Day of Dignity 2009- The Impact of Giving

A native boy picks his prize for winning carnival games during Day of Dignity South Dakota.

Islamic Relief USA staff member Melissa Barreto recently returned from the first 'Day of Dignity' event which was held at the Crow Creek Native American reservation in South Dakota on August 15. She could not forget her experience and reflected on the plane ride back. Below are some excerpts from her journal.

In Native American culture, giving is a cherished and respected custom. And I don’t mean giving with the expectation of a profit. I mean giving in the pure sense, giving without want for something in return.

It’s this kind of pure giving that forms the foundation of loving and lasting relationships.

This relationship is one that Islamic Relief USA has been able to build with the native community of South Dakota through the 'Day of Dignity' distributions.

Assistant Coordinator Anisah David told me about her experience the first year Islamic Relief USA brought Day of Dignity to Ft. Thompson.

“People were really surprised that we were just giving things away without asking for anything in return or trying to sell them anything,” she said. “Apparently, no one had ever done that before, and we were really surprised by that.”

As the 'Day of Dignity' events continued at Ft. Thompson, more and more residents became curious about Islamic Relief USA’s work and about the Muslims who volunteered their time to help.

This year, over 500 reservation residents attended the event and received towels,
washcloths, hygiene kits, clothing, and enjoyed carnival games with their
children.

“This is our first time to this event, it’s really nice and I appreciate it very much,” one woman told me. “I didn’t know that your people knew about us.”

She didn’t know that my people, Muslim people, knew about her. Her words struck me so deep that I couldn’t even verbalize a response to her at the time we were talking. Then she went one step further and struck me again by saying, “It’s good to make new relatives.”

SubhanAllah (Glory be to God)! This woman, who just a moment before was surprised I even knew of her existence, had just included me, and Muslims at large, as a part of her very own family.

This is the impact that Day of Dignity has. This is the impact of giving.