accordion plus white icon

Zakat Starts at Home

Support the Elderly in Our Community

Support the Most Vulnerable in our Communities

In 2023, a quarter of Zakat recipients at National Zakat Foundation were those aged over 60.
Our clients were men and women who have worked their entire lives yet have no one to lean on in their time of need. They are on the verge of eviction or suffering in shelters, going hungry for days with neither the means nor the strength to buy food or ingredients, and they are struggling with chronic health conditions to top it all off.
The elderly in our community need us to step up for them, to support them in their time of need.
Your Zakat is needed to provide fresh food deliveries direct to their doors, medicines to prevent them from going into debt, along with other essentials.
It is our responsibility to show up for those who have no one. If we don’t, who will?

The Need is Urgent

SEPTEMBER 2024

0+
Zakat & Sadaqah Distributed
0+
People Supported
0+
Applications Processed

How You Can Help

$150

Covers essential clothing for one child giving them the warmth and confidence they need to navigate childhood

$400

Provides nutritious meals for two children for a month helping them focus as their growing bodies need

$800

Helps provide a child with shelter and other essentials to keep them safe and sheltered

Local Giving, National Impact

The Prophet (SAW) said, “Whoever does not show mercy to our young ones, or acknowledge the rights of our elders, is not one of us.”

Tirmidhi
accordion plus white icon

Zakat Starts at Home

Support the Elderly in Our Community

Have we forgotten the elderly in our community?

Our respected elders are the pillars of our communities.

Yet, many Muslim seniors across Canada now find themselves in need of compassion and support with their most critical needs. They are on the verge of eviction or suffering in shelters, going hungry for days with neither the means nor the strength to buy food or ingredients, and they are struggling with chronic health conditions to top it all off.

Your Zakat & Sadaqah is needed to provide fresh food deliveries direct to their doors, medicines to prevent them from going into debt, and housing support to save them from homelessness, along with other essentials.

Itis our responsibility to show up for those who have no one. If we don’t, who will?

The Need is Urgent

117+ seniors supported in 2025 alone

2x higher food insecurity in older adults who live alone
(Statistics Canada)

200kseniors approximately relied on food banks in 2025
(Food Banks Canada)

150,000 childrenare living in foster homes, institutional settings, or with extended familyas a result ofabuse, neglect, or abandonment. (2016 Census)

Even when they work, the odds remain stacked against them. Single mothers earn 19% less per hour than mothers in two-parent homes — a gap that has barely changed in nearly three decades. (Statistics Canada)

A child in a single-parent home faces nearly four
times the risk of poverty
than children in two-parent homes. And when that parent is a mother — especially an immigrant mother — the rate of poverty rises to 26.5%, the highest in the country. (Statistics Canada)

Fahad's Story

Fahad was barely ten years old when his father walked out on his family, leaving behind a wife and three young sons. Overnight, their childhood disappeared.  

Their mother, Salma, did not speak English, had no work permit, and was ineligible for childcare benefits. With the little government support they received, she had to choose between paying for food or rent. 

Basic needs like food, clothing, and utilities became a constant worry. 

Fahad’s older brother couldn’t bear to see his younger brothers hungry, so he dropped out of school to help provide for the family.

Desperate for help, Salma reached out to NZF Canada. With your support, we were able to provide the family with essentials: school clothes for the children, nutritious food, help with rent and utilities, and emotional support. Slowly, life began to feel a little more stable. 

Often, Fahad would help his mother communicate with us, sometimes sharing his small dreams for the future. “I wish I had a bike,” he once wrote. While we cannot fulfill every dream, together we can make sure children like Fahad have the essentials to survive, grow, and hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Abdullah’s Story

Abdullah was 80 years old when we first met him. He spent his life working - building businesses and providing for his family.

But in his later years, the realities of old age caught up with him. His savings were gradually depleted. What he had built over a lifetime was no longer enough to protect him. And eventually, his family abandoned him.

With no financial stability and no family to fall back on, Abdullah was forced to live in a public shelter - at an age when he should have been cared for, protected, and at peace.

Because of you, our team was able to step in, providing Abdullah with food and essential support while helping him begin the process toward stability.

Abdullah’s story reflects a painful reality faced by many seniors in our communities - elders who are left alone when they are most vulnerable.

Your local giving can help restore dignity where it has been taken away.

How You Can Help

$400

Delivers essential utilities and medicines to a senior, helping them stay safe at home.

$850

Provides fresh food deliveries to a senior’s door for one month.

$2,000

Supports housing stability for a senior at risk of losing their home.

Local Giving, National Impact

The Prophet (SAW) said,

“Whoever does not show mercy to our young ones, or acknowledge the rights of our elders, is not one of us.”

(Tirmidhi)

Your donations will be directed to supporting the elderly. In the case of necessity, funds will be directed towards supporting eligible beneficiaries as most urgently needed.