Financial Stress

When Brother Bilal’s case arrived, he had -$300 in the bank, and a monthly deficit of ~$2800. Along with his financial stresses, he also had a wife suffering from breast cancer and four children to care for. Bilal and his children were permanent residents of Canada, and since arriving, they had been suffering from separation anxiety from their mother. Fortunately, she was able to reunite with them on a visitor visa. Although they had reunited after a long time, they soon found out they may be separated again due to their mother’s illness. To make things worse, the sick mother of four was not even covered for medical care, since she was in Canada on a visitor visa. Bilal soon found himself struggling to keep up with everyday expenses and his wife’s cancer treatment.

After assessing Bilal’s situation, it was clear he needed help lowering his monthly expenses, but he could not afford to compromise on his wife’s cancer treatment and medicine. He had found an apartment, which was closer to his children’s school that would reduce his monthly expenditure to some extent. With the help of local Zakat contributions, NZF was able to pay for a security deposit plus two months’ rent at the new place giving him some time of relief.

Later on in spring, we heard from Bilal once again. Unfortunately, his wife’s health had deteriorated further. With his funds all but depleted, he could not even pay a bus fare to make it to a sales call, jeopardizing his job. He held on to a strong belief in the Qadr of Allah and knew that everyone’s time was limited. However, he just could not sit and watch his wife die. He constantly had to decide between managing monthly bills and sustaining his family, and paying for his wife’s cancer treatment. There was no way for him to ignore his wife’s health, but the unpaid bills and piling up arrears were haunting his nights.

Alhamdulillah, NZF was able to provide further assistance, helping Bilal with rent, debt and food. Unfortunately, due to the extreme strenuous situation, this became a continuous cyclical issue for Bilal and his family. He reached out to us several times again.

With the help of Zakat funds, NZF was able to give Bilal a buffer period during these tough times to get things back in order for his family. Since then, Bilal continues to strive to make ends meet and do the best to provide for his sick wife and children. They are working to secure Permanent Resident status for his wife, in the hope that she can get the long-term assistance and support she needs.

We pray that Allah helps Bilal, his family and others who are struggling like them. May Allah make us an instrument in helping those in need.

Written by: Anas Haroon