Nourish Our Neighbors
Donation protected
My name is Fatima Rahmati. I was born in Afghanistan and live in New York City. I remember being maybe 10/11 years old and with my family visiting at a family friends house. I was so hungry! And so I asked if we would be having dinner with them. Whoa!!! I got into so much trouble from my mother when we got home. I was told we never ever ever do that. Ever! That’s an attribute many Afghans have - a touch of misplaced pride. I mean misplaced in the sense that most Afghans will never ask for help. Asking for help is associated with shame and weakness. Therefore even if we are starving we will find some way of feeding ourselves but not through asking for help from the community. I do know though that this is a trait many communities have. I have worked within my community. And know that this exists to this very day.
As I write this many, many families are food insecure. Covid continues to be devastating for families all over the country with many people seeking food through food banks for the first time in their lives. According to researchers at Northwestern University, food insecurity more than doubled as a result of the economic crisis brought on by the outbreak, hitting 1 out of every 4 households.
I began wondering how many Afghan families, Muslim families, immigrant families are in need of help but don’t ask. I have watched news reports of lines stretching for miles in American towns of families waiting to visit food banks. I worried and wondered about my local community where I saw no sign of this being offered. And then I watched a khutbah by Imam Suleiman. He said, don’t wait to be asked - offer. How simple yet I foolishly hadn’t thought of it that way.
This fundraiser is a way of offering help and therefore a way families don’t need to outright ask for help. We will be creating food packages consisting of rice, oil, beans, lentils, flour, sugar and other staple foods to give to families in need. 100% of donations will go directly to purchasing what we need and the program will be volunteer led.
At a time when sadly so many people are in need of much assistance (I won’t get into the politics of it and how the government has failed its citizens) I hope for those of us who have something to spare, we can come together and feed our communities. Please donate as little or as big as you can.
Regular updates will be posted.
Thanking you deeply in advance.
*Powered by Love*
As I write this many, many families are food insecure. Covid continues to be devastating for families all over the country with many people seeking food through food banks for the first time in their lives. According to researchers at Northwestern University, food insecurity more than doubled as a result of the economic crisis brought on by the outbreak, hitting 1 out of every 4 households.
I began wondering how many Afghan families, Muslim families, immigrant families are in need of help but don’t ask. I have watched news reports of lines stretching for miles in American towns of families waiting to visit food banks. I worried and wondered about my local community where I saw no sign of this being offered. And then I watched a khutbah by Imam Suleiman. He said, don’t wait to be asked - offer. How simple yet I foolishly hadn’t thought of it that way.
This fundraiser is a way of offering help and therefore a way families don’t need to outright ask for help. We will be creating food packages consisting of rice, oil, beans, lentils, flour, sugar and other staple foods to give to families in need. 100% of donations will go directly to purchasing what we need and the program will be volunteer led.
At a time when sadly so many people are in need of much assistance (I won’t get into the politics of it and how the government has failed its citizens) I hope for those of us who have something to spare, we can come together and feed our communities. Please donate as little or as big as you can.
Regular updates will be posted.
Thanking you deeply in advance.
*Powered by Love*
Organizer
Fatima Rahmati
Organizer
New York, NY
