The Islamic Centre of Yellowknife has handed out around 100 “winter warmth kits” to the city’s YWCA and shelters.
Most of the distribution took place on Thursday. Kits supplied by Islamic Relief Canada included hats, socks and scarves, blankets, food, toiletries and sanitary items.
“Without proper protection, the harsh winter can be a critical threat to those in vulnerable conditions, especially those in northern Canada,” said Michael Singh in an email on behalf of the centre.
“We are here to serve the vulnerable with dignity by providing warm clothing, food items and basic necessities.”
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This is the initiative’s fourth year. The centre hopes to have a new mosque by this time next year, having been without a facility since the old mosque was torn down to make way for a larger building in 2019.
“Covid, supply chain issues, and sharp increases to raw material costs” have delayed the new mosque, Singh wrote.
He said construction began this year and the centre expects the mosque to be complete in 2023.
Volunteers at the Islamic Centre of Yellowknife “know that giving back to their community is important, and every effort can make a difference to those in need,” Singh added, “a point especially felt when they have been without a ‘home’ for the last few years themselves.”
