Jaiz Foundation outlines methods of accessing zakat funds, empowers 94 Kogi indigenes

Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation has empowered 94 persons in Kogi State with N4 million.

The foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Abdullahi Shuaib, said he was happy that the poor and vulnerable people are the majority of beneficiaries.

According to him, a premium is given to capacity building and economic empowerment of women and young girls.

This, he said, was to help them develop their potentials and enhance their standards of living.

He said the foundation gave out deep freezers, sewing and grinding machines, a generator, a printer, a photographic camera in addition to millions of cash disbursements.

“The foundation is deeply committed to cushioning the effects of the harsh economic conditions on the poor and less privileged members of society, hence its intervention with zakat fund.

“We are poised to pursuing our policy thrust of poverty eradication at the grassroots as well as capacity building of the urban poor,” he said.

Shuaib said the poor and the vulnerable Nigerians irrespective of their tribes or locations could access the Jaiz Zakat funds.

According to him, “Many people have been asking, ‘how can we benefit from the Jaiz Zakat?’ The processes are very simple. They don’t need to know the CEO, the Chairman or any officer before they can access the Zakat Funds at Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation. Every information, from A to Z, is on the website jaizfoundation.org.ng.

Speaking on the processes involved in short-listing the would-be beneficiaries, Imam Shuaib said: “After submission of letters by the applicants, it would be processed at the programmes department before taking them to the CEO for further scrutiny.

“When these processes are completed, we would have discovered beneficiaries that genuinely deserve the funds. The selected beneficiaries will be notified as Zakat beneficiaries,” he added.

He said zakat, the third pillar of Islam, could be accessed for humanitarian, educational and agricultural interventions.

“There is also zakat opportunity for the provision of medical relief materials to needy communities across the country. Likewise, we provide entrepreneurial programs for individuals and small scale enterprises with seed funds and support them to effectively run their businesses, among others”, he added.

Shuaib also stated that it’s impossible to respond to all the applications because of the limited financial resources.

Also, some of the applications might have serious cases that require huge amount of money for allocation. That would also reduce the number of beneficiaries. But the good news is that the moment processing is completed, we would get back to the successful applicants about the disbursement.

“For those with serious and urgent cases, we wouldn’t wait till the day, rather we disburse theirs quietly and as a matter of urgency,” he stated.

Shuaib therefore urged the 94 beneficiaries in Kogi to reciprocate the gesture of the Zakat payers by judiciously utilising their share of the zakat fund to improve their lives and attain financial freedom.