Panaji: The lockdown due to COVID-19 threat caused unprecedented hardships to one and all. But the worst affected has been the poor, who is left to fend for himself. But thankfully there have been some good Samaritans from across Goa who lent support to these hapless souls in this Ramadan to emerge as a ray of hope for them.
This includes some of the social Muslim associations which reached out to the needy to reduce their suffering during this Ramadan.
“A man who lost his job at a restaurant reached out to me with the hope that we could help him pay his monthly rent. Unfortunately, his wife had undergone a miscarriage recently, and he didn’t have the money to pay for her medicines too. So, we paid his rent for this month and also paid for the medicines,” says Shaikh Asim Ahmed, volunteer at Humanitarian Relief Society (HRS), Goa.
HRS, Idgah Committee Mapusa (ICM), Student Islamic Organization (SIO), and many such associations have come forward to help the underprivileged, migrants, and daily wage workers during these unprecedented times.
An essential facet during the Ramadan is Zakat, wherein the Muslim population is encouraged to donate 2.5 per cent of their wealth which has been earned in the past year for charity.
Secretary of ICM, Shaikh Akhtar informed the committee members distributed Zakat money to the needy and the widows in Mapusa area.
In association with Jamaat-e-IslamHind, HRS has been tirelessly working towards the betterment of the society, providing the poor with a weekly ration kit and cooked food.
“Since the announcement of lockdown, we started our work at Sinquerim, Mapusa, Panaji, Margao, and Vasco, helping all the daily-wage labourers. Around Rs 30 lakh has been spent during the lockdown period and the weekly ration provided to around 15,000 beneficiaries,” says Abdul Wahid Khan, Chairman of HRS Goa.
This year the SIO has encouraged the Muslim community to have restrained Eid celebrations.
“Instead of spending money on new clothes, we asked Muslim community to spend some money on the poor, who need it the most,” says Suheb Ahmed Naik, President of Student Islamic Organisation, Goa.
Now more than ever, people are practising empathy, helping each other in unity keeping aside religious differences, and standing together to fight the invisible enemy.
