Insha'Allah; your efforts to please Lady Fatemah (A) during these days of sadness and tragedy are going well.

Another year has passed us by and we at CAI look towards the new one determined to consolidate and expand upon our successes and reflect and learn from minor setbacks. It goes without saying that all the successes have been possible only through blessings of Allah (S) that we have such dedicated and generous donors all over the world who sacrifice so much to gain the pleasure of Allah (S).

These days of mourning for Imam Hussein (A) are important; to reflect and act upon his message of supreme sacrifice and unyielding to the force of humiliation and submission. I have often written that loss of imaan is a direct result of poverty which comes about due to ignorance or being caught up in a deadly cycle of poverty and desperation which then gives way to submission to mortals and ultimately results in humiliation, exactly what Imam Hussein (A) gave his life fighting against.

Winter is a very delicate time for the poor and destitute in Afghanistan; the hardest hit are single mothers and venerable undernourished children. CAI is distributing blankets, flour and cooking oil to these at this very moment; in Ghazni, Herat, YawKawlang, Bamiyaan and Kabul. Unfortunately, the need is much more than our resources and the global financial crunch has seen some of our donors either cut back or totally stop contributions.

And so we plead with you to please help out with whatever you can as we have not been able to cover Mazaar due to lack of funds. A package of 25kg flour is about USD18 and 5kg cooking oil is USD7.70 for a total of USD25.70 per family; you will not believe how much relief this will bring to a typical widow and her children.

As usual,these accomplishments would not be possible without your generosity and toufiq from Allah (S); CAI is indeed grateful to all of you. May Allah (S) bless you and keep your head held high when you meet Imam Mahdi (A).

Included in this update are:

1. Photographs of Eid Adhaa qurbaani distribution in Sirsi, India.
2. Our Herat, Afghanistan orphans busy at the brand new computer lab made possible by you, the donor. These children get training in computer skills that will help them in school and future employment, insha'Allah.
3. List of widows CAI helps with donor funds for food and or medical help.
4. Initiation of 4 new classroom being constructed at Sirsi UP, India school; these are being constructed due to acute shortage of classrooms with new students accommodated in the corridors.
5. CAI and donors/supporters win prestigious recognition by Islamic Insights Magazine.
6. 5 homes for Sadaats and 2 for non Sadaats almost complete in Malaad slums outside Mumbai.These bring to 320 donor supported homes built in India through CAI.

Eid Qurbani

Herat Computer Lab

Foundation Laying For Classrooms

Sadaat Homes

To Afganistan

Several people have asked me about coming to Afghanistan with me - welcome! My next trip to Afghanistan is late March, beginning Saturday March 28 insha'Allah; to Kabul, Herat, Mazaar, Bamiyaan and Yawkawlang (and Ghazni perhaps). This is a 12 day trip in total, including travel time, taking into account contingencies. We have place for 5 because we use charter flights and they can seat a maximum of 8 people. Please let me know if you will be able and want to come, no later than January 31; all payments must be done at that time as we pay the flights costs at that time. This trip will allow you a comprehensive look into current and proposed CAI projects and a good grasp of the situation there.

Jazaak’Allah.
Yusuf S. Yusufali