VOLUNTEERS CAME TO THE AID OF ELDERLY COUPLE DURING RAMADAN AFTER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW FELL ILL WITH COVID-19
Daniyal Hussain loads up his car ready to deliver meals to the Muslim community
A DERBY man was left relieved after his elderly parents were able to break their fast this Ramadan thanks to the help of a local charity.
Mohammed Shahbaz, 43, who lives in Normanton, is grateful to the volunteers of Derby Crisis Response after his wife, who normally prepares meals for his elderly parents, fell ill with coronavirus.
He said: “I am happy with the excellent work from Derby Crisis Response who have supported my Mum and Dad over the month of Ramadan. They weren’t able to cook due to their age. Normally, we would support them ourselves but due to social distancing rules and my wife having Covid-19, we were unable to meet them, see them or speak to them face to face.
“It is very handy to have this service available to ensure they were being looked after, even if we couldn’t be there for them during their time of need.”
His parents are also grateful for the hard work and dedication of the team.
Derby Crisis Response has helped the city’s local Muslim community by delivering 1,600 hot food parcels during Ramadan.
On a daily basis they took food to the homes of the elderly and vulnerable, as well as people with disabilities who would normally rely on the mosques or family members to cater for their needs in the holy month.
The month of Ramadan is where Muslims are required to not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset and ,with all mosques in the city closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown, many vulnerable Muslims were left with real concerns regarding how they would prepare their evening
I am happy with the excellent work from Derby Crisis Response who have supported my Mum and Dad over Ramadan.
meal of Iftar. The organisation collected hot food such as pizzas, burgers, rice dishes, noodles and kebabs from local takeaways on a daily basis and delivered the meals to houses to ensure the most vulnerable within the community were able to break the fast on time.
One of the organisations leaders, Baz Jabbar said, “Through the efforts of our amazing team at Derby Crisis Response we have been able to support thousands of
Mohammed Shahbaz people over the last three months with Ramadan Iftar packs, the community food bank, welfare checks and isolation support from the community helpline.”
Baz, who now manages Radio Ikhlas, initiated the set-up of Derby Crisis Response to provide relief to local communities in the event of natural disasters such as floods or pandemics like Covid-19.
He said: “Our volunteers have been putting themselves through their paces to ensure the people we support are well looked after. We will continue to provide support as long as it is needed.”
The team is a collaboration of several local Muslim organisations which include Radio Ikhlas, the Pakistan Community Centre, as well as a host of others.
All 14 volunteer drivers are equipped with face masks, gloves and were tasked daily with handing out food parcels that consisted of one starter, one main and one drink to Muslims all over the Derby area.
Charity work is a fundamental part of the holy month of Ramadan where Muslims are also encouraged to help people who are less fortunate than themselves.
Sarmad Jhanghir, a volunteer for the team, said, “I felt very humbled to do this as a project as it was a time of self contemplation, as well as learning the value of appreciation. Us volunteers responding to our humanitarian duty to help others, especially the less fortunate. I believe we should still act on this duty, even in the future, and help those in need when we can.”
With more projects in the pipeline the organisation is hoping to continue serving the local community throughout the outbreak.