Extending a helping hand to Rohingya Muslim refugees, a group of young professionals have teamed up this Ramzan to offer them iftar, serving them dishes like Haleem and Biryani during the holy month.
The group, comprising Mujtaba Askari, Khurram, Sadiq, Imran and Zeeshan, along with other volunteers, has organised two iftar parties for the refugees so far over the last two weekends, and plans to treat all the refugees with a Ramzan feast by the end of the holy month. “We are covering 150 families per week and calling them over to a community hall in that area and making arrangements for iftar followed by prayers and dinner,” said Mujtaba Askari from Helping Hand Foundation.
Mr. Askari said that the group is also distributing ration like rice, oil, wheat and pulses to the most destitute among the Rohingya Muslim refugees living in the areas of Balapur, Kishanbagh and Baba Nagar. He added that a local NGO which is the operational partner of UNHCR is helping the group in coordinating the entire event.
“Basically, we want to cover the entire refugee population of about 3000 people in Hyderabad. The Rohingiya Muslims are living in the most pathetic conditions in make shift camps in Balapur, where there are totally six camps, with about 600-odd families living there.” stated Mr. Askari.
The group was chosen because it is the most deprived in society, as many of them get jobs for only 8 to 12 days in a month, he added.
“Each and every one of our volunteers are personally involved in the whole process, right from procuring the raw material for the food to preparation, which is outsourced to a self-help group,” said Mr. Askari. He added that each Iftar costs the group between Rs. 45,000 to Rs. 50,000, which is mobilised along with the group’s friends and associates.
