As dawn breaks on a chilly Sunday morning, a group of people assemble in silent expectation. They are gathered at a bus stand of the agricultural town of Sangamner. Volunteers from the local Dawoodi Bohra community join them each Sunday — a weekly pattern that has forged bonds of friendship and mutual respect.
For 84 Sundays, volunteers have been serving a nourishing breakfast at the bus stand, from poha and idli to vegetable biryani and khichdi. The meal is freshly prepared in the morning, keeping in mind the diet preferences and needs of its beneficiaries.
“This is a very uplifting initiative for our community. There has always been a culture of karamat or showing respect by hosting others for meals in the community. Through this initiative, community members get an opportunity to extend that respect to the wider society,” said Murtaza Rohawala, the local community leader.
The initiative is part of the Zero Hunger Squad, a food security program empowering volunteers to fight hunger through sustainable action. It comes under the banner of Project Rise, a global Dawoodi Bohra initiative dedicated to creating meaningful change through service and volunteerism.
“When we began, there was always the worry of how we would sustain this as we did not have the funding to do it indefinitely. Once we started and the news spread, community members, both local and international, contributed to the cause,” said Murtaza Misri, a volunteer.
“Volunteering in this initiative has been a humbling experience. The idea of just having food on your table is such a powerful reminder to be grateful for everything in life. This realisation fuels my purpose to contribute even more,” continued Misri.
The community’s leader His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin’s counsel has been the bedrock of these initiatives. Espousing Islamic values of caring for and feeding others, he encourages Dawoodi Bohras to seek the wellbeing of all members of society through a range of outreach efforts including food distribution, tree planting, and cleanliness drives.
The Zero Hunger Squad has been active since October 2020, when community members mobilised to reduce the impact of Covid-19 on marginalised communities by serving freshly cooked meals.
