Islamabad: Before the sun sets during Ramadan, most Pakistanis start preparing plentiful food items for the most-awaited moment of the day — iftar. The whole day of fasting, especially during long summer days, enhances the significance of iftar time.
It is at this time that groups of Pakistani youth are seen busy preparing ‘iftar dastarkhwan’ (iftar feast) at parks, hospitals and various other places to provide free iftar for the needy in the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
“Giving back to the society is the true spirit of Ramadan, even if it’s just a handful of dates or a bottle of water,” said Sulaiman Khan, 28, one of the volunteers. The joy of sharing food and seeing smiles on faces is the most rewarding part of charity for him.
The feast arranged by Sulaiman and his friends at a park in G-11 Markaz Islamabad serves favourite Iftar meal of Pakistanis: pakoras, samosa, dates, Rooh Afza (concentrated herbal squash), chana pulao and chicken pulao.
More than 250 people are served Ramadan meal daily. Most of them include labourers, daily wage workers and low paid staff of shops and banks.
“The iftar costs between Rs9,000 and Rs11,000 [Dh315—385] every day. We have bought some 300 plates, 400 glasses that are used daily,” Sulaiman said.
Sulaiman and his friends Waqas Zamurrad, Nasir Saeed, Basharat KakaKhel, Shah Zaman and Tariq are not associated with any organisation, and are rather just a group of friends with an aim to give back to society.
These youngsters are using social media to plea friends and family for small amounts of money. Sulaiman uses his Facebook page to request funds and shares updates on the charity works, which is how a simple idea between friends grew into a relief effort for families, Sulaiman told Gulf News.
A typical iftar buffet in Islamabad cost between Rs1,000 and Rs2,000 per person. “Most youngsters spend huge sums of money at big restaurants where the food is mostly wasted. So, I asked my friends to spend at least a day of their iftar spending with the needy,” Sulaiman said.
“This amount is peanuts for the wealthy compared to what they spend at lavish restaurants. Rs10,000 at a diner will hardly serve 8 to 10 people whereas the same amount provides food to more than 200 people,” Waqas Zamurrad said.
Involved in charity work for last 3 years, the group members began by using their own money. “After a few days, we received good response from friends in Pakistan and abroad whose financial aid helped us to continue the work,” Sulaiman said.
But what motivated him to take this initiative and not spend Ramadan at home like everyone? “Around 4 years ago, I was working on a project where I interacted with the labourers. It hit me then that most labourers can’t work hard to earn daily wages as they are fasting. Then how will they provide their families during Ramadan and Eid? This motivated me to ease their burden and help them celebrate Ramadan and Eid like every other Pakistani.” This team of youngsters also arranges cash for Eidi (Eid gift money) and new clothes for the poor.
Another group of youngsters seen actively participating in charity work during Ramadan is Green Volunteers Pakistan whose motto says it all: “We left talking a while back, now we just do.” This group is serving around 200 to 250 people daily at iftar time and caters to more than 700 at the Suhour time. “On some days we have even served about 1,000 people at Suhour” said Syed Suhaib Ali Shah, 32, key organiser of Green Volunteers Ramadan drive.
The menu is usually delicious chicken biryani along with samosa, jalebi, dates and Rooh Afza (concentrated squash). For Suhour, they usually serve paratha, egg, milk and tea. The organisation is serving diverse groups of people from labours to street kids to hospital staff and caretakers of the patients.
Green Volunteers is in its fourth year of arranging Suhour and iftari meals for the disadvantaged members of society. This year, the meals are being organised daily at Islamabad’s G-9 Markaz, Peshawar More and Suhour outside Emergency Ward of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital.
This organisation is specifically focusing on the distressed relatives of the patients at government hospitals. “Those people who come from outside city to be with their loved ones are already enduring lot of stress and the inadequate facilities at the hospital make things more difficult. This is why we decided to distribute Suhour meals at PIMS to offer them little relief,” Suhaib Shah explained.
The iftar meal costs around Rs70 and Suhour costs a mere Rs40. “The funding was initially done by friends and family. Later, people appreciated our efforts on social media and started donating online.”
Inspired by the response of people, key members of Green Volunteers, Rameez Mumtaz (Founder of Green Volunteers), Shah Talha Sohail and Umer Saeed, intend to escalate the charity from next year.
In Ramadan 2017, Green Volunteers also arranged special iftari feast for the children of orphan homes, SOS Village Islamabad and Hamara Ghar. “Ramadan is the time which brings together families and relatives. We wanted to share this essence of Ramadan with the orphans by laying out long iftar dastarkhwan and sharing meals and laughs with them,” Suhaib shared.
Another organisation, appropriately named ‘Acts of Kindness’, was also seen actively involved in charity work during this Ramadan. This organisation has offered a platform for students and young professionals who wish to contribute to society in their own way.
By breaking their fast and dining together with the disadvantaged people, Pakistani youngsters are setting a great example of harmony reflecting Ramadan’s spirit of giving and sharing. With their small efforts these youngsters aim to bring a positive change in the society. “I won’t say this will solve the issue [poverty] but it’s an effort on our part to give little back to the society,” Sulaiman said.
