In 2005 Islamic Relief began constructing a new accommodation block for female students at Haiyuan County school. Working in partnership with the China Poverty Alleviation Fund, the new block provides accommodation for 100 girls to make it easier for them to finish their secondary school education.

Haiyuan County is located in the south of the drought-affected Ningxia Province. Over 71% of Ningxia Province’s population belong to the Muslim minority group, the Hui.

Hui communities in Haiyuan County often live in severe poverty and cannot afford to send their children to school. Children also find the journey to school very difficult because their villages are located in remote, mountainous regions of Haiyuan County.

Haiyuan County secondary school only has boarding facilities for 3,707 students, which leaves over seven thousand children with the difficult journey to school. More than 2,000 Hui girls need accommodation at the school and many are forced to drop-out because they have nowhere to stay.

Less than 40% of Hui girls in Haiyuan County finish secondary school. There are very few opportunities for the girls that drop out so many of them marry early and become young mothers. 

In 1997 Ma Zhiying opened her home to four Hui girls to make it easier for them to attend school in Haiyuan County. She provided the girls with accommodation, food and paid their school fees. Ma Zhiying continued to help Hui girls receive an education and soon became known as the ‘woman with 85 daughters’. Fifty of these girls finished secondary school and more than thirty have gone on to study at university.

However, Ma Zhiying’s accommodation was becoming overcrowded as so many girls wanted to go to school. She was running out of space in her house and was unable to offer accommodation to more girls.

Project Objectives

The aim of this project is to expand Ma Zhiying’s Girl Student’s Home so that it can accommodate 100 girls from the poorest Hui communities.

Project Activities

In October 2006 Islamic Relief completed construction of the Girl Student’s Home. The three-storey building has twelve dormitories and two other rooms that the girls can use for study and social activities. Water, sanitation and heating facilities have been installed to ensure the girls enjoy a healthy and cosy living environment.

"Islamic Relief is striving for a fairer world. Our mission is to help the poor and needy to live sustainable, self-reliant lives within safe and caring communities. Our work is guided and shaped by the core values of accountability, humanitarianism, neutrality and impartiality, inclusiveness, integrity and co-operation, all of which are also integral to the Islamic faith."
Dr Hany El Banna - Founder of Islamic Relief

Islamic Relief was established in 1984 and our unique approach is the result of these many years of hands-on experience.

1. Where possible we adopt a community partnership-based approach; encouraging community involvement, understanding and ownership of projects.
2. We run the majority of our field projects ourselves, giving us direct insight into the problems faced and how best to solve them.
3. We aim to empower those we help in order to achieve sustainable results.
4. Though our emergency response teams are quick to respond to emergencies around the world, we continue to support communities long after the initial media interest has died down.
5. We recruit staff locally to benefit from their local knowledge. This ensures that we are culturally sensitive and allows us to reach communities and areas other organisations cannot.
6. Where necessary we coordinate our work with other reputable aid agencies, local organisations and governments.

Millennium Development Goals

Islamic Relief is committed to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which have been agreed by the world’s leading development institutions in an effort to meet the needs of the world’s poorest by the year 2015. 

The goals:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

For more information about the MDGs, please visit: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/