Student Group Offers Iftaar To Rohingya Refugees This Ramzaan

NEW DELHI: A group of students have decided to serve the poor with free “Iftaar” (evening meal) this Ramzaan. The group consists mostly of students and alumni of Jamia Millia Islamia who call their initiative Zehra Foundation. They aim to serve 1000 families in the month of Ramzaan. The Zehra foundation is currently distributing Food packets to the poor people in the slums near the Yamuna Bank in Jamia Nagar and the Rohingya Refugee Camp near Kalindi Kunj.

The President of Zehra Foundation, a graduate student at Jamia Millia University says, “We were teaching poor students for free at the Yamuna Bank in Jamia Nagar since five years. We saw that the poor living around didn’t fast as they don’t get proper nutritious diet during Ramzaan. Then we started giving them food from our pockets, but couldn’t fee beyond 20 people.” He adds, “It was then we came up with this initiative.”

The group of students then came up with the idea of Zehra Foundation. They started selling “Iftaar” packets to the students around the locality and they contributed the profit to the initiative. The group also started asking donations from friends and families for their initiative.

A member of the group proudly adds that, they distributed 2000 packets last year, to the people near the Yamuna Bank during Ramzaan. Apart from the Iftaar distribution the group had setup an educational centre, from last year’s profit, near the Yamuna Bank in Jamia Nagar, which caters to another 250 unprivileged kids from the locality.

The group tries to remain anonymous and didn’t agree to come in the photographs. When asked on the reason behind the anonymity, a member of Zahra Foundation said, “It’s about the noble cause and not us. We want the focus to be on the noble cause and the problems being faced by the poor.”

The day starts at 11 when the group starts the preparation for the evening meal. A member of the foundation says that they been there since 11, buying the food items, and make preparations for the cooking. The Zehra Foundation supervises over the cooking and the packaging. The final distribution of food packets starts in the evening when the sun is about to set.

Another member, an alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, in his early twenties said, that a single food packet has fruit salad, pakodas (fritter), biryani, grams and dates.

The group is currently distributing food at the Yamuna Bank and the Refugee Camp near the Kalindi Kunj. On the first day of Ramzaan, the group misses the target of 400 packets and could only distribute 250 packets.

The president of the group, who himself was fasting, tirelessly wiping his sweat, says, “It’s the first day; I hope things will turn out smoother from tomorrow”. The group would go on to distribute more than 1500 packets in the first four days.

The group of students do not want to stop at mere distribution of food packets during a single month. The group has been saving the amount after selling the packets for the educational centre they plan to run in the near future. The President adds, “We already have opened up an educational centre at Pahalwan Chowk in Jamia Nagar which provides education to 250 unprivileged kids from the locality. We are planning to bring in similar educational centres at Rohingya Camp too.