Sadqa Fund

The Sadqa Fund is a special fund which Preston Women's Refuge has set up to support women who have no recourse to public funds. When a woman comes to this country to marry a British Citizen she is not allowed to claim any public benefits eg Income Support or Housing Benefit, for the first two years of her stay in the UK. This causes big problems if the woman has to flee her husband during this time because of domestic violence.

Preston Women's Refuge houses one woman in this situation at any one time in our refuge. During this time we will refer the woman to a solicitor and give her support in obtaining the right for her to remain living in the UK. But unless the woman is working, she usually has no money. Preston Women's Refuge supports the woman by allowing her to live in the refuge without paying any costs. We also give her a small amount of money every week for food. We give her toiletries as well as supplementing the food she buys.

The Sadqa Fund provides the money that we give a woman in this situation. It is a special fund and is only used for this purpose. No interest from the account is used for this purpose so as to be acceptable to Muslims.

We urgently require money for this fund. Please donate whatever you can. Every little helps. Please send your monetary donations to: Preston Women's Refuge, 10 Oakham Court, Preston PR1 3XP. We will acknowledge all donations and if you are a taxpayer will ask you to fill in a Gift Aid form as this will make your donation worth more.

Thank you.