FBO born to serve the poor

The Muslim Future Horizon is a newly-established faith-based organisation (FBO) with a passion to serve the underprivileged in the country. Our reporter JAMES CHIMPWEYA talked to the organisation’s country representative Abo Asem on what the FBO has achieved since its inception last year.

What is the Muslim Future Horizon?

It is an international Islamic organisation based in Egypt. We operate in Kenya, Burundi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Malawi where we are engaged in charitable work and development projects. We have been helping many people, mostly those that are vulnerable, by supplying them with foodstuffs and clothing.
In the education sector, we have built 720 secular and Madrassah schools in Zomba, Salima, Dedza and Mzuzu. We work with every FBO affiliated to the Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM).

Apart from the projects you have cited, what else have you done?

We have been operating in various areas, including assisting the underprivileged with different necessities. We have distributed over 20 metric tonnes of maize to hunger-stricken families in Dedza, Salima, Zomba and Mzuzu.
We have also tried to resolve water problems by drilling and repairing boreholes in areas we operate. We also have distributed about 30 metric tonnes worth of second-hand clothes. Although we are an Islamic organisation, we don’t target Muslims only when making donations.

Are you affiliated to MAM?
Yes, we are. In fact, we are working hand in hand [with MAM] in implementing these projects.

What are your plans?
We intend to build a university and hospital either in Dedza or Zomba. We have readily available resources for the two projects.
These projects would be open to Muslims as well as non-Muslims. On the hospital project, there are Egyptian doctors who are ready to work in Malawi.