Sadaqa Train

Visit to Ho

Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim. In the name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. Preparations for the trip began after the Amir of the group, Sherif Shaban, received a call from Mr. Gavor, an imam we met during our Ramadan trip to Luvudo,
thanking us for our previous visit and donations. In the course of the conversation he mentioned that there was a group of needy reverts in Ho that he would like us to visit. The message was communicated to the team. After a few deliberations, a date for the trip was set and preparations began.

All matters with regards to publicity were handled by MYProject Ghana which included a video and e-flyers which were broadcasted on several social media platforms to raise awareness about Sadaqa Train. The video was shot a few weeks prior to the trip with five Sadaqa Train members, explaining what Sadaqa Train is about and why people should donate to the cause.

Sadaqa Train and MYProject were also hosted on Radio Univers’ Islam in Focus to give a little insight to both group’s activities. The invite was dutifully honored by the Sadaqa Train Amir and the MYProject CEO. The publicity was amazing and in a few days we received a large number of donations from several individuals in cash and in kind.

Masjid al Taqwa was selected by the Ameerah, Mariam Khidr, for sorting out, perfuming and packing of all donations. Letters were also written to a few Muslim organizations to assist the group with Islamic literature, to which we received a number of Qur’ans and Islamic books from Voice of Islam in Tema. We also received some books in Ewe from African Muslims Agency in Accra. MYProject Ghana offered to sponsor the refreshments we planned for the kids.

Not all members were however available for the trip, but a sufficient number were. The available members were put into groups by the Deputy Amir, Badhan Diallo, to co-ordinate all activities we intended to undertake and to enable us work together effectively.  The team met in separate groups from the 30th of September to the 3rd of October to sort out and pack the donations.

Alhamdulilah, one generous man, Mr. Muhammed Abdulai of Falcon Crest Company limited secured an extra bus and fueled it for the trip. The team however had to secure another bus to transport the large amount of donations we had to Ho. The CEO of Afro Arab company limited funded the cost of the fuel for the second bus.

The Journey

The group converged at Masjid ul Taqwa on the 5th of October at around 6:30am for the trip. A little sorting out was done, as a few donations had come in that morning. The items were packed into one of the buses by some of the brothers and in about an hour we were ready to set off. Brother Sherif and Kawawa took the bus with the donations whiles the rest of the team took the other bus. A reminder was sent by Ameer Sherif to the Sadaqa Train WhatsApp group to remind everyone to recite the supplications for travelling and some other hadiths in relation to the dua of a traveler.

We made our first stop at the 37 Goil filling station to buy a few things from the supermarket since most of us had not had breakfast and also to wait for Brother Sherif Yemoh. The next stop was at Madina Zongo junction to pick up Sister Rashida. The entire journey to Ho was mostly uneventful as the brothers made noise and Brother Jibril took pictures of almost every passing moment. The sisters on the other hand spoke more quietly among each other at the back whilst others watched videos on their devices. The bus got a little livelier when we got to the Volta Region as the brothers started playing beautiful nasheeds on jihad. We were also stopped at a police barrier for a brief check by the police who seemed to be very curious about the sisters’ choice of clothing.

We arrived in Ho just before noon and picked up Mr. Gavor at a junction who then directed us to the location.

In Ho

Brothers and sisters separated upon arrival at the masjid and were ushered inside. Mr. Gavor gave a brief introduction about the team and a Sadaqa Train representative spoke about the reason for our trip and asked that the people not focus too much on what we brought but rather on the message. After which, the dawah session began. The male dawah session was led by Brother Sherif Yemoh and Brother Abdul Wahab. Brother Abdul Wahab spoke on "The greatness of Allah and the nobility of Rasoolulah (SAW) and tawakul". Brother Sherif Yemoh of the other hand spoke about the unity of the Ummah, understanding that we as Muslims do not recognize borders and therefore nationalism should not dictate our actions. He also touched on the importance of giving (sadaqa).

All the Sadaqa Train sisters were however present for the female dawah session which was led by Sister Hudaiya Abdul Rauf and translated into Ewe (which is the native tongue of the people of Ho) by Sister Rashida to enhance better understanding of our talk on hijab. Sister Hudaiya spoke at length about the importance of hijab in the life of a muslimah, the benefits of hijab, the requirements of hijab and evidences from the Qur’an. After her talk, Sister Shakira was asked to speak briefly about how she began wearing the hijab and her experiences with the hijab. Dawah sessions were soon brought to an end as it was time for Dhuhr.

Immediately after Dhuhr, the quiz sessions began for both the male and female side during which the medical team began setting up one of the classrooms for the medical screening exercise. The quiz session for the males was led by Amir Sherif and the female quiz session was handled by Sister Hudaiya, Sister Rashida and Sister Haifa. Sister Nadeema, Sister Nadia and Badhan also held a quiz session for the kids in one of the classrooms. Prizes were awarded for correct answers and some few things were also taught in the process.

The quiz sessions took a little over an hour after which the medical screening began. Due to the large number of people that turned up for the medical screening, other members who were unoccupied after the quiz joined the medical team to help speed up the process. Sister Libaba, Sister Neina and Brother Nurudeen handled consultation The refreshment were packaged by Badhan, sister Shakira, the bus conductor and two other kids who assisted them. Sharing of the refreshments turned out to be a lot more tedious than expected due to the excitement and hyperactivity of the kids. After the medical screening and refreshment, we prayed Asr.

The donations were sent to the imam’s house by the team to facilitate easy distribution. The team also took a couple of group pictures before leaving the Imam’s house. We were then invited by some of the women to have lunch, which we were told was made for us. We were taken back to the school, where the brothers gladly accepted the lunch invitation. The sisters on the other hand, who were a bit anxious especially since it was getting a little late, unfortunately declined the invite and resorted to feasting on the bowl of bananas that were given to them in the bus. In a little over 15 minutes, the brothers were done and it was time to leave.

The Journey Back Home

Since we now had another empty bus, the brothers and sisters split up and took separate buses. We arrived at Senchi at about 6pm and bought some abolo and shrimps (which were surprisingly much cheaper than the ones sold in Accra) but after waiting in the queue of vehicles for a while, we found out that one of the ferries was defective and thus could not be used. But Alhamdulilah, thanks to Mr. Mohammed we were able to make a detour through Akuse to Accra which prevented us from wasting too much time and getting home late. Though we were stopped at a couple of police check points, Alhamdulilah we managed to get to the Tema roundabout around 8:30pm. Where one of the sisters who lives in Tema alighted and was driven home safely by Mr. Mohammed who happened to be heading towards that area. All other members alighted at locations closer to their residences and by 10:30pm each person was home safe.

Alhamdulilah.

We give thanks and praises to the Almighty Allah for this successful trip and for seeing us through from the beginning till the end. And to everyone that donated, supported us through their prayers, etc. we say a very big thank you. We sincerely appreciate every effort made to support this cause. We love you for the sake of Allah.


Jazaakumullahu khair
(May Allah reward your efforts with goodness)