Zaman left his job... now he is community aid champion
NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENT STARTED FOOD HUB DELIVERING SUPPLIES TO PEOPLE SUFFERING DURING PANDEMIC
THIS time last year, Mohammad ‘Zaman’ Khairuzzaman was working as a correspondent for Bangladeshi newspaper Dainik Azadi.
But when the lockdown was announced in the last week of March, he, just like everyone else around the world, was left with a changing reality.
Already the BAME officer for Labour North West, Zaman, from Longsight, looked into how he could help those around him that were suffering with the struggles of the lockdown.
“At the start of the pandemic, I realised it wasn’t the right time for me to continue with my job,” Zaman, 40, tells the M.E.N.
“I wanted to use my time more wisely and I looked at what I could do to directly help the people in my local community.”
Zaman left his reporting duties and started a non-profit group called Work For Smile, which began delivering and distributing food parcels to families and individuals in need across Longsight, Ardwick and Gorton.
When the service launched during the first lockdown, Zaman and his team of volunteers regularly delivered to around ten families.
Now, almost a year on, the organisation has more than 130 volunteers - some of who are homeless and regularly distributes food to more than 60 households.
“We don’t just deliver and distribute the food,” Zaman explains.
“We help people with their mental health, we talk with them and give them advice. It’s become something really important.”
The organisation works alongside the Ardwick and Longsight Covid Mutual Aid Group, Smile Aid, and Quadia Gilani Mosque Longsight, and has developed into a hub where people can visit to pick up food.
“We’re open every day and we ask no questions,” he explains.
“We work on a trust level and understand that those coming to us for food are in need.
“We’ve also learnt that people like to pick and choose what they want. When we first started, we made food boxes and gave it to people without realising that not everyone wanted the same things.
“We have adjusted so that people can take what they want depending on their needs, whether they eat Halal or have other dietary or allergy requirements.”
The market stall of food will vary from day to day based on supplies provided by local businesses and other organisations that work closely with Work For Smile.
But Zaman says it’s all fresh, nutritious and his team are always ready to offer meal prep suggestions.
The service has also become crucially important to the local community in other ways too. They’ve been helping debunk myths and misconceptions surrounding coronavirus tests and vaccinations within the BAME community.
“There is a big ethnic population in Longsight and Ardwick,” he adds.
“We have people from all kinds of backgrounds, there’s people from Sudan and Somalia here, and we get a lot of people who tell us they don’t want to get a Covid vaccination for a number of reasons.
“But myself and most of our team are now vaccinated.
“We’ve been able to make people aware that there are no side effects and explain why it is important to have a vaccination.”
The service recently received a letter of thanks from the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester and has also received the backing from local MPs and councillors, including Gorton MP Afzal Khan.
Mr Khan has also volunteered with the organisation on a number of occasions.
“I’m pleased to have been able to join Work for Smile in Longsight supporting vulnerable people throughout the pandemic,” Mr Khan said. “We’ve seen this past year how local mutual aid groups have stepped in to fill the gaps the Government have left behind.
“My friend Zaman is a great community champion, and he and his fellow Work for Smile volunteers have worked tirelessly to make sure people do not go hungry.
“They should be very proud of the work they have done.”
● To find out more about Work for Smile, you can find them on Facebook.