OUR HISTORY

SALAM was founded in 2011 with the goal of eradicating poverty and changing lives. Now supported by global celebrities, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and social media ambassadors, we are using our positive influence to make a difference to millions of needy people.

TIMELINE

2011

Salam Charity is founded by a small team of three people – all passionately committed to fighting poverty and transforming lives.

2012

Our first project is in Bangladesh: a flagship healthcare facility called the Shifa Clinic. Professional doctors and nurses offer free treatment (including antenatal and neonatal) and advice to anyone in the district. It’s a lifeline for thousands of local people who cannot afford medical treatments.

2015

Driven by our passion to deliver sustainable and life-changing projects, our work expands to Ghana, Somalia, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Pakistan and Lebanon.

2018

We deliver emergency medical aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and a shelter development programme in response to the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami.

2019

Dispatched to the largest refugee camp in the world, our partners in Bangladesh help to deliver Street Smart: evening classes to teach children language and numeracy skills.

2020

To help the huge population of IDPs (internally displaced people) in Syria, we establish a shelter rehabilitation programme – rebuilding homes and rejuvenating communities.

2021

The Lebanese economy is in crisis, with almost 40% unemployment. We create the TukTuk scheme to help young people run their own business. This is also the year of our first Bakery Project – which delivered 700 bags of bread, free of charge, every day.

2022

Platinum award-winning artist Maher Zain travels out to Bangladesh with Salam, visiting refugee camps and our Shifa Clinic (which is currently issuing around 10,000 free medicines every year). Under one new income initiative, we provide around 2,000 olive trees to Palestinian farmers.

2023

We open our second Shifa Clinic in Lebanon, providing free health treatments and medicine to a vulnerable community. In Bangladesh, we run our first Cataract Clinic, offering free surgery and spectacles to people with vision problems. Our emergency response team travels to Syria, Turkey and Morocco to support those affected by the earthquakes, Libya to support survivors of the devastating floods, and Gaza, supporting the Palestinians.

2024

We open three more Shifa clinics in Bangladesh, bringing modern medical services to remote and vulnerable communities. Our work in Gaza continues as we deliver tonnes of aid via trucks from Egypt. During Ramadan, we serve 127,980 iftars and deliver food parcels to produce 4.2 million meals.

2025

In 2025, we are delighted to travel with many Syrian refugees who are able to return home. Our team helps them to pack and renovate or rebuild their homes, rehousing 32 families in phase 1 of the project. We celebrate Eid with special ‘souks’, inviting orphans and carers to choose new clothes and enjoy a feast.