The Dawoodi Bohra community of Coimbatore organised a food distribution drive on June 5, 2023 to provide dry rations to over 500 less fortunate families in the city as well as to inspire wider action against hunger & food insecurity.
The distribution was held at the Dawoodi Bohra masjid complex in the presence of Mr N Kartick, Secretary & Ex MLA of DMK, Rev Timothy Ravinder, CSI bishop in Coimbatore and Dr Srinivasa Giri, Governor, Association of Alliance Clubs International. The event was hosted by Moiz Mun, representative of His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin in Coimbatore.
This food distribution drive was conducted as part of the ‘Zero Hunger Squad’ initiative under the banner of Project Rise, the Dawoodi Bohra community’s global philanthropic arm.
The program has been in effect in Coimbatore since October 2020, when community members mobilised to reduce the impact of the pandemic on marginalised communities by serving freshly cooked meals on a regular basis.
The community has come a long way since then having served meals for the 190th consecutive week. So far, 700,000 people have benefited from the program.
Feroz Dak, a community volunteer said, ‘In the beginning, we were a little anxious, as we did not have any experience running a program like this. We took it one week at a time and as awareness spread amongst the community, volunteers and contributions began rolling in.’ He continued, ‘The Prophet Mohammed states that there is no deed greater than feeding the hungry. The biggest rewards earned from serving food were the smiles that lit up the faces of the beneficiaries.’
Zero Hunger Squad is a sustained food security initiative to mitigate food hunger and malnutrition among the less fortunate sections of society by serving cooked meals on a regular basis. The program has been conceptualised in alignment with the second goal of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals agenda of fighting food hunger and creating a more resilient society by 2030.
