Aminah’s mission is to make a difference

AMINAH Atcha's life used to revolve around fabulous clothes and designer labels.

Like any young woman, she loved to look her best and she devoted time to her appearance . . . until one trip abroad 10 years ago changed her life.

She witnessed the plight of Palestinian refugees in Syria . . . and also the simplicity of life among the desert Bedouins.

Since then, Aminah, aged 28, from Daubhill has been travelling the world helping aid projects in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

In the course of her travels she has seen some unbelievable and heartbreaking sights, even witnessing the effects of Robert Mugabe's tyranical regime in Zimbabwe.

She said: "As I was growing up I had a fairly comfortable upbringing and like many young teenagers my looks were very important to me.

"I shopped for designer wear and tried to keep up with the latest trends.

"The desire to help the needy first came about when I had the opportunity to travel to Syria 10 years ago.

"Although it was more of a cultural and educational trip, I saw first-hand the plight of the people in the Palestinian refugee camps.

"I also spent time living with the desert Bedouins and in a Christian monastery.

"I was touched by how simple and humble their existence was and how happy they were without many materialistic possessions."

More recently, Aminah has travelled to eastern and southern Africa on two trips with the British Council to countries including Zambia and Tanzania.

The purpose of the first trip was to attend a global leadership and networking programme, while the second trip was a global climate-change conference.

Aminah said: "It was an unforgettable experience, not only in terms of the natural beauty and wildlife that I was surrounded by, but also the African history, the diversity and richness of their culture.

"It was sad to see the poor and orphans lining up outside for small scraps, while the rich people were untouched and unaffected by the poverty."

Once the conferences had finished, Aminah decided to extend her stay so she could do some hands-on work, and she was shocked by what she saw.

She said: "I went to a children's orphanage that was donated by the government, but it was so poorly maintained that the children would not even receive a decent meal, the hygiene was poor and there was so little sleeping room that children were put outside to sleep.

"Many children were sick and I was informed that some were dying of AIDS and had no-one to look after their needs or care for them.

"Some children had mental problems and were physically abused to resolve their behaviour."

Aminah added: "The hospitals I visited were full of children who were dying from AIDS, malaria or some kind of terminal cancer.

"I witnessed people suffering from boils and sores on their feet simply because they could not afford any sort of footwear.

"One young girl I met had made a doll by sticking two stones together, and she used to happily carry it around with her - it was her only toy. I still smile at her creativity!

"In some villages elderly people had to walk miles out of the village in the heat to get water and there were some places where people only ate maize once a day."

She also saw the effects of Mugabe's rule in Zimbabwe, where food sanctions have led to people desperately trying to smuggle supplies in from neighbouring Zambia.

Massive inflation and military rule in Zimbabwe have led to unprecedented poverty, which has brought the recent presidential elections to the attention of the world.

But what Aminah saw were the more day-to-day effects of Mugabe's dictatorship.

"In Zimbabwe, there was a food sanction and people had to cross the Zambian border in the early hours of the morning just to go and buy bread," she said.

"They would return in the evening, quite often without having been able to buy any."

Throughout her trip, Aminah drew inspiration from her faith, Islam, and by comparing her life back home to what she saw around her.

She says: "Since I was a young girl it was my dream to set up an orphanage and this was my opportunity to start. "In our lives we get so wrapped up in our little bubble and do not have the opportunity to really see people who are less fortunate than us. It makes our troubles insignificant in comparison.

"I remembered a saying by the Noble Prophet Muhammad which was close to my heart, The best men in view of faith is the most openhanded'. I tried to enact this inspirational saying by the means which I had available to me."

Back home, Aminah works as a community networker, building bridges between communities and cultures in Bolton. She hopes that some of the young people she works with will be interested in travelling to Africa with her to help carry on the work she has started.

She is also looking for a sponsor to help put together an exhibition of her photographs.

"Some people think I'm crazy, some people think it's amazing," she says.

"I don't think it is particularly amazing - in the Koran and the Bible we are asked by the Creator to look after the orphans and the poor, and I think it's my duty to do that.

"And it makes me so happy. There are so many people who are unhappy with their lives for no good reason. I feel a great contentment in my heart knowing that I'm helping people.

"Mother Theresa once said We can do no great things, only small things with great love'."

l For more information, or to get involved with Aminah's work, email simpletraveller@gmail.com