The Myriad Foundation is an outreach organisation concerned with social welfare established in 2013. While not a mosque themselves, they tap into the skills and knowledge of people across several mosques and Islamic centres in Greater Manchester. Mosques include Cheadle Mosque, SMMCA, Didsbury Park Mosque, Masjid Salahedeen and more!
My Hospice Buddy is a project where volunteers go into hospices and spend time with elderly ladies or gentlemen who do not have many visitors. Over 80 volunteers have been involved in the scheme over three years, mainly visiting patients at two St Anne’s hospices in Salford and Cheadle. The volunteers are motivated by their faith and mention that visiting the sick and elderly is a key Islamic belief which inspires them.
The volunteers are mainly young professionals and students who hear about it through social media or via announcements at a mosque. They receive official MacMillan Cancer Support’s “Befriending and Sensitivity” training and two Myriad volunteers have also completed a “Train the Trainer” sessions so that they became fully accredited to deliver the MacMillan training course themselves.
In addition to hospices, Myriad Foundation is expanding into care homes through My Social Buddy – deploying trained volunteers to regularly visit the elderly across three care homes in Greater Manchester.
Interview with Ghulam Haydar. For more information visit www.myriadfoundation.org/my-hospice-buddy.html or email info@myriadfoundation.org