As we reach the end of the second third of Ramadan, our bodies and minds are tired but it’s important that we continue to persevere, striving to seek the pleasure of the Almighty in order that we attain God consciousness. When we enter the last ten days we feel at ease as our bodies have adjusted to staying without food and drink. How merciful is our Creator for allowing us to increase our faith and steadfastness throughout this month so we can reap the rewards during the last ten nights of Ramadan. In our daily lives we are expected to demonstrate patience and perseverance when facing adversity, trusting in Almighty’s plan throughout our lives, the same goes for Ramadan. May the Almighty grant us patience and allow us to be grateful for all the favours He bestowed upon us.

Today we ended our last cooking for the month of Ramadan feeding 3,200 mouths of the communities of Lansdowne, Vrygrond, Lavender Hill, Steenberg, Milnerton, Retreat, Tafelsig, Ottery, Parkwood and Khayalitsha taking the total mouths fed to 225,200. We manage to feed approximately 14,000 people over the past three weeks from Lavender Hill, Belhar and Ottery kitchens. We would like to thank all the sponsors, the team and volunteers for making it possible to feed the impoverished, orphaned and destitute in our communities. May your lives be filled with many blessings and for those fasting may you reap the rewards of these last 10 days.

As we enter entered the second ten days of Ramadan we are reminded that these are the days of forgiveness wherein we are afforded the opportunity to seek forgiveness of the Almighty. How quick time flies, but have we are ourselves the question, “What have we done with our time.” It is mentioned that giving charity to those in need is a means of seeking forgiveness from the Almighty and purifying one’s soul. The Prophet Muhammad (May Peace be Upon Him) taught us that our charity would intercede for the giver on the Day of Judgment. In a world where self interest and materialism seem to be the norm, charity allows us to develop our compassion and empathy as well as too show gratitude to our Creator for all the blessings in our lives.

Through the grace of the Almighty we manage to feed 3,200 people of Vrygrond, Manenberg, Ottery, Retreat, Lavender Hill, Khayelitsha and Parkwood taking the total mouths fed to 220,150. We would like to thank everyone one for your continued support, from our esteemed sponsors, the team and volunteers. May your charity in cash or kind be the means for you to obtain the forgiveness you seek of and may it result in us strengthening our relationship with our Creator.

In Surah Baqarah of the Holy Quran it states,

“The example of those who spend their wealth in the cause of Allah is that of a grain that sprouts into seven ears, each bearing one hundred grains. And Allah multiplies the reward even more to whoever He wills. For Allah is All-Bountiful, All-Knowing.” 

-Surah Baqarah:261

Through our charity we do not only unite communities, but we also strengthen the bonds by assisting the less fortunate in our communities. As the verse states, the charity we give is multiplied in rewards. May our charities help us to attain the forgiveness we and pleasure of the Almighty.

As we welcomed the month of Ramadan with the sighting of the moon, how fortunate are we to witnesss this month. Countless times we are afforded opportunities by our Creator to do better, be better and ultimately realise what our true purpose in life is and that is to worship Him.

We find ourselves in the first ten days of Ramadan, known as the days of mercy. Allah (SWT) says in the Quran, “O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.” (Quran 2:183). During these days we have been given a unique opportunities to seek Allah (SWT)’s mercy and forgiveness. May we strive to make the most of this our time by engaging in acts of worship and seeking His pleasure.

Today we fed 2,750 people from the communities of Lavender Hill, Vrygrond, Khayelitsha, Egoli, Retreat and Manenberg taking the total mouths fed to date to 215,750. May every morsel of food eaten provide sustenance and improved health. We take the opportunity to thank our sponsors, the team and volunteers for your ongoing support.

As the clock ticks let’s not forget that our time on earth is limited. We tend to prioritise everything that we deem important but not reflecting on the time wasted. In reality each minute that passes is a minute less we have. With the days that remain, may we raise our hands asking for His mercy.

People in our communities are suffering from many hardships, but despite being extremely challenging it also brings about lessons that will help us grow in many ways. Pain relating to these hardships can either be short or linger on for many years. The Quran indicates that with difficulty comes ease, even though we do not completely understand that during the hardship, we are in most instances able to reflect on the ease Allah (God) is referring too.

Adversities on the other hand are misfortunes such as poverty or suffering from hunger. It is important to note that circumstances could easily change, therefore we should be extremely grateful for everything we have been granted. We are blessed that we are able to provide much needed meals to those in need in our communities and we hope to create awareness in order that we assist wherever possible to help where needed.

Today we fed 2,750 people from Lavender Hill, Khayelitsha, Parkwood, Manenberg, Seawinds, Vrygrond, Milnerton and Egoli Informal Settlement in Phillipi taking the total amount fed to date to 210,000 people.

As Rumi said, “God sends hope in the most desperate moments. Don’t forget the heaviest rain comes out of the darkest clouds.” May we be the rain to nourish and bring hope to the impoverished and destitute within our communities to allow them to grow.

See below pictures:

As we conclude the last cooking for the year, we want to firstly thank the Almighty for granting us our health, strength to continue feeding the less fortunate and for allowing us to build our community united as one to serve humanity. We are grateful for all the sponsors for entrusting us with your donations and to everyone that comes to lend a helping hand, it is greatly appreciated.

We managed to feed 2,750 people taking the ritual feeding to date to 205,750 mouths fed from the communities of Khayelitsha, Vrygrond, Lavender Hill, Retreat, Parkwood, Egoli, Maitland and Milnerton. We are truly blessed by the effort each of our distribution partners have made to feed their respective areas. We delighted with the growth being able to feed all across Cape Town.

Something comes to mind as we end this year, how fortunate are we as a community to help the impoverished, orphaned and destitute. With all the happenings in the world, people have started to worship wealth and self interest, not wanting to lend a helping hand to those being oppressed or suffering from adversities throughout the world.

Life is like a circle, as we feel sad for finishing one chapter, it is important to note that another is just over the horizon. Wishing you all well over the festive season, may it bring forth prosperity to you and your families the year that lies ahead.

Some pictures of todays feeding:

The pursuit of success in helping others is deeply ingrained in human nature. From acts of kindness and charity to larger humanitarian efforts, human beings inherently desire helping others to improve their well-being which is a driving force behind numerous successful initiatives.

Today we see people around the world neglecting fundamental principles of helping those being oppressed and injustice without being held accountable. Research has consistently shown that acts of kindness and helping others can provide a sense of purpose and meaning in life, contributing to a greater purpose and improve our overall character.

Today we managed to feed another 2,500 mouths from the communities of Retreat, Milnerton, Lavender Hill, Vrygrond, Parkwood and Ottery. We would like to thank everyone for all your support, the growth in feeding has been phenomenal as we reach our 201,000 mouths fed since inception. This milestone is only possible due to all the support received, it is clear that through perseverance and good intentions everything is possible.

As an indication of our growth, in our first year we managed to feed 24,000 mouths, increasing to 100,250 in the second year reflecting a growth of more than 300% and in our third year to date we managed to grow by 100%. We would like to thank the Almighty, our sponsors, the team and the volunteers that entrust us to make a difference in the lives of the orphaned, impoverished and destitute. It is true that the best way to predicts one’s future is to create it.

After more than a month, people from different religions are suffering in Palestine. The so called leaders of the world are making this war to be a religious war but in fact this is nothing but a way for one racist group to take land from the Palestinians. As South Africans we understand the events of apartheid, therefore it is hard to understand how any South African today can stand with the Zionists understanding the history of our country.

It is unfortunate that leadership today is chosen based on the wealth of individuals, yet morality is not considered. Leadership is hypocritical, taking no stance against the injustice happening in the world, but through words speak to people about their principles stating that they stand by truth and not falsehood. Morality is simply defined as principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. The question is then do you stand with truth or falsehood, it is that simple?

We would like to take the opportunity to thank our donors and the team for all their support in allowing us to feed 2,500 people from the communities of Khayelitsha, Vrygrond, Retreat, Milnerton, Ottery and Lavender Hill taking the total mouths fed to date to 198,400. May our working together to feed the impoverished, orphaned and destitute be a guidance to others in order that we together can be a benefit to humanity.

Palestinian people today are teaching us what faith really means, despite their significant challenges and being humiliated recently being forced to leave their homes. They remain strong while the world stares not understanding how the Palestinian people are able to withstand the oppression and bloodshed. We reflect on our challenges that we experience today, which is small in comparison to theirs.

Clearly, wealth does not make us strong and content, instead proper morals will help us develop perfect faith. The Palestinian people are opening our eyes, let us lift our hands in prayer that the Almighty grant them success.

Today we witness genocide taking place in the world, with media leading the narrative in people’s minds. As human beings we forgot our responsibility towards others and with all the falsehood and injustice of leadership, we neglect displaying simple human qualities of compassion, empathy, social cohesion, alleviating others suffering and our ethical conduct when making decisions. As Mother Theresa said, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

Despite the falsehood being reported, the world witnesses the true meaning of having faith by those being oppressed. Did we ever ask ourselves what is our condition? What is the state of our faith and what are the lessons to take from these events? To explain, in islam humanity holds a great significance and is considered a fundamental aspect of faith. We acknowledge that God created human beings from a single soul, despite being split into different nations and tribes this emphasises that we are all united and equal. We have also been entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of each other.

As it is our responsibility as human beings to look after those suffering, we would like to take the opportunity to thank all the donors, the team and volunteers that made todays feeding possible. Today we managed to feed 2,500 people from the communities from Khayelitsha, Salt River, Milnerton, Parkwood, Lavender Hill, Retreat and Vrygrond taking the total mouths fed to date to 192,500.

During these turbulent times we want you to reflect on the words of Martin Luther King, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all human”. As human beings let us start living by making a difference to those in need, alone we can make small differences but together we can achieve much more.

See pictures below:

It is known that South Africa is one of the countries in the world with the highest inequality rate, with a significant portion of the population living in poverty. The richest portion of the population holds a disproportionate share of the country’s wealth, while large segments of the population struggle with unemployment, low wages, and limited economic opportunities.

While we sit in the comfort homes, we want you to reflect on those in our communities that are living from hand to mouth and not having the basic needs of water, electricity and food. People in our communities are purchasing spoons of coffee and sugar, loose teabags, cups of milk, spoons of fish oil, cups of rice and even slices of bread. Whilst this considered expensive in comparison to the prices of these products, this has become the only way many in impoverished communities are able to live on a daily basis.

With your support we were able to provide a warm meal to 2,500 people yesterday taking the total feeding to date to 181,500 people from the communities of Retreat, Milnerton, Lavender Hill, Khayelitsha, Vrygrond, Parkwood, Hanover Park, Ottery and Lotus River. We thank you for your continuous support not only allowing us to feed these communities from our Ottery kitchen bi-weekly but allowing us to provide ingredients to the Belhar and Lavender Hill communities to feed four to five times per week on a regular basis and assisting Kuilsriver and Samora on an advocacy basis.

We humbly request your support to allow us to continue with our mandate of feeding the impoverished, orphaned and destitute in our communities. With your support we can achieve more.

Below are a few pictures of this weeks feeding:

Heritage Day is a significant occasion that promotes cultural appreciation, unity and understanding which can build an inclusive society that value and respect each other’s traditions, customs, and beliefs. Understanding and appreciating our heritage reminds us that we are part of a larger community that extends beyond our individual lives. It gives us a sense of continuity and shows us that challenges can be overcome and progress can be made. This instills hope to people in our community by reminding them that they are not alone and that others have faced and overcome similar challenges in their lives.

Today we fed 1,000 people in Egoli, Parkwood and the elderly in Hanover Park. Our Heritage Dayy initiative was an absolute success, whereby we managed to achieve our target of 1,000 boerewors rolls. We thank all those that donated towards this initiative, volunteers and the team for your support. Those in the communities being fed were delighted with receiving their treat.

See below pictures of the Heritage Day initiative: