In the sacred month of Muharram, help me provide uniforms and school supplies so HHUGS children get the best start to the school year.
The trauma of a father arrested and in prison. The anguish of a family broken and ostracised. The painful memories of bullying from the previous school year. These are the invisible horrors Sara will carry inside of her, on that dreaded first day. Adding to it all might be the shame of wearing an ill-fitting school uniform and old shoes that are hard to walk in. Such noticeable signs of poverty surely mark Sara out for further ridicule… unless you can help.
The average cost of a uniform is £337 per year for each secondary school child and £315 a year for each primary school child. Children experience bullying as a result of not being able to afford basic school essentials. Some even suffer the humiliation of being sent home for wearing ‘incorrect’ attire.
With inflation at a 30-year high, almost half the Muslim population in the UK is now entrapped in a cycle of poverty, compared to 18% of the general population. 65% are now falling into debt to get by, as surging prices and rising bills mean the poorest households in our community have been hit hardest.
For HHUGS families, already wrestling with uncertain finances, and crippled by the weight of debt, costly school necessities fast become another burden they cannot afford.
With the odds stacked against them, HHUGS children like Sara don’t stand a chance at a better start to the new school year. Though desperate to fit in, they face social exclusion and narrowing academic opportunities, because poverty prevents them from being able to participate fully in school. For children like Sara, a new uniform and a smart pair of kicks could mean the difference between standing tall in front of their peers and shying from everyone with embarrassment.
Can you help switch the odds for Sara and other children like her, on the first day of term?
“Whoever clothes (a believer) will be clothed from the green silks of Paradise.” (at-Tirmidhi)
