Thanks to the unwavering support of our supporters, and by the grace of God, we have been able to provide lifesaving and life-changing assistance to millions of the world’s most vulnerable people. This is our story…
1984/ Founded by a group of medical doctors and activists, Islamic Relief’s first donation comes from a young boy determined to help people in famine-stricken Sudan.
1985/ With the support of our dedicated volunteers, by now we have raised £100,000 for humanitarian efforts.
1986/ Major programmes such as orphan sponsorship and Qurbani distribution begin. They now help millions of the world’s poorest people each year.
1987/ A volunteer swimmer raises £1,200 to help people in Bangladesh, leading to the launch of the annual Islamic Relief Games.
1988/ Floods in Sudan create a turning point for Islamic Relief and we raise £200,000, our largest relief operation to date.
1989/ We assist survivors of the Halabja chemical attack in Iraqi-Kurdistan, one of the worst atrocities of the Anfal campaign.
1990/ We provide GBP £200,000 for emergency relief in response to a deadly earthquake in Iran.
1991/ More aid is sent to refugees in northern Albania and Chechnya, when tensions escalate after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
1992/ Poor families in Pakistan benefit from Ramadan food parcels and other aid as we kick-start our first projects in the country.
1993/ Islamic Relief is on the ground in Bosnia and Herzegovina – before the war ends, we will distribute 700 tonnes of aid.
1994/ We become the first ever Muslim NGO to receive funding from the UK government, which gives £180,000 for a training centre in Sudan.
1995/ As conflict erupts in Chechnya, we are the first aid agency to deliver aid in Grozny, where we provide medicine, food and clothing.
1996/ War breaks out in Kosovo, triggering an enormous refugee crisis. In the years ahead, we will deliver transformational post-conflict relief and development in the country.
1997/ We help poor Palestinian families to earn a living during the turmoil. Our work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories will expand when we open our Gaza City office next year – helping us to deliver development and relief projects and provide swift emergency aid.
1998/ We tackle infant and maternal mortality in Rangpur –one of Bangladesh’s poorest provinces.
1999/ We sign the Red Cross Code of Conduct, an international standard of how to provide aid to people affected by emergencies in a non-biased manner.
2000/ We begin to implement Waqf projects, reviving the great Islamic tradition of sustainable charitable giving.
2001/ We supply emergency food packs and tents to people affected by the devastating Gujarat earthquake in India.
Following 9/11, we advocate on behalf of the Muslim charity sector and set up the Humanitarian Forum.
2002/ In the same year that we sign a Framework Partnership with the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department, Islamic Relief builds new homes for Chinese families that had lost their houses to floods in Shaanaxi province.
2003/ The war in Iraq begins, and 03 we are on the ground delivering aid throughout the conflict.
2004/ Following the colossal Indian Ocean tsunami, we distribute lifesaving aid in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Our extensive efforts to rebuild shattered lives and communities are only just beginning.
2005/ We join the UK Disasters Emergency Committee, which brings together leading aid charities to work together in times of crisis, and launch a rapid response to an earthquake in Pakistan.
2006/ Lebanon faces a humanitarian crisis and Islamic Relief is one of the few agencies providing life-saving aid amidst the conflict in the south of the country.
2007/ Islamic Relief pioneers discussions on Islam and HIV/AIDS at a conference in South Africa, establishing the International HIV Fund to address the issue.
2008/ Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim communities in Myanmar are helped in our massive relief and recovery operation that begins this year.
2009/ In Bangladesh, we help tens of thousands in the aftermath of Cyclone Aila, whilst dozens of villages in Sudan gain access to safe, clean water.2000/
2010/ One of the first international aid agencies on the ground in the wake of the catastrophic Haiti earthquake, we also help communities devastated by flooding yet again in Pakistan. charitable giving
2011/ We launch a massive response to the East Africa’s worst drought in years, providing vital aid in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
2012/ We gain access deep inside Syria, providing aid to families devastated by the conflict, as well as continuing our work with refugees in bordering countries through programmes that will help many millions of people in the years that follow. 12 worst drought for 60 years, which killed nearly a quarter of a million people
2013/ We are in the Philippines helping communities battered by a brutal typhoon.
We also join just a handful of organisations qualifying for Strategic Humanitarian Partnership with Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
2014/ Vulnerable people receive a lifeline, as our emergency relief teams mobilise in Iraq, Gaza, and South Sudan and we provide psychosocial support, food, and essential items in the conflict-torn Central African Republic.
We have helped over 62 million people in the last ten years alone. Our work has spanned 50 countries so far.
2015/ As we formally partner with the African Union and construction of the Islamic Relief Oncology Centre of Excellence – part of Nelson Mandela’s legacy – nears completion, we distribute aid to earthquake-affected families in Nepal, and assist families affected by intensified conflict in Yemen.
2016/ The Syria crisis has reached its fifth anniversary. Islamic Relief has provided over £130 million worth of aid and assisted 6.5 million Syrians since the conflict began. In December, the Nelson Mandela Children’s hospital in South Africa was launched. Islamic relief donated $7.7 million to fund the children’s oncology unit.
