Hasna Al-Misraty received a special present on Mother's Day from her daughter living in the USA.
The daughter donated money to a charitable organization to dig a well in one of the poorest villages in Cameroon and name it after her mother.
This kind of charity is called endowment and is widely practiced in the Islamic world including Libya.
Endowment or (Waqf) is a kind of philanthropic deed in perpetuity, which involves donating a fixed asset or money to establish a project, by which its benefits go from one generation to another.
One of the oldest and famous examples of an endowment property is the Well of Uthman Bin Affan in the Medina in Saudia Arabia, founded in the first year after migration.
The water was relatively scarce in the desert city and the owner of the well took advantage of the situation and was selling water to the poor at an exorbitant price.
Uthman Bin Affan heard the prophet Mohammed peace be upon him promise Paradise to the one who would buy the well and endow it to the city, so he purchased the well despite the owner's demand for a substantial amount.
Water was provided free to all the Medina community Muslim and non-Muslim alike, while the well was registered as an endowment and still exists today.
