Zamzam Foundation is a respected Somali charity and the country’s leading national charitable aid organisation. We are working in all areas across the country to overcome the challenges of climate change and conflict and help families lift themselves out of poverty.

The organisation was set up in 1992 to support the people of Somalia through an unprecedented humanitarian crisis following the collapse of the central government the previous year. As an organisation established and run by Somalis for Somalis, from the outset our work has been deeply rooted in the needs and priorities of the communities we serve.

Zamzam Foundation UK was established in 2024 to raise awareness and funds in the UK and internationally in support of Zamzam’s transformational work across Somalia.

ZZF was set up in 1992 to support the people of Somalia through an unprecedented humanitarian crisis following the collapse of the central government the previous year and the severe famine that ensued. As an organisation established and run by Somalis for Somalis, from the outset ZZF’s work has been deeply rooted in the needs and priorities of the communities we serve. ZZF UK exists to raise awareness about the work of ZZF in the UK and raise funds to support that work.

Zamzam Foundation UK is the working name of Somali Relief and Development Forum (SRDF), Charity Number 1143208, a charity first registered in the UK in 2011. We are now using the name Zamzam Foundation UK following an agreement between the trustees of SRDF and those of Zamzam Foundation in Somalia. It is our UK trustees who are legally liable for our governance and management in the UK, serving the organisation on a voluntary basis and meeting at least quarterly to oversee, steer and evaluate our work. We currently have four trustees, all of whom are of Somali origin or born in the UK to Somali parents. The day-to-day management of ZZF UK is overseen by our trustees in the UK.

Zamzam Foundation in Somalia has a staff of around 500 people. Its commitment to local communities means it places a lot of emphasis on employing local people all over the country to help develop and deliver local projects that meet local needs. It is committed to equal opportunities for all, recruiting through open advertising to find people with the strongest skills and experience for every job. This includes qualified teachers to work in Zamzam schools, healthcare professionals for ZZF health clinics, technical specialists to oversee water projects, and trained mediators to work in peacebuilding.

Zamzam Foundation UK does not yet have any permanent staff in the UK and will not appoint any unless or until the growth of our operation requires it, to keep costs down and ensure that we maximise the funds we raise and deliver for our programmes in Somalia. We have a handful of specialist advisors in the UK who are helping us on a part-time basis with legal, financial, fundraising and communications matters. Our four UK trustees all support us on an entirely voluntary basis.

Zamzam Foundation’s head office is in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, in the state of Banadir. We work closely with local communities across the country to deliver aid, supported by offices in all areas.

Our other offices are in Hargeisa (Somaliland), Garowe (Puntland), Baidoa (Southwest), Beledweyne and Jowhar (Hirshabelle), Kismayo (Jubaland) and Dhusamareb (Galmudug). ZZF also has representation in Kenya, Türkiye and the UK to support its operations and help facilitate international outreach, fundraising and advocacy.

Since 2009 ZZF has implemented aid and development programmes in northern Kenya, where it is prioritising eight counties: Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit, Isiolo, Turkana, Samburu and Tana River. Zamzam programmes in Kenya closely reflect the areas of focus in ZZF’s programmes in Somalia: education, health, clean water, orphans, livelihoods, peacebuilding, and seasonal projects (Ramadan food packs, qurbani meat and Eid gifts). In ZZF’s first 15 years of operation in Kenya it has established over 300 new water projects (boreholes and wells), supported over 5,000 orphaned children, and created or supported livelihoods for more than 10,000 people. ZZF is in the process of establishing Zamzam Kenya as an independent entity. Donors interested in supporting programmes in Kenya specifically can do so via the ZZF Kenya website at https://zamzamfoundation.ke.

Zamzam Foundation has a small presence in Türkiye and its partnership with ZZF UK to generate support for operations in Somalia and help facilitate international outreach and advocacy. In 2024 ZZF UK created this website to raise awareness in the UK and internationally about Zamzam’s work across Somalia and to raise funds for the lifesaving and life-changing programmes Zamzam is implementing. We have minimal staffing in the UK to keep costs down and ensure that as much as possible of what we receive in donations benefits the communities we serve in Somalia.

Zamzam Foundation has a long-established presence across Somalia, with offices in all areas from the arid north (Somaliland and Puntland) to the southernmost province (Lower Juba). The organisation delivers aid not only in the urban locations where its offices are but also in remote rural areas and in many camps for people displaced by climate change and conflict. ZZF’s extensive local presence, coupled with the level of trust it has built up with local communities and leaders, enables the organisation to identify individuals and families who need its support the most in every area. ZZF is also able to identify the communities where vital infrastructure is particularly lacking or conflict is rife, informing strategic decisions about where to establish new schools, health clinics, wells and boreholes, and where to invest in peacebuilding activities.

Zamzam Foundation works across Somalia to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid and to transform lives. Our mission is to provide people affected by human and natural crises with emergency relief, educational programmes, clean water and food security, health care, protection for children and orphans, and sustainable socio-economic programmes, as well as to promote peacebuilding and effective governance.

Zamzam Foundation UK (ZZF UK) exists to promote and support the established and respected work of Zamzam Foundation (ZZF) in Somalia. You can read more about the origins and objectives of ZZF UK and its relationship with the Somali Relief and Development Forum in the ‘about us’ section of this website. ZZF in Somalia, which you can support through ZZF UK via this website, works across the country to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid and to transform lives. Its mission is to provide people affected by human and natural crises with emergency relief, educational programmes, clean water and food security, health care, protection for children and orphans, and sustainable socio-economic programmes, as well as to promote peacebuilding and effective governance.

Somalia is a country full of potential but hampered by the complex challenges of poverty, climate change and conflict. By supporting Zamzam Foundation in Somalia through Zamzam Foundation UK you can help us deliver emergency aid – food, water, shelter and hygiene kits – to assist the displaced and victims of conflict. You can also support the education, orphan care, health and clean water projects ZZF delivers to enable children from poor families to go to school, protect against deadly diseases, and provide farmers with a more reliable water supply. With your donations, Zamzam can extend its grants and support for farmers, women entrepreneurs and young people to enable families to develop sustainable livelihoods, while also expanding its peacebuilding programme, which works to reduce conflict over scarce resources such as water and pasture.

None of Zamzam’s eight programmes in Somalia operates in isolation – joined-up thinking and a joined-up approach to programme delivery are vital for success. Implementing programmes in an integrated way is simple common sense.

There can be no hope of survival for the Somali people without good healthcare and clean water, and the stability and security families crave will remain elusive without peacebuilding. There is no route out of poverty without education and sustainable livelihoods. The most vulnerable need comprehensive support to meet all their basic needs and realise their full potential. In taking practical action to empower women and girls in all its programmes, ZZF is investing in those who often need its support the most and yet are also a source of enormous strength and potential for building resilient communities.

By supporting ZZF UK you can help ZZF in Somalia to assist more people. With over three decades of experience supporting people in need, ZZF in Somalia relies on the professional expertise of its staff and on working in close consultation with local communities and community leaders to identify those who need our support the most. Our health teams in Somalia prioritise support for pregnant and breastfeeding women and acutely malnourished children, as well as treating deadly diseases and debilitating conditions such as tuberculosis, cholera and cataracts. Our emergency response teams conduct rapid needs assessments among displaced people to identify those most in need of food aid, shelter, emergency water supplies and cash assistance. In all our programmes the primary focus is always on the poorest, the most vulnerable and the most marginalised people in society. This includes women and girls, orphaned children, older people, and those with disabilities.

We are proud that nearly 50 local, national and international organisations support Zamzam Foundation projects and work closely with us as a trusted partner. We sincerely hope that individual donors and families in the UK will increasingly get behind our transformational work across Somalia as they come to understand and appreciate our unique contribution to the country’s development as our established partners do:

• Somalia’s leading national aid and development charity
• Established and run by Somalis for Somalis
• Offices and projects in all areas of Somalia
• Track record of delivering aid in hard-to-reach areas
• Trusted by local communities to work alongside them
• Integrated approach to emergency relief, livelihoods, clean water, healthcare, education and women’s empowerment
• Building a brighter future through schools, livelihood grants and peacebuilding
• Extensive Ramadan and qurbani programmes reaching 1 million people.

The key points of income and expenditure are summarised on pages 14-15 of Zamzam Foundation’s 2024 annual report. Generous supporters and funders across the world gave Zamzam Foundation more than £17.6 million in 2024 towards its vital aid and development programmes and its operating costs.

The biggest source of funds was institutional donors and partners, and in 2024 the top five donors were: King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, Alnajat Charity, International Rescue Committee, World Vision, and the Islamic Development Bank.

If you give to ZZF through ZZF UK you are supporting an organisation that spent nearly $16.1 million on directly supporting people in need across Somalia in 2024 – 92% of total spending.

The most significant areas of programme spending were water, sanitation and hygiene (25.6%); seasonal programmes (20.9%); emergency response and livelihoods (15.2%); and health and nutrition (15%). Spending on project support and administrative costs amounted to only 8%.

ZZF UK has its own bank account in the UK which is where your donation will initially land if you give through our ZZF UK website. From there we transfer funds electronically to Zamzam Foundation in Somalia. Somalia is a largely cashless society, so almost all of ZZF’s spending there is through further electronic transfers – whether that be for the primary purpose of procuring aid, for payment of staff salaries, or even for the transfer of emergency ‘cash’ assistance to individuals – which can usually be done via secure transfers to their mobile phones.

Around one pound in every 12 of Zamzam Foundations global income (8% of the total) is spent on project support and administrative costs in Somalia, Türkiye and the UK.

In our case one component of the 8% Zamzam Foundation spends is general administrative and management-related overheads such as the cost of IT systems, the work of finance and HR teams, and work in public communications – all of which are areas that indirectly contribute to keeping the organisation’s aid and development programmes running in an integrated, efficient and effective way, to the benefit of those we serve.

Unusually compared to other charities, the 8% also includes some spending on aid delivery. Material aid items Zamzam provides – such as food packs, shelter materials, new wells and boreholes, medicines and vaccines – are accounted for under programme spending in the areas they relate to such as emergencies, water and health. But support or ‘indirect’ costs for that aid delivery, such as the salaries of health and education teams and fuel for trucks delivering emergency water supplies to camps for displaced people, are accounted for under the 8% for project support and administrative costs.

Overall we sincerely believe we are delivering aid in a cost-effective and efficient way. We believe in being as transparent as possible about our support costs, and in future annual reports we plan to break down our project support and administrative costs further. This will enable donors to have a better understanding of the precise split between ‘traditional’ administrative overheads and the support of programme delivery in the communities we serve.

We have long-established financial systems and processes in place to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most. We operate anti-corruption and anti-fraud policies, as well as a policy to counter the risk of terror financing. Minimising the use of cash in Somalia helps reduce the risk of fraud and aid diversion, ensuring that your donation reaches those it is intended for. Zamzam’s long-established presence across Somalia and the level of trust it has built up with local communities means it is well equipped to reach people in conflict zones and in remote, hard-to-reach areas. ZZF and ZZF UK adhere to the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence, which means we do not accept undue interference from anyone – including government and armed opposition groups – in our assessment of needs, our selection of beneficiaries, and our distribution of aid.

Somalia is a country full of potential but hampered by the complex challenges of poverty, climate change and conflict. Our aim, through Zamzam’s array of inter-connected and complementary programmes, is to build a brighter, more prosperous future.

Ten million Somalis live below the poverty line, 8 million lack access to safe water and sanitation, and 3.8 million have been driven from their homes by drought, floods or insecurity. There are 3 million children out of school and 1.5 million are acutely malnourished.

We deliver emergency aid – food, water, shelter and hygiene kits – to assist the displaced and victims of conflict. The education, orphan care, health and clean water projects we also deliver enable children from poor families to go to school and help to protect against deadly diseases. Our grants and support for farmers, women entrepreneurs and young people enable families to develop sustainable livelihoods, while our peacebuilding programme works to reduce conflict over scarce resources such as water and pasture.

We are privileged to work with a wide range of organisations to fulfil our vital mission. Our list of nearly 50 partners includes the Federal Government of Somalia and local authorities within the country, leading UN agencies, major institutional donors, and lots of non-government organisations – global, regional, national and local.

Building strong partnerships is vital if we are to deliver an effective response to Somalia’s many challenges. We are a member of the Somalia NGO Consortium, working closely with UN bodies and other aid agencies in a coordinated way to save and change lives.

Our top ten donors include partners from the Middle East, Türkiye, Europe, Australia and North America: Al Najat Charity, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), Al-Imdaad Foundation, Danish Refugee Council, Human Appeal International (Australia), International Rescue Committee, Muslim Aid Australia, the Islamic Development Bank, and Human Concern International.

Working together in a coordinated way through networks of aid agencies is vital if we are to deliver an effective response to Somalia’s many challenges. Zamzam Foundation in Somalia is a member of both the Somalia NGO Consortium and Somalia’s Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), working closely with UN bodies and other aid agencies in a coordinated way to save and change lives. ZZF is also a member of the influential International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), and it has special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – the UN’s central forum for discussing international economic and social issues.

Here are ten good reasons to consider partnering with us:

1. Somalia’s leading national aid and development charity
2. Established by Somalis, and run by Somalis for Somalis
3. Offices and projects in all areas across Somalia
4. Strong track record of delivering aid in conflict zones and hard-to-reach areas
5. Trusted by local communities to work alongside them
6. Strongly committed to safeguarding and inclusion
7. Zamzam can help institutional donors to meet Grand Bargain commitments, which require them to channel more aid through national and local aid organisations
8. Zamzam’s integrated approach to emergency relief, livelihoods, clean water, healthcare and education means the organisation can help people in need in a strategic and multi-dimensional way
9. ZZF and ZZF UK are looking beyond the meeting of basic needs, working towards building a brighter future through schools, livelihood grants and peacebuilding projects
10. Zamzam’s extensive Ramadan and qurbani programmes reach more than a million people.

Zamzam Foundation UK is open to establishing UK-based partnerships with charities, community groups, companies, trusts and foundations to help raise awareness and raise funds. We can also help facilitate the establishment of fruitful direct partnerships with Zamzam Foundation in Somalia to enhance the delivery of aid and development programmes. If you would like to explore possibilities for partnership with us, please email  partnerships@zamzamfoundation.org.uk.

In addition to our extensive programmes to alleviate poverty and build self-reliance, Zamzam has an increasingly prominent presence on the international stage. We work with our international partners to promote solutions to Somalia’s challenges, contributing to UN summits and other major events that shape the global landscape in international aid and development.

Our aim is to be an increasingly influential voice internationally, speaking up in support of positive change in areas that are critical for a more prosperous and peaceful future. These include:

• More and better targeted international aid and investment
• Climate justice, including climate finance from richer countries to compensate for the loss and damage in poorer countries caused by carbon emissions elsewhere
• Women’s education and economic empowerment
• Joined-up ‘triple nexus’ programmes that integrate aid and development with peacebuilding
• Effective ‘localisation’ and greater local accountability to put more power and resources in the hands of Somali communities and organisations.

Zamzam Foundation uses the platform it has through partnerships with influential agencies and donors, as well as its attendance at UN summits and other major events, to make the case for positive change in a number of important areas:

• Pressing for more and better targeted international aid and investment
• Campaigning for climate justice, including climate finance from richer countries to compensate for the loss and damage in poorer countries caused by carbon emissions elsewhere
• Championing women’s education and economic empowerment
• Promoting joined-up ‘triple nexus’ programmes that integrate aid and development with peacebuilding to deliver longer-lasting change
• Arguing for effective ‘localisation’ and greater local accountability to put more power and resources in the hands of Somali communities and organisations.

Somalia is ranked as the most climate-vulnerable nation on earth by ND-GAIN, which bases its rankings on the vulnerability of six life-supporting sectors in every country – food, water, health, ecosystem services, human habit and infrastructure. The country’s comparatively modest carbon emissions were 43.6 million tonnes in 2020 and its per-capita emissions 2.74 tonnes, indicating that the average US citizen produced more emissions than six individuals in Somalia. Somalia is an acute example of what climate injustice looks like. We must ensure that the poorest countries worst affected by climate change and yet least responsible for the emissions causing it can get more help from the biggest polluters to build more resilient infrastructure, agriculture and livelihoods in the face of increasing extremes of heat, heavy rainfall, drought and floods.

Women and girls are at the centre of all Zamzam’s programmes in Somalia. In taking practical action to empower women and girls, ZZF and ZZF UK are investing in those who often need our support the most and yet are also a source of enormous strength and potential for building resilient communities. We believe much more needs to be done by the international community, by aid donors and by our own communities to protect women and girls and empower them educationally and economically. In Somalia we know it is women who are most likely to miss out on education, most likely to die prematurely because of inadequate healthcare, most reliant on subsistence farming for their livelihoods, most responsible for finding and fetching water, most likely to be displaced and left caring for children on their own because of conflict and climate change.

There has often been a lot of talk about localisation in the global aid community but relatively little action. In 2016 donors pledged through the Grand Bargain agreement to spend 25 per cent of global aid budgets on local organisations by 2020 and yet by 2021 the real amount reaching local groups was still only 2.1 per cent. Zamzam Foundation and we at ZZF UK applaud donors like the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which is ensuring that 43 per cent of its support for the Building Resilient Communities in Somalia initiative (BRCIS) is being channelled through Somali organisations like Zamzam. ZZF in Somalia was a member of the working group on inclusive decision making set up by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Council for Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) as part of their Joint Pledge on Advancing Localisation. As a member of the Somali NGO Consortium’s localisation committee, ZZF in Somalia is strongly backing the collaborative implementation of Somalia’s localisation framework for 2024-28.

Zamzam Foundation UK (ZZF UK) was established in 2024 to raise awareness and funds in the UK and internationally to support Zamzam’s transformational work across Somalia.

ZZF UK is the new working name for an established UK charity and separate legal entity called the Somali Relief and Development Forum (SRDF). SRDF’s trustees signed a partnership agreement with ZZF in 2023 that enables SRDF to use the ZZF UK name in the UK to generate support for ZZF’s vital work in Somalia.

The board of SRDF recognise that Zamzam Foundation is an organisation ideally placed to enable the UK public to support a cause that meets the needs of vulnerable people across Somalia and lifts families out of poverty.

Zamzam Foundation UK (ZZF UK) exists to raise awareness and funds in the UK and internationally to support Zamzam’s transformational work across Somalia.

ZZF UK is not a new organisation but is in fact the new working name for an established UK charity and separate legal entity called the Somali Relief and Development Forum (SRDF). SRDF was set up in 2011 in response to a severe famine in Somalia, bringing various UK-based Somali organisations and communities together to raise funds to save lives.

SRDF became dormant around 2016 but in 2023 SRDF’s trustees signed a partnership agreement with ZZF that enables SRDF to use the ZZF UK name in the UK to generate support for ZZF’s vital work in Somalia. The board of SRDF recognised that Zamzam Foundation is an organisation ideally placed to enable the UK public to support a cause that not only meets the needs of vulnerable people across Somalia, but is also a very good fit with SRDF’s original charitable objectives.

Yes. Zamzam Foundation UK is the new UK working name of the Somali Relief and Development Forum, which has been a registered charity in the UK since 2011. Our registered charity number is 1143208. The essential details of the organisation required by the relevant authorities are available on the Charity Commission and Companies House websites.

We have a registered postal address in London for correspondence purposes but in the early stages of our development in the UK we are keeping costs down by not establishing a UK office. The best way to get in touch with us is via email (info@zamzamfoundation.org.uk).

We do not yet have any permanent staff in the UK and will not appoint any unless or until the growth of our operation requires it. We have a handful of specialist advisors who are helping us on a part-time basis with legal, financial, fundraising and communications matters. Our four UK trustees all support us on an entirely voluntary basis.

You can personally support Zamzam Foundation’s lifesaving and life-changing work in Somalia by donating to Zamzam Foundation UK, or by setting up a direct debit or standing order to become a regular giver, or by paying some or all of your zakat through us. All three of these options are available on this website. We have nine different donation funds that mean you can support Zamzam Foundation’s work in Somalia in specific areas such as water, health and education projects. It also really helps us if you can raise awareness by letting your family and friends know about ZZF UK and encourage them to support us too.

Part of our work to establish ourselves in the UK involves developing partnerships with mosques and local community groups to raise awareness and funds and forge stronger ties between Somali diaspora communities in the UK and those in need in Somalia. If you would like to help with our UK community outreach and mosque fundraising, please email volunteer@zamzamfoundation.org.uk.

No, not currently. In the short to medium term our focus is entirely on raising funds to make a positive difference through lifesaving and life-changing projects across Somalia. Our vision in the longer term is to follow the example of bigger and more established charities in the UK who have an international programmes focus by giving something back to the communities who support us in the form of a small UK grants programme to support the poor and marginalised on our own doorstep in the UK. We hope to be able to launch a UK grants fund by 2027 or 2028, and we will let all our UK donors and prospective UK beneficiary organisations know when we reach this point.

Yes, we welcome your support. If you have a heart for Somalia and its people, we sincerely hope that Zamzam Foundation UK can be an effective conduit for your zakat to support lifesaving and life-changing programmes in Somalia all the year round, whenever you choose to pay.

In 2023 ZZF’s emergencies, livelihoods, health, education and water projects benefited 1,282,525 people. With the support of your zakat donations, we hope to help many more Somalis through these programmes in the years to come.

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam alongside faith (shahada), salah (prayer), sawm (fasting) and hajj (pilgrimage). Muslims are expected to pay zakat to redistribute wealth to those less fortunate if they have reached the age of puberty, are of sound mind, and have been above the qualifying wealth threshold for at least one full lunar year.

The minimum amount of wealth required, known as nisab, can be calculated in your local currency based on the equivalent cost of a certain weight of gold or silver. Those eligible to pay zakat should give 2.5% of their surplus wealth. Check out our zakat calculator to work out how much you should pay.

There are eight categories of people who are eligible to receive zakat:

1. The poor
2. The needy
3. Administrators of zakat
4. Those who have a reconciliation of the heart (people who have embraced Islam)
5. People who have been enslaved
6. Those in debt
7. In the cause of God
8. Travellers (including refugees)

The four key categories for Zamzam in this list are numbers 1,2, 7 and 8. Through your zakat donations to Zamzam UK we can support the poor, the needy and displaced people individually across Somalia (categories 1, 2 and 8) and also support transformative community projects that are zakat-eligible (under category 7).

Your zakat donations help us fund emergency interventions providing food, shelter and clean water to individuals; the building of clinics, schools and water infrastructure projects such as wells and boreholes ‘in the cause of God’; and support for individual livelihoods to lift families out of poverty.

Our donation options on this website enable you to choose between giving Sadaqah (voluntary charity) or giving zakat. When you choose the zakat option your donation goes into a separate zakat fund that is used mostly to assist zakat-eligible individuals (the poor, the needy and displaced people) but also to support zakat-eligible community projects. Your zakat will be spent in one or more of five programme areas – emergency response, livelihoods, water, education, or health – when you pay your zakat to us via this website.

Zamzam Foundation UK and ZZF in Somalia will ensure between us that your zakat is only used to fund the zakatable elements of projects we implement using these funds. We are ourselves eligible to receive some of your zakat as administrators of zakat (category 3 of the eight categories of eligible zakat recipients). Our policy is to reserve 12.5% of zakat donations for administration.

Zamzam Foundation and Zamzam UK take our shared responsibility as collectors and distributors of zakat very seriously. We are accountable to do so not only to our beneficiaries and our donors but also to Allah (SWT).

We have adopted the zakat policy developed by Islamic Relief and developed our own adapted version, and we are grateful to Islamic Relief for authorising us to do so. This is a policy developed over several years by Islamic Relief’s independent zakat Advisory Board to ensure that it is in keeping with Islamic teachings and guidance. In developing the policy Islamic Relief consulted with all its offices around the world to secure their buy-in, including Islamic Relief Somalia.

By following this policy we can ensure that your zakat is only spent on projects that meet appropriate and specific zakat criteria. Islamic Relief is in the process of providing specialist training to relevant Zamzam Foundation staff to ensure the policy is correctly implemented. Responsibility for correct implementation will rest solely with Zamzam Foundation and Zamzam UK staff.

We already support over 11,500 orphaned children and their families across Somalia – thanks to the orphans and social care programme we established in the 1990s to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable children and young people.

The Somali Health and Demographic Survey of 2020 found that 32% of households were home to a foster child and/or orphaned children, with at least one orphan in 19% of families. For just £50 a month you can enable us to provide regular cash sponsorship to someone caring for an orphaned child alone, whether that be a sole surviving parent, another family member, or a guardian from the wider community.

The support you provide can be used to meet whichever of the family’s needs are most pressing, giving them an element of choice that respects their dignity. But our primary purpose is to fund educational costs – fees, books and uniforms – so that children can go to school.

The support you provide through ZZF UK enables ZZF in Somalia to pay a monthly stipend to the guardian of an orphaned child. For the purposes of our orphans programme an orphan means a child of school age (5-18) who has either lost both parents or has lost the family’s main breadwinner. You will therefore be supporting a family who are living in poverty, providing the kind of support that makes the critical difference between a child attending school and missing out. The stipend you help us provide can be used flexibly by the orphan’s guardian to meet whichever of the family’s needs are most pressing. This approach gives the family an element of choice, flexibility and practicality that respects their dignity. Our primary purpose, however, is that families should be able to cover educational costs – fees, books and uniforms – so that children can go to school.

When you become an orphan sponsor, we’ll provide a photo and basic details of the child you are sponsoring – their first name, age, the province where they live, and their focus at school. Once a year you will receive an update via email on how the child is progressing, and we’ll also provide an annual update on the impact of our orphan sponsorship, school building and education programmes as a whole.

The holy month of Ramadan is a time of fasting and reflection for Muslims across the world. It is a time to draw closer to God, to connect with family and to give generously to people in need – in a spirit of thankfulness and solidarity.

Ramadan is a special time for our staff and volunteers across Somalia as they observe the fast themselves while working hard to ensure that vulnerable people in poor communities do not go to bed hungry.

In 2023 our teams cooked and served 33,895 hot meals during Ramadan, providing nutritious iftars for the most vulnerable to break their fasts. We also distributed enough Ramadan food baskets to feed 73,062 people – 28% more than in 2022. Each food pack provides enough supplies to enable families to prepare their own meals for the whole of Ramadan, including flour, cooking oil, cereal grains, milk powder and sugar.

In 2025 Zamzam’s teams in Somalia cooked and served 120,000 hot meals during Ramadan, providing nutritious iftars for the most vulnerable to break their fasts. Zamzam staff and volunteers also distributed enough Ramadan food baskets to feed 90,726 people – 28% more than in 2022. Each food pack provides enough supplies to enable families to prepare their own meals for the whole of Ramadan, including flour, cooking oil, cereal grains, milk powder and sugar.

A donation of just £3 to Zamzam Foundation UK enables us through Zamzam Foundation in Somalia to provide one person who has been fasting all day in the dry heat of Somalia with a nutritious hot meal to break their fast after sunset. A donation of £18 provides a hot meal for an entire family of six, while £20 enables us to provide a whole new set of clothes for a child as an Eid gift. Giving £70 covers the cost of a family food pack, providing enough supplies to enable a family to prepare their own meals for the whole of Ramadan. All these donation options are available through our website.

Yes, we welcome your donations. Our qurbani programme is Zamzam’s biggest seasonal programme: we provided qurbani meat to 887,496 people in 2023.

With your support we can ensure that more families get to celebrate Eid Al-Adha together in the traditional way. Your support also helps to boost the incomes of the Somali livestock farmers who provide our qurbani meat.

At Zamzam Foundation UK, animal welfare is a matter we take very seriously. We regard qurbani as a sacred responsibility and are committed to ensuring that all animals involved are treated with dignity, compassion, and respect at every stage of the process.

We work exclusively with experienced local partners who adhere to strict animal welfare standards, aligning with both Islamic teachings and international best practices. All animals in our qurbani programme are healthy, well-fed, properly sheltered, and transported humanely.

We understand the importance of long-term support for farmers and rural families. That’s why Zamzam Foundation UK does both: we provide qurbani meat so that the poorest families can celebrate Eid like everyone else, and we also invest in sustainable farming livelihoods.

Qurbani meat offers immediate nourishment and allows vulnerable families to partake fully in Eid celebrations. That’s why we provide Qurbani meat. But we also provide replacement livestock to farmers who have lost animals to drought, veterinary medicines to treat their animals, cash assistance to help them recover, and seeds and tools to grow food for their families and fodder for their livestock.

Yes, we welcome your donations. Zamzam’s qurbani programme is the charity’s biggest seasonal programme, providing qurbani meat to 1.9 million people in 2025. With your support for ZZF UK we can ensure that more families get to celebrate Eid Al-Adha together in the traditional way. Your support also helps to boost the incomes of the Somali livestock farmers who provide our qurbani meat.

Donating £50 provides a family with a share of a cow, while a £70 donation secures an entire goat or sheep. Both these options provide enough meat for a family celebration meal to mark the Eid Al-Adha festival and for other meals too. Your donation will provide valuable protein for poorer families who usually cannot afford to eat meat. As at Eid Al-Fitr, you can also donate £20 at Eid Al-Adha to enable us to provide a new set of clothes as an Eid gift for a child living in poverty.

Prophet Ibrahim (AS) dreamed that Allah (SWT) ordered him to sacrifice his only son, Ismail, to show his commitment to God. Ibrahim agreed but Allah (SWT) responded to the prophet’s devotion by sparing Ibrahim and sending a ram to be sacrificed in his place. The tradition of distributing and sharing sacrificial qurbani meat at Eid Al-Adha is an act of remembrance and celebration of Ibrahim’s obedience to God and of God’s mercy to those who are faithful.