Raisa Noshin is a ADAMS Girl Scout with Troop 2551in Sterling, VA. She is working on her Gold Award. The Girl Scout Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Open only to girls in high school, this prestigious award challenges young women to change the world. Noshin is forming a group, called Smiles for the Sick, for the youth of the ADAMS community.
The primary purpose is to ‘visit the sick and raise their spirits’, following in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu'alyhi wa sallam)
Our dear Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu'alyhi wa sallam) said that "The one who visits the sick is in fact like one who is in the fruit garden of Paradise so long as he does not return." [Sahih Muslim], quotes Noshin in her invitation to her community to send information to Smiles for the Sick website. “It is important that we support the brothers and sisters in our community who are ill. However, this visitation system can only be possible with the help of the members of the ADAMS community. I have seen many times that people inform the Imam leading the prayer that their relative is sick and ask for them to make dua. Now that this group exists, community members can inform the group via email about people they know who are hospitalized or institutionalized, and the group can send members to talk to them and assure them that their Muslim brothers and sisters are there for them,” comments Noshin.
“The group I am forming will also be visiting the elderly once a month at a variety of different nursing homes, retirement communities, and senior centers,” says Noshin.
“Often times, the elderly who are in retirement communities or nursing homes are lonely, because their family can not come visit them very often. Their spirits are as demoralized as a sick person's would be. Our group seeks to remedy this problem by visiting these people and find ways to raise their spirits and remind them that they are important and loved.”
Noshin’s efforts could address the growing issue of loneliness. Doctors have quantified the effects of the loneliness disease, warning that lonely people are nearly twice as likely to die prematurely as those who do not suffer feelings of isolation, according to Phillipa Perr, a psychotherapist.
Loneliness can be twice as unhealthy as obesity, according to researchers. The scientists observed 2,000 seniors and found that the loneliest were nearly twice as likely to die during the six-year study than the least lonely.
The elderly are severely affect by the devastating impact of isolation and its the feelings presented by Professor John Cacioppo in Chicago in a report called Rewarding Social Connections Promote Successful Ageing. He says that the pain of loneliness is akin to physical pain.
“If there are any questions for me or if anybody would like to inform the group of a sick family member or friend who needs visitation, please feel free to email me at info@smilesforthesick.org,” says Noshin.
A similar effort is made by Senior Ambassadors at the Muslim Commnunity Center in Silver Spring, Maryland for area Muslims.
For more information, visit http://smilesforthesick.org, where each scheduled future visitation will be posted.
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