Dal society’s soccer tournament supports Gaza relief  

A soccer tournament hosted at the BMO Soccer Centre by the Jordanian Dalhousie Society on Feb. 8 aimed to raise funds for Gaza, linking student-led initiatives to wider Ramadan fundraising efforts in Halifax. 

Cleats struck the turf as teams rotated on and off the field, players jogging past one another to warm up before matches. Spectators cheered from the bleachers.

Organized by Diya Salaimeh, president of the Jordanian Dalhousie Society and his team, the tournament marked the approach of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan while aiming to raise funds for humanitarian relief in Gaza. 

“We are doing this event to raise money for our Ramadan iftar event,” said Salaimeh. Iftar is the meal eaten after sunset during Ramadan.

“We want the iftar to be free and accessible to everyone.”  

The tournament is one of several fundraisers in Halifax in the weeks leading up to Ramadan, a period where community meals and initiatives increase across local organizations.  

“These projects that we do — the grand iftars and the community iftars that we have coming up, including one for Sudan on March 11 — are what allows us to have the impact at a global scale,” said Nabil Islam, regional team lead for Islamic Relief Canada, speaking ahead of the organization’s annual grand iftar. 

Islam reflects on how Ramadan events — ranging from large iftars to small community bazaars — express the spiritual and charitable priorities of the holy month. This year Islamic Relief’s grand iftar in Halifax is designated to raise funds for humanitarian relief in Palestine. 

In addition to large-scale events, Islamic Relief is organizing smaller outreach initiatives ahead of Ramadan, according to outreach co-ordinator Ismail Omar.  

“For pre-Ramadan, some of the things that we’re doing is we’re gonna be doing tablings at different spots.” said Omar. These outreach tables will be set up at different locations such as restaurants, shopping malls and mosques.

“We also want to  engage with the community further.”  

Omar said Islamic Relief is also planning a food-hamper campaign in partnership with New Brunswick’s New Mission, which will purchase food that Islamic Relief’s regional team will pack and distribute to people in need through local partner networks. 

That focus on community-based giving was visible days earlier, on Jan. 31, when the annual pre-Ramadan bazaar took place in Olympic Hall Community Centre in Halifax.

Vendors arranged trays of sweets, prepared foods and décor items alongside racks of clothing and homeware across the two-storey space. Children ran between tables clutching raffle tickets while adults bargained and gathered at booths and food stalls.

The hall buzzed with different aromas, ages and dialects, all gathered for the day’s celebration. 

Ramadan is marked not only by fasting, but by the heightened acts of generosity, reflection and community gathering. Ramadan runs from Feb. 17 to March 19.