[04.22.2012]

New Sadaqah Recipient-Oleh Ahmad Hasan

Phan, Rang, Vietnam- Three years have gone by since the day he became ill with kidney failure. Now, at 32 years of age and married with two children, brother Samach finds himself helpless towards his family. In a village of approximately some thousand people, Samach is the only person with this particular illness. His daily living consists of scouring for money in any ways possible to come up with 150,000 VND to get kidney dialysis at the town's hospital. This procedure is required to be done three times a week and each time the cost is 150,000VND, which is very difficult to find, especially for someone who has sold nearly all his assets for the past three years to treat his kidney failure.

After being ill, living with the in-laws became impossible and Samach was kicked out of the house- his wife followed him. Nowadays, although he is not separated from his wife, but she has gone to Saudi Arabia to work, and his children stays with his in-laws. Now, he has no one.

His mother, on the hand, who may seem like the only support he has left, has also abandoned him and despise him even more each time Samach asks for money for his kidney dialysis.

The dialysis that Samach has received for so many years has created scars on his arm. His veins bulges out visibly due to being frequently used as the pathway to drain fluid from his body.

Samach, who has sold all his assets, including his land, now live each day in a "life-or-death" situation. When asked what will happen if he doesn't receive kidney dialysis, he said, "nau kleng", which is a common phrase among some villages in Phan Rang that means "die".

by Ahmad Hasan

[04.15.2012]

New Sadaqah Recipients- Oleh Islamiyah Mohammad

Kompongcham, Cambodia

For more>>> click here

[04.02.2012]

30 Imam Receive Training by RESEAP of Malaysia- Oleh Ahmad Hasan

Phan Rang, Vietnam- 30 individual Imams in Phan Rang, Vietnam received a special training by RESEAP of Malaysia to strengthen their knowlegde of Islam. Ten representatives from Malaysia formed a group and travelled to many regions of Asia to conduct these type trainings for Imam so that they can become more knowledgeable in regards to the Islamic teachings.

It is the first time RESEAP has conducted a training in Phan Rang. In previous years, they have done so in Saigon, Tai Ninh, and An Giang. The topics that were discussed included how to read the Qur'an; how to perform hajj, make wudu'; pray salat; and how to bath for the dead before the burial.

Listen to Ahmad Hasan as he reports on this story from Phan Rang, Vietnam.

by Ahmad Hasan

[04.02.2012]

Muslim Saleh- Obtaining Higher Education in Malaysia- Al Madinah International University-Oleh Muslim Sulaiman

Lahor, Malaysia- Cham students who come from nearly zero financial support from families in Cambodia, to Malaysia, strive to get an education. Unlike other students whose parents sends money to them on a monthly basis to help pay for living costs, students such as Muslim has to live without those expectations.

Muslim Saleh and eight other Cham are obtainng a higher education in Al Madinah International University in Malaysia. Muslim, who is from Cambodai has completed his five-year study in Kalantan and recently entered Al Madinah International University for almost a year now. He hopes to give back to the Cham in Cambodia by returning to that place to teach others after he completes his education at Al Madinah.

Listen to Muslim Sulaiman as he interviews Muslim Saleh.

by Muslim Sulaiman

[03.25.2012]

Despite The Threat of Deportation, Cham Still Go Out to Work- Oleh Muslim Sulaiman

Pulupinang, Malaysia- Despite the threat of deportation by the Malaysian government, many individual Cham still strive to make a living. One of the jobs that a typical Cham would usually do is selling ice-cream, which would expose the individual frequently to the Malaysian authority- the police. Although that is the case, these people still take the risk just to earn a bit of cash.

On the contrary, one job that would expose an individual to a lesser degree to the Malaysian authority is picking snails from the sea. This job is among the toughest jobs in Malaysia, if not the most strenuous job. It requires getting wet and dirty due to exposure to mud water and sand.

Listen to Muslim Sulaiman as he interviews these individuals.

by Muslim Sulaiman

[03.11.2012]

Threat of Deportation- Oleh Muslim Sulaiman

Pulupinang, Malaysia- Many Cham goes to Malaysia to seek work and live there temporarily. Most of them are illegal immigrants and just recently the Malaysian government has announced that those who does not possess legal documents will be deported back to their homeland. For some who have not made enough earnings to go back home, worry about what they will bring home to the family back home.

For others who are legally residing in Malaysia, such as students in the University, has scholarship to study in that country legally and has no worries about being deported.

Listen to Musliman as he reports on this story.

by Muslim Sulaiman

[03.11.2012]

Recent Sadaqah Recipient in Vietnam- Oleh Ahmad Hasan

Phan Rang, Vietnam- Ahmad visited a family with a young 8-year-old girl who suffers from an illness at birth. Currently, she is fully dependent her parents' support for all basic needs. At eight years old, the girl only weighs 4 kg. and doctors have estimated that she would only survive for another five years.

Her main support is her mother, who has to carry her all the time and can not let her down. If she does so, the girl's lungs will collapse. The current medical expendures cost the family 200,000 VND to 500,000VND for each doctor visit, This causes a great burden on the family, who is already poor.

by Ahmad Hasan

[03.11.2012]

Recent Sadaqah Recipient in Cambodia- Oleh Isamiyah Mohammad

Phnom Penh, Cambodia- The recipient for this round comes from Kandal province and Kompongcham Province, which included the villages of Prek Tanot, Phum Raka and Prek Jia.

by Islamiyah Mohammad

[03.11.2012]

Panel Discussion Brings Out Important Issues Facing the Cham Community- Oleh Yakkob Man

Seattle, WA- The Cham Student Association of The University of Washington hosted a successful panel discussion on topics that greatly impacts the future of the Cham community in Seattle.

The panelists included: Br. Ismail Mathly, T. Abdulbary, T. Tahir, Br. Hassan Basari, T. Yakkob, Br. Ibrahim Trodep, Mohamed Arifin, Nuryyah Ibrahim and Sakyrine.

These panelists are individuals who play an important role in the Cham community either back in the days or currently. Ismail Mathly, for example, was the President of the Cham Student Association back in the early 2000's and graduated with a degree in Mathematics. He mentioned about youth during his time that, "youth were always haning out at the Cham masjid and there were no major focus on higher education."

Another important individualt was Tuon Abdulbary Yahya, who currently plays a big part in the community both within and outside of his own. His Islamic knowledge and teachings help steer the Cham community in the right direction of Islamic faith. Similarly, so is Tuon Tahir, who also has an important influence in the Cham community for a very long time. Aside from teaching Cham students about Islam for a long time, he was also one of the founding member of the Cham Student Association along with Basari Mohamath and Shahrudine Abdulhaliem back in the early 1980's and 1990's. On the other hand, a younger and much newer member to the community, Tuon Yakkob now teaches and gives lectures strictly in the Cham language. The rest of the panelist included Haji Ibrahim Trodep, who s one of the board member of CRC and two Cham youths and one of their advisors, Sakyrine.

It has been nearly ten years since the CSA was last active. This year, the CSA brought the organization back to live by starting out with this important panel discussion to bring out important issues facing the Cham community. Issues such as the role of female in the community, establishment of a Cham Muslim Community Center and having a set Imam to run the masjid, and most importantly the barriers between youth and elders in the community.

In regards to women's role, sister Sakyrine is an active member who strongly supports all activity of the Cham youths and one issue that she brought up during the discussion was that she felt that female's roles, including opinions and input is disregarded because it is overlooked by the ideas of men, who are always dominant in all aspects of the Cham Community. In another discussion, Haji Ibrahim Trodep, who is one of the Board Members of Cham Refugee Community and currently overlooks the Mosque Project, has pruchased one additional property for the Cham community. His long term plan includes building a Cham Muslim Community Center so that Cham in Seattle can have a place to go for all their needs.

The final and most important issues facing the growth of the Cham Community right now is the barriers between the Cham edlers and the youths. There has been difficulties in the past when these two generations crossed paths and ever since, there has not been a good relationship among the two groups. This discussion brought acknowledgement to everyone at the event that elders should try to listen to the youth and the youth should do vice versa. Most importantly, there needs to be continuous communication among the two groups.

by Yakkob Man

[03.04.2012]

Announcement: The program for this Sunday was cancelled due to technical difficulty with the SRBS radio station. We apologize for the inconvenience and we are looking forward to sharing great news and reports with you in our next week's program.