Community News (V10-I51)

Ramadhan Washington, Selfless Community Worker

There are many people in the Muslim community who are working hard to improve their communities and large. Their selfless services, however, go unrecognized. One such person is Ramadhan Washington of St.Joseph’s, Missouri. who was recently profiled in the Lifetsyles section of The News-Press.

Mr.Ramadhan, 60, began his community work during the civil rights era.

From that point forward, Mr. Washington dedicated himself to making his community a better place through grassroots organizing. He started working with Joyce Raye Patterson back in 1965 and was involved with the creation of the East Side Human Resource Center, now the Bartlett Center.

Today, Mr. Washington is involved in a variety of activities and organizations. His main priority is serving as chairman of the steering committee of St. Joseph’s annual Juneteenth celebration. He also works to boost membership and promote activities for the NAACP and is collaborating with the Youth Alliance to organize St. Joseph’s first-ever Martin Luther King celebration and parade. A pressing issue for Mr. Washington is the alarming incarceration rates of African-Americans and their return to society, so he volunteers with the Department of Corrections to assist offenders during the re-entry process to help them get back on their feet. Mr. Washington also is working with the his community to purchase land to build St. Joseph’s first mosque. As a Muslim, Mr. Washington says a lot of his work in the community is driven by his faith.

“It’s spiritual,” Mr. Washington says. “That’s a mandate of Islam. Before you go anywhere else, your community comes first.”

But for Mr. Washington, it’s also about giving information, effort and care to those who need it.

“I’m not seeking high office or anything. I’m dealing with grassroots… whatever brings peace and stability to the community,” Mr. Washington says.

Hagerstown Muslims urged to break new ground

Hagerstown Muslims were urged to break new ground where they live and reach out to others during the Eid ul Adha khutba in Hagerstown.

The Islamic Society held a morning service at the Grand Venice Hotel in Hagerstown for Eid al-Adha, a three-day festival. More than 200 people attended.

There are about 75 Muslim families in and around Hagerstown. Muslims from Waynesboro and Chambersburg in Pennsylvania and Martinsburg, W.Va., also attended the service.

Mahvish Rukhsana Khan’s book selected for outstanding award

American lawyer Mahvish Rukhsana Khan’s book has been selected as one of the ten outstanding books for 2008 by the Myer’s Centre. Her book is titled My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me and focuses on the plight of the detainees.

The Myers Center Panelists selected these books from approximately 400 nominations this past year. Established in 1984, the Myers Center is in its twenty-fifth year of continuous operation promoting ways we can become more active in co-creating an equitable world for all. 

Pak-American physicians convention to begin from Dec.21

THE Association of Physicians of Pakistani-descent of North America (APPNA) is organising its 29th Annual Winter Convention 2008 at Hotel Pearl Continental, Lahore, from December 21 to 24, 2008. The convention is a collaborative activity of APPNA and alumni associations of King Edward Medical University (KEMU), Allama Iqbal Medical College (AIMC) and Fatima Jinnah Medical College (FJMC).

While speaking at a press conference at a Lahore hotel on Saturday, the APPNA representatives in Pakistan, including Dr Hafiz Ijaz Ahmad, Dr Faheem Butt, Dr Tanveer-ul-Hassan Zubairi and Farooq Bhatti, said the Association was dedicated to fostering scientific development and education in the field of medicine.

APPNA saves lives and relieves suffering through its participation in medical relief and other charitable activities both at home and abroad.

Established in 1976, APPNA is one of the largest ethnic medical societies in the nation representing more than 15,000 physicians and healthcare professionals of Pakistani-descent serving across the United States and Canada.

They said the 29th Annual Winter Convention was accredited with Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide Continuing Medical Education (CME) for physicians. This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Area and Policies of the ACCME.

APPNA played a significant role for disaster relief for 2005 earthquake. Over $1.7 million had been collected to be disbursed for earthquake relief work. Medical and surgical supplies valued at several million dollars had been collected and distributed and over 559 tents worth $84,000 were distributed within weeks of the disaster. APPNA donated 2,645 galvanized tin roofs worth $26,000 used for shelters before winter 2005. Over 200 APPNA doctors traveled on their own expense.

In the year 1989,  APPNA became the first organization to endorse Imran Khan’s cancer hospital. Allama Iqbal Medical College Alumni Association raised $175,000 for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, at its annual dinner during APPNA Summer 2006 meeting in Chicago. This hospital is a charitable cancer hospital, which treats most patients free of cost.

APPNA had coordinated with Child Aid Association and the National Institute of Child Health to establish a genetic diagnostic laboratory in Karachi. The APPNA members donated time, expertise and money for a genetic diagnostic laboratory called National Institute of Child Health (NICH), Karachi.

Last month,  APPNA hosted a dinner in honor of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry during his visit to USA and presented him award for his struggle for the independence of judiciary in Pakistan. “The APPNA team is interested in projects of community development in Pakistan through health and education sector reforms,” they added.

10-51, MMNS