AbdelBaki Brahmia - President

I am a resident of Somerset NJ and have been living in NJ for the past 26 years. I have been working at Rutgers University for close to 25 years, currently as a Teaching Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department. 

While I am the President of this organization, this is really a team effort. Time and again, we come to know of a few families in the community that are struggling to meet their needs. The average community member does not know this and thinks everything is taken care of by the charities they donate to. The fact is, these families fall through the cracks either because the families are unable to reach some of these national Muslim charity organizations or these organizations miss out on them with the sheer volume of applications they receive. And at other times, the amount of support they receive is dismal and insufficient. With this organization we are striving to surface the needs of these families.

Mohamed Saloudeen - Vice President

I am a resident of Somerset, NJ and have been living here for the past 8 years. Prior to that we were living in Flushing, New York for 18 years. I am currently working as Sr. Technical Lead for a major HCM company.

The first time I heard about the objective of the Foundation for Local Needy – understanding the need of local community members, especially sisters who are abandoned, divorced, or widowed and who struggle to manage the family and educate their children with extremely limited or no steady income and helping them till they overcome their temporary struggling – it made absolute sense.

Many such sisters (and a few brothers due to long term illness) live under constant stress of becoming homeless any time as they don't know how they will be able to pay the next month's rent or losing power due to unpaid utility bills. Identifying such families, understanding their requirements, and supporting them till they become self-sufficient even if it means uplifting one family at a time in conformity with Allah’s commands and His messenger’s guidance, is a goal worth pursuing.

I pray to Allah SWT to make this foundation an effective means to bring hope and faith to the struggling members of our community. I am honored to be part of it. 

AbdelHady Elkougha - Board Member

I am a resident of Monmouth Junction NJ and have been living in NJ for the past 30 years. I have been working at Bristol Myer Squibb for the last 27 years, currently as Senior Scientist.

Knowing we have needy families among ourselves and helping them through personal networks was not sufficient. We quickly realized this has to be done at an organizational level. Allah brought us together for this noble cause. We thank him for choosing us to be instrumental in alleviating the suffering of our brothers in need.

Mansoor Thange - Secretary and Compliance Officer

I am a resident of Franklin Park, NJ and have been living in NJ for last 25 years. I work as Technical Project Manager and have been in the IT industry for the last 25 years.

Glad to be part of a team who share the same vision and work selflessly for the pleasure of Allah.

Aman Anwari - Treasurer

I am a resident of Kendall Park, NJ and have been living in NJ for the last 25 years. I have been working at Orion Business Innovation for the last 20 years.

I instantly connected to the idea of helping largely unknown and forgotten brothers and sisters who live among us. May Allah SWT helps all of us in carrying this duty in manner pleasing to him.