giving a Helping Hand to Ethiopia by Hana S. Hubert

       Have you ever heard of Ethiopia? It is a country in the Horn of Africa,  with a population of 91.73 million. The capital city is Addis Ababa. It's main language is Amharic, although there are over 200 others. The most common, after Amharic, are Tigrinya, Orominga, Guaraginga , Somali, and Arabic. There are also many religions including Islam, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Animist. The currency that is used in Ethiopia called Birr and is found in the form of paper and coin. One dollar equals 19.75 birr, which makes Ethiopian items cheap to buy. For example, a fancy Ethiopian Pen Cup Holder that is 100 birr, would be 5 dollars and seven cents, while similar item in America might range from 5 to 10 dollars. The average life expectancy in Ethiopia is 54.

        Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries. Droughts and famine are common, and civil wars and conflict have taken it's toll. Almost half of the county's population don't receive enough food to support them and their families. 

        People in rural Ethiopia live in extreme poverty. The living conditions are horrendous. There are only 3 medical doctors per 100,000 people.  Only one out of three Ethiopians have running water. Because droughts are common, millions of people are on the brink of starvation, and food is limited. By Purchasing livestock for needy families, we will provide means for a family. If we purchase a dairy cow for them, it will provide enough milk for a family to feed the young, and what is left they can sell to earn money. If you buy a pair of sheep or goat, the family will pass on any offspring that the two animals have, to a neighbor or relative. The goal is to help the families escape poverty so that they can educate their children. Ethiopia is one of the countries that will benefit from our efforts. Get informed, get involved, and help to make a difference.  We the rescue Rangers are doing our part. Join us in this effort. 

Hana S. Hubert

A Gift That Keeps on Giving- by Hana S. Hubert

         Children's Hospitals project, our previous project, is ongoing. We hope to do more with the children hospitals. We are collecting cans to help Ronald McDonald house, so if any of you can collect tabs from soda cans and drop them off at the Zakat Foundation, it will be greatly appreciated. This will help a family that doesn't have funds to afford to stay In a hotel while their kids, who have rare diseases, get the treatment they need.

         Our current project is about helping families purchase a cow, a pair of sheep or goat, or just a single animal in poor countries in Africa such as Ethiopia.. If the pair of sheep or goats have offspring, they must pass on the child to another family. We are helping families purchase these animals to use, not for consumption, but for their daily life. It is $450 for a cow, a pair of goats or sheep is $200, and a single sheep or goat is $100. The $200 dollar deal appears to be the best, at least to me, because the family that receives them will receive two animals, twice the wool or milk, and another family will also benefit when the two animals have offspring. It is a gift that keeps on giving. However, the $100 deal is also appealing to me, since we can assist more families by buying one animal for each family, instead of multiple animals for one family, therefore helping far more families for a cheaper price. 

         This can change the life of a family, after all, our motto is to make a difference in another person's life. It's amazing what we can accomplish when we work together.

Adam Hubert and Sarah Ali Khan at the George Wilson Center,
Thursday, July 10th.

Summer Camp at ZF- by Hana S. Hubert

On Tuesday's and Thursdays, zakat has a summer camp, to raise money for the children hospital's. The camp's activities are taught by youth leaders, and are forty minutes long. Such classes are: cooking, art, origami, crocheting, science fun, and more.the class I am teaching is called nature fun, for ages 3-6. I hope to teach kids of all ages about our environment, inshallah. In my class, we get to color, glue, and cut, to make nature-related activities, and play fun games to test their knowledge of plants and animals. I also have a website, ZFforevernature.blogspot.com. We have raised $432 at our camp.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia! By Hana S. Hubert

           On Saturday, June 14, the Rescue Rangers went to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to sponsor brunch in the coffee break room. The room provides a safe haven for the families whose kids are sick and have to stay there for a long period of time. We laid out appetizing, appealing, mouthwatering, heavenly and delicious food, such as brownies, sweet bread, banana's, apples, cookies, and more. We were there for 1 1/2 hours, but the coffee break lasted longer. 

           The hospital provides many services for the families, like a laundry room so that families could wash their dirty clothes, instead of going home to do so. There are also beds for the parents to spend the night. I can't imagined how awful it must be to be stuck in a room for months on ends. 

           The people that came were delighted so see all the palatable food laid our for them. It's nice to make a difference, even in a small way. Our motto is Inspiring others to take action and make a difference, and we felt like we did just that, that day.

Childrens Hospital Visit

On Saturday 14, the rescue rangers visited the Children Hospital of Philadelphia. We brought food there to feed breakfast to sick people. We also got to get a tour of the library there. I think the breakfast was a good success. We had many different choices of foods. Many people in the hospital had a nice refreshing meal. I hope to do something like that again. 

Spring Picnic

At the picnic on May 18th there were fun games and delicious foods.  All the people including me had an awesome time. We kids had fun playing at the playground, riding our bikes or scooters, and running around in the field. There were also a game which was three legged race. It was really fun playing that game. The adults had fun relaxing and talking with their family and friends. The foods were even better. There was barbecued hot dog and burgers that's smell filled the air. The Rescue Rangers also had a table. There you could sign up for our upcoming summer camp, donate to sick children, or fill in our survey. In the survey it had 2 questions. 1. Are you a organ donor? 2. If not, are you interested in becoming one. We got 17 people to fill it in. There was also a cake that read "Rescue Rangers". It was very yummy. That picnic day was a vary fun and exciting.

The Delicious Cake

Having fun in the park!

Cystic Fibrosis by Hana S. Hubert

               Cystic fibrosis is a disease passed down through families that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, digestive tract, and other areas of the body. It is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults. It is a life-threatening disorder. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by a defective gene which causes the body to produce more then normal thick and sticky fluid, called mucus. This mucus builds up in the breathing passages of the lungs and in the pancreas, the organ that helps to break down and absorb food.This collection of sticky mucus results in life-threatening lung infections and serious digestion problems. The disease may also affect the sweat glands and a man's reproductive system.

                 Millions of Americans carry the CF gene, but do not have any symptoms. That's because a person with CF must inherit two defective CF genes -- one from each parent. An estimated 1 in 29 Caucasian Americans have the CF gene. The disease is the most common, deadly, inherited disorder in the United States. It's more common among those of Northern or Central European descent. Most children with CF are diagnosed by age 2. A small number, however, are not diagnosed until age 18 or older. These patients usually have a milder form of the disease. Please donate so that we can give the money to hospitals to continue to do research and help families that can't afford the expensive treatment.