MUMBAI: City Congress (minority cell) vice-chairman Haji Muddasar Patel celebrated Eid-e-Milad or Prophet Muhammad’s birthday on Sunday by distributing ration packets among 1000 underprivileged families. Through his NGO Yama Patel Foundation, Patel distributed these ration packets at Anjuman-I-Islam’s Dr M Ishaq Jamkhanawala Girls High School and Junior College in Bandra (West).
"People have celebrated the Prophet’s birthday in different ways. We thought to bring some happiness in the homes of some of the needy in our midst. The beneficiaries were from different religions and the purpose was also to send a message that the Prophet’s birthday is not just about taking out juloos (processions) and raising slogans, reciting poems in his praise. It is also about reaching out to the poor who have been devastated by the pandemic and have difficulty feeding their families," said Patel whose Foundation had reached out to hundreds of the needy during the two lockdowns in the last two years.
When the Covid-induced lockdowns were imposed, Patel and his team members took ration packets in the trollies and reached out to some of the poorest pockets in the city. “Ration was the most important thing that the poor and daily wagers needed because their income had stopped since they lost jobs. Once their meagre savings dried up, they faced starvation and they needed immediate help. “We reached out to many such families and distributed packets among the needy irrespective of their religions. While working among the poor during the pandemic, I personally gained a perspective on how poverty hits at the senses. It first hits man’s self-confidence and the poor and needy become vulnerable,” he said.
"No one should sleep on an empty stomach. The Prophet empathized with the poor and it is the duty of the rich to take care of the poor,” he added.
