Society of Students Against Poverty

The Society of Students Against Poverty, also known as Imam Ali's Popular Students Relief Society or Jameeat-e-Imam Ali, was an Iranian nonpartisan student organization established in 1999. Despite the English-language title supplied for the organization, the subject is Iranian rather than Canadian. It began as a student-led effort to address poverty and social hardship through research, volunteer work, educational activity, and direct assistance to vulnerable families. Its first official office was established at Sharif University in 2000. The organization concentrated particularly on children and families facing severe socioeconomic problems. Its described areas of work included support for orphans, street and runaway children, child laborers, children involved in juvenile justice, sick children, and families affected by poverty, addiction, abuse, or other forms of social instability. Rather than presenting charity solely as the distribution of goods, the group promoted what its founder called “intelligent charity”: an approach in which members assess the circumstances of a social problem, use university-based knowledge and research, and develop structured interventions with plans and timetables. Its internal work was organized through specialized committees. The health committee addressed prevention and treatment for families under the organization’s care. The social committee dealt with family-related problems such as child abuse, child selling, and addiction. The education committee supported children’s learning, morale, and further education. The culture and arts committee pursued cultural activities for children and families, while the employment committee sought job opportunities for adult family members. This combination of emergency assistance, education, health support, social intervention, and employment was intended to address the causes and consequences of poverty together. The Society became particularly associated with Koochegardan-e-Ashegh, a Ramadan relief initiative in which university students collected essential supplies and distributed them to poor families on the twenty-first night of Ramadan, associated with Laylat al-Qadr and the commemoration of Imam Ali’s martyrdom. The program began in Tehran in 1999 and later operated in several Iranian cities. A 2006 edition was reported to have distributed approximately 5,000 packages. Other activities included seminars on children’s health and street children, educational and cultural festivals, assistance after the Bam earthquake, programs for children in juvenile correctional facilities, religious and interfaith events, and public advocacy concerning children affected by war. The organization also attempted to connect social action with public policy. Its Iran 1130 proposal encouraged Iranian presidential candidates to build a village as part of their campaign activity rather than devote heavily to conventional paper advertising. This reflected the Society’s broader preference for practical, community-oriented interventions. In 2010, it was described as having membership in the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The available reference material provides substantial information about its early programs and public activities but does not establish its current operating status, present leadership, financial position, or continuing website activity.

The Society of Students Against Poverty was founded in Iran in 1999 as a nonpartisan student initiative concerned with poverty and social problems. Its early identity was shaped by university participation: students contributed research, professional knowledge, volunteer labor, and practical assistance. The organization opened its first official office at Sharif University in 2000. Sharmin Meymandi Nejad is identified as its founder and as the initiator of its “intelligent charity” concept. Intelligent charity, as described in the organization's reference material, sought to move beyond unstructured giving. Members were expected to study the circumstances surrounding a social problem and develop an appropriate response using university expertise, research, schedules, and implementation plans. The model treated the organization as an integrated body whose participants evaluated needs and coordinated solutions. This approach informed work with children and families experiencing poverty, abuse, addiction, illness, homelessness, or involvement with the juvenile justice system. The Society's activities were divided among health, social, education, culture and arts, and employment committees. Health work included both preventive and curative support for families under the group's care. Social interventions addressed forms of family and child vulnerability, including child harassment, child selling, and addiction. Education programs supported children's schooling and supplemental education, while cultural activities sought to improve the cultural environment of children and families. The employment committee attempted to identify or create work opportunities for family members, linking relief to longer-term household stability. Koochegardan-e-Ashegh became the organization's best-known activity. Conducted during Ramadan, it mobilized students to collect essential goods from universities and distribute them to needy families on the twenty-first night of Ramadan. The program began in Tehran in 1999 and later extended to cities including Kermanshah, Zanjan, and Zabol. The 2006 edition was reported to have provided roughly 5,000 packages. The initiative received public religious recognition, including praise attributed to Iran's Supreme Leader in an Eid al-Fitr speech. The organization also developed educational, cultural, health, and advocacy programs. Rahyaft-e-Darooni was associated with tutorial classes led by Meymandi Nejad. A five-day children’s cancer seminar was held in 1999 at Sharif University, Shahid Beheshti University, and the Dialogue Between Civilizations Center. The Children of Love Festival included short films, dramatic cinema, and theatre. Interfaith celebrations marking the birth of Jesus Christ were held in 2000, 2001, and again in 2006, with the stated purpose of emphasizing love and humanitarian concern across religious traditions. Other projects addressed children in difficult circumstances more directly. Teflan-e-Moslem involved a seminar at Tehran's juvenile correction and rehabilitation center in 2007, with an objective of helping children detained because of financial circumstances. The Society also organized activities concerning street children, children's education, toys, health, religious interpretation, and cultural remembrance. It supported people affected by the Bam earthquake and publicly protested the effects of war on Iraqi children at the United Nations center in Tehran in 2003. The Iran 1130 plan illustrated the Society's interest in civic and political practice. It proposed that presidential candidates use campaign resources to build a village rather than spend substantially on paper advertising. This was consistent with the group's preference for measurable social benefit and community development. By 2010, the organization was described as a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The available material does not reliably establish its later institutional history, current leadership, financial resources, legal status, or whether its website and programs remain active.

• 2010

  Reported ECOSOC membership

  [1]Society of Students Against Povertyen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material states that the organization became a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2010.

• 2006

  Large-scale Koochegardan relief distribution

  [1]Society of Students Against Povertyen.wikipedia.org

  The 2006 Ramadan edition was reported to have distributed approximately 5,000 aid packages in several Iranian cities.

• 2000

  First official office established

  [1]Society of Students Against Povertyen.wikipedia.org

  The organization opened its first official office at Sharif University.

• 1999

  Organization founded

  [1]Society of Students Against Povertyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society of Students Against Poverty was established in Iran as a nonpartisan student NGO focused on poverty and child-related social problems.

A student-led, nonpartisan Iranian social organization combining direct relief with research-based interventions for children and impoverished families.

• Ramadan poverty-relief program · 1999

  Koochegardan-e-Ashegh

  The Society's most prominent relief activity brought university students together to collect food and other necessities and distribute them to poor families during Ramadan. The program began in Tehran in 1999 and expanded to multiple Iranian cities. Its timing on the twenty-first night of Ramadan connected practical aid with a major religious observance.

• Education and tutorial program

  Rahyaft-e-Darooni

  Rahyaft-e-Darooni was an educational initiative associated with tutorial classes led by founder Sharmin Meymandi Nejad. It reflected the organization's use of teaching and personal development as tools for supporting children and volunteers.

• Juvenile welfare program · 2007

  Teflan-e-Moslem

  This initiative included a 2007 seminar at Tehran's juvenile correction and rehabilitation center. Its stated purpose was to address the situation of children held because of financial problems and to explore ways of assisting them.

• Children's culture and arts festival

  Children of Love Festival

  The festival promoted children's cultural participation through short films, dramatic films, and theatre. It formed part of the Society's broader effort to combine social support with cultural and educational activity.

• Civic development proposal

  Iran 1130

  Iran 1130 proposed that presidential candidates direct campaign resources toward building a village instead of spending heavily on printed political advertising. The concept expressed the Society's preference for tangible community development over conventional promotional expenditure.

• 2006Koochegardan-e-Ashegh national relief edition

  Iran

  The Ramadan campaign operated in Tehran and several other Iranian cities, collecting and distributing essential materials.

  Outcome. Approximately 5,000 packages were reportedly distributed.

  Source
• 2003Advocacy against the effects of war on Iraqi children

  Iran

  The Society organized a protest at the United Nations center in Tehran concerning the effects of war on Iraqi children.

  Source
• 1999Koochegardan-e-Ashegh

  Iran

  A Ramadan collection and distribution drive in which university students gathered necessities for poor families.

  Outcome. The program continued in later years and expanded beyond Tehran; the 2006 edition reportedly distributed about 5,000 packages.

  Source

• 2007

  Held Teflan-e-Moslem juvenile-welfare seminarOther

  Background

  The Society focused attention on children held in Tehran's juvenile correction and rehabilitation system because of financial circumstances.

  Action taken

  It organized a seminar intended to examine the children's situation and identify ways to help release or support them.

  Source

• 2003

  Publicly advocated for Iraqi children affected by warStrategy

  Background

  The Society addressed child welfare not only through local relief but also through public advocacy on regional humanitarian issues.

  Action taken

  Members protested at the United Nations center in Tehran against the effects of war on Iraqi children.

  Source

• 1999

  Adopted an intelligent-charity modelStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought to make student charity more systematic and responsive to the circumstances of each social problem.

  Action taken

  It organized volunteers and university expertise around assessment, research, planned interventions, and implementation schedules.

  Aftermath

  The model became a defining part of the Society's stated identity and informed its committee-based programs.

  Source

• 1999

  Launched Koochegardan-e-AsheghOther

  Background

  Poor families required direct assistance with essential goods, particularly during Ramadan.

  Action taken

  The Society mobilized students to collect supplies through universities and distribute them to families in need.

  Aftermath

  The program became the organization's best-known recurring activity and later expanded to multiple Iranian cities.

  Source

1. 1Society of Students Against Povertyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Society of Students Against Poverty official websitesosapoverty.org