Mohammed Arif, along with Trustee’s Mahmood M Sacha and Bashir Ahmed went on to say “Registrars and Bereavement Services as well as Mortuary staff at Walsall Manor hospital worked extremely well during testing times in late March and Early April to enable burials to take place on the same day or the following day. On behalf of the Walsall Community, UMO wanted to recognise the smooth burial process and to thank the staff for the way they helped to ease the burden on the bereaved families”.
Union of Muslim Organisations is an umbrella group for all the mosques and Muslim organisations in Walsall.
The organisation was established in 1971 and has offices in Wednesbury Road, Walsall. UMO is a consultative partnerfor Walsall Council, Walsall Police and Walsall NHS on matters related to the Muslim community.
As part of the Walsall Covid-19 Aid Community operation since the lockdown started , UMO, Aisha Mosque, St. Gabriel’s Church, Accord Group, Age Matters and One Walsall we have been working in the wider community to deliver medicine, shopping and delivering food parcels to vulnerable people in Isolation. Sometimes, people ring for a social chat and advice on a religious matter.
We have delivered food parcels to homeless people and women fleeing domestic violence. The group has delivered 5litres containers for hand and face moisturisers for NHS front and back office Staff, large quantity of Snacks and drinks for ICU Staff, cooked food for district nurses, back-office staff all at Walsall Manor hospital during the peak Coronavirus period to show care, recognition and appreciation in the Community for NHS Staff.
As of June 1, Walsall has seen a total of 207 deaths at Walsall Manor hospital due to Covid-19. In late March and early April, Walsall residents, including Muslims, were dying from the Coronavirus on a daily basis. Muslims require their burials to take place as soon as possible after their deaths.
Bereaved families were unable to attend the funeral of their family member due to restrictions on numbers or due to isolation. UMO had worked with and endorsed a number of funeral directors equipped with PPE equipment to carry out the funeral services in and liaise with the Registrars and Bereavement Services.
At times, there were up to 4 funerals in a day to help the grieving families to bury their loved ones.