ALEXANDRIA, VA / ACCESS Newswire / April 13, 2026 / For most Muslims in the West, Eid al-Adha arrives as a celebration - a day of family, prayer, and abundance. For a mother in northern Gaza, a displaced family in southern Lebanon, or a rural community in Togo, it arrives as something else entirely: the one day each year when fresh meat reaches the table.

That single fact - quietly devastating in what it reveals about the scale of global poverty - is what drives MATW Project's Qurbani operations every year. Muslims Around the World, now in its tenth year of impact, is preparing to deliver ritual sacrifices across conflict-affected and poverty-stricken communities in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, Afghanistan, Togo, Chad, Sudan, Bangladesh, and beyond - the same countries where its teams were already on the ground throughout Ramadan 2026, distributing over 1.4 million iftar meals, 112,455 food packs, and 72,000 rice bags.

A Sacred Act With Life-Changing Consequences

Qurbani is among the most theologically significant obligations in the Islamic calendar. Commemorating the trial of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), it calls on those with means to sacrifice an animal and distribute its meat - one-third to family, one-third to friends, and one-third to those in need. For communities in stable countries, the act is spiritually meaningful. For communities in active conflict zones, it is nutritionally transformative.

In Togo, where MATW distributed 34,500 iftar meals and 64,000 rice bags this Ramadan, chronic poverty means protein is a rarity year-round. In Yemen, where MATW served 15,990 iftar meals, 11,530 food packs, and 1,500 units of baby milk during Ramadan, families endure food insecurity severe enough that Qurbani meat represents a genuinely exceptional moment of nourishment. In Gaza - where MATW's teams delivered over 1.1 million iftar meals, 42,620 food packs, 5,900 flour bags, and are currently constructing groundwater wells serving more than 15,000 people - the arrival of Qurbani coincides with a humanitarian crisis that has no clear end in sight.

"Compliance and accountability are not administrative checkboxes for us - they are the foundation of trust. Every Qurbani we deliver is documented, distributed to a verified family, and carried out in full accordance with Islamic requirements. When someone gives through MATW, they can know, with confidence, that the sacrifice reached the person it was meant for."
- Chase Alley, Chief Operations Officer (USA), MATW Project

Apolitical by Design - Humanitarian by Mission

MATW operates in some of the world's most politically charged environments - and does so with a deliberate refusal to take political positions on any of them. The organisation does not advocate for governments, factions, or military campaigns. It identifies human need and responds to it. In Lebanon, where economic collapse and regional instability have left large numbers of families without consistent access to food and shelter, MATW's Ramadan emergency response delivered 55,600 iftar meals, 2,950 food packs, hygiene kits, and Eid gifts - without commentary on the causes of the crisis.

This is not passivity. It is an operational and ethical choice rooted in the understanding that aid loses its integrity the moment it becomes a vehicle for a political agenda. The people MATW serves in these regions do not need an organisation's opinion on their conflict. They need food, water, medicine, and in the case of Eid al-Adha, the dignity of a Qurbani.

Founded in Sacrifice, Built on Trust

MATW was founded in 2015 by Ali Banat, an Australian Muslim entrepreneur who, upon receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, gave away his entire estate and dedicated his final years to building humanitarian infrastructure across Africa and the Muslim world. Schools in Guinea. Orphanages in Togo. Medical clinics in West Africa. When he passed away in 2018, he left behind not a personal legacy but an institutional one - an organisation built on the conviction that giving must be total, visible, and accountable.

Ten years on, that founding spirit is not a marketing narrative. It is the operating standard against which MATW measures its own work. Ramadan 2026 saw the organisation serve communities across 16 countries simultaneously - Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Togo, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Chad, and Indonesia - with every distribution logged, verified, and reported.

Ramadan 2026: The Numbers Behind the Mission

1,407,095 Iftar meals delivered globally

112,455 Food packs distributed (30-35kg each)

72,000 Rice bags distributed (5kg each)

27,530 Eid gifts distributed to orphaned children

5,900 Flour bags delivered in Gaza alone

15,000+ People served by MATW's new Gaza water well

CEO Mahmoud Ismail, writing to donors in the Ramadan 2026 Impact Report, captured the moment plainly: what was given during Ramadan was not simply aid. It was hope. It was dignity. It was mercy in action.

As Eid al-Adha approaches, MATW is extending that same mercy into the Qurbani season. The question for donors is a simple one: whose sacrifice will be the one that reaches a family in Togo, or Gaza, or Yemen - a family that has nothing else to celebrate with?

To give your Qurbani through MATW Project, visit matwproject.org.

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Media enquiries: press@matwproject.org | matwproject.org

SOURCE: MATW Project