Jaffna Muslim Association – UK
Founded in 2002, Jaffna Muslim Association is a non-profit charity organisation created to help the people who were displaced from the town of Jaffna in Sri Lanka in 1990.
Due to the war most Muslims settled in refugee camps in Puttalam or escaped to other areas in Sri Lanka to avoid persecution. Essentially, due to the strict rules imposed upon Muslims on exiting Jaffna, conditions in the refugee camp were destitute and still are destitute as many Muslims (although almost 23 years have passed) still remain suffering in the camp. In total, approximately 72,000 people were forcibly evicted from the Northern Province (about 20,000 people from Jaffna).
Jaffna Muslim Association focuses on providing help to this community in Sri Lanka- we have provided financial help for widows, education for children, medical help (funding operations, treatment etc.) for those who need it, built buildings necessary to the community (i.e.: Masjids, graveyards etc.) – we have also had an emergency appeal for the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami by collecting money for those affected.
Annually, JMA provides a Qurbani and Fitra service in the United Kingdom to help Muslims from the Northern Province suffering as a result of the Sri Lankan Civil War- not only does this help provide for the community but it builds a bridge between a separated community and brings it together once more.
In the United Kingdom, various projects are held to keep the community together- community Iftars, Eid celebrations, Children’s programmes, sponsoring people in Sri Lanka who need medical/financial/educational support etc.
We believe that uniting the community and improving the lives of our brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka is very important- hence why JMA officially became a registered non-profit charity organisation in 2011, to further our goals. In more recent times, the community have been trying to re-build their lives in Sri Lanka and re-settle into the area from which they were displaced with the help of JMA.
From the dawn of JMA a lot of work has been put in to fully establish this charity organisation-people have left the organisation and new people have joined. Little by little our organisation has been building up into a fully functioning charity therefore, we’d like to thank anyone who has ever supported JMA in the past and we hope that you will continue to support us in the future.