All Ceylon Muslim Women’s Association celebrates Diamond Jubilee

By Ruzaik Farook
The All Ceylon Muslim Women’s Association (ACMWA) will celebrate its 60th anniversary (Diamond Jubilee) on 26 Saturday May 2012 at Hotel Ramada, Colombo.

The ACMWA, one of the oldest and leading Muslim organisations in Sri Lanka focused on social development, was founded in 1952 by a group of Muslim ladies seeking to eliminate among Muslim women and girls got involved in many projects such as social, economic, educational and spiritual development of the Muslim women and their main objective to help the poor and needy people.
In 2002 they were blessed to implement a project on education for orphan by opening a school within the premises of Fathima Welfare Centre. This school started with 35 students and five teachers and eight classrooms.
The school was inaugurated on 4 June 2002 by Deshamanya Dr. A.M.Sahabdeen, M.H.M. Rafiq, Consultant, Director Studies Wycherley International School, Alhaj Jaleel Muhiyideen (Al Qadiri) South India and Alhaj Z.L.M. Mohamed (former Director Muslim Service SLBC). This was a long cherished dream of the ACMWA, whose President at that time was Zarina Saeed.
Today the school stands high with a three-storey building with a large hall, library, computer unit and auditorium as well as an organised vocational unit and playground for net ball and tennis, under present President Niloufer Akbar.
It extends its gratitude to a large group of personalities, academics, society, well-wishers and donors who have contributed their unstinted support to raise the standards of the school, which has developed its academic, vocational and religious education equally with some of the institutions in the Western Province.
The academic and cultural standard of the students too have provided a great achievement to the members of the ACMWA. M.H.M. Rafiq was the great personality behind the school’s educational programme. His vision was to provide girls with education, religion and vocational skills to prepare them for self employment and to take their rightful place in society.
They have records of students passed out as graduates and employed as teachers in the Government sector in 2005. In 2006 five students passed the G.C.E. O/L exam and left the school to join the Advanced Level in their own hometowns.
In 2007 six students sat for the G.C.E. Advanced Level examination through the school. Four students passed their exam and two left to get married. These four students were able to get into jobs arranged by Rafiq.
Hajara Hameed joined as a Science Lab Assistant at Wycherley International School, Ayesha Nizar and Firdousiya Ashraff as receptionists at Joseph Frazer Hospital and Nuzla Niyas as a Montessori Teacher.
These four students also qualified themselves as A.M.I. Montessori teachers with the help of donors from abroad, Mr. and Mrs. Don and Della from the UK introduced to the ACMWA by senior member Lamahn Azeez. Three more students intend to sit the G.C.E. A/L Exam in August 2012.
Activities of the association:

• Scholarships and financial assistance
• Emergency and disaster recovery support
• Health camps
• Marriage assistance for the needy
• Counselling
• Ramadan support
• Orphanage for girls aged seven to 24 (Fathima Welfare Centre)
• Hostel for women (Fathima Welfare Centre)
• Primary and Secondary schooling (Fathima Girls School)

The second key project is support to the Fathima Girls School, especially in covering operational costs, as well as the upgrading of the school facilities including the establishment of an IT laboratory. The ACMWA is looking at several ways to raise funds towards these aims, such as sponsor a student and sponsor a meal schemes.