Ramadan. A long awaited month filled with blessing, unity, virtue and discipline, and a spiritual month of simplicity, prayers and giving.

Giving: One of the most rewarding acts in Islam, particularly in the Holy month of Ramadan. Reaching out to others and showing compassion in this month is greatly rewarded. Along with this, it is also known as the month of fasting (sawm).

Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, along with Shahada (Faith), Salah (Prayers), Zakat (Charity) and Hajj (Pilgrimage). Fasting is a willing act of abstinence from food and drink all day, amongst many other things. During Ramadan, we have a tendency to dedicate a lot of time in preparing ourselves for Iftar (the evening meal), to break our fasts with.

The majority of us take adequate time out to do a good, decent grocery shop in preparation. We find ourselves cooking the favourite meals of our loved ones, our family and our children, on the account that they have not eaten all day. The fast is spent in the safe knowledge that there will be a delicious meal waiting for us at the end of the day.

Elsewhere in the world, however, there are hundreds and thousands of orphans, who are not only unaware of where their next meal will come from, but also whether it will come at all. Reading this in itself is upsetting to most right? But for these children, it is a harsh everyday reality.

However, with your support, we intend to change that.

Islamic Help’s aim is to provide support to these orphans, not only to feed them today, but to enable them to support themselves in their future tomorrow. Our vision is for these young orphans to gain and utilise the skills they need in order to become successful leaders of their community. You can make a commitment and sponsor an orphan this Ramadan and help shape a future for a child - for as little as £30 a month. Your donation could ensure a child has sufficient shelter, nourishment, health care, education and so much more.

It is said that the sawab (reward) for any kind act or giving is multiplied during Ramadan; now imagine the sawab of sponsoring an orphan for life? It doesn’t stop there though; there is so much that can be done by way of giving. You could choose to donate to Islamic Help’s general orphans fund, partake in fundraising events or volunteer your time. Whether your contribution comes in the form of a financial donation or time, there is no big or small because it all contributes to the bigger picture.

Let’s unite, aim even higher and make Ramadan 2015 an even better year for giving than Ramadan 2014.

If you can’t feed a hundred, feed one. You can give a child a gift or give them an entire future, but whatever you decide to do, you can make a significant difference today.

See Islamic Help’s newly designed website and find out what you can do to make the world a better place this Ramadan.