Mother Nature does not plan to take a backseat this hurricane season, and the results have been devastating - not just for Florida and Houston, but for many of the islands just southeast of Florida. After our Florida Jamat recently faced the wrath of Hurricane Irma, our hearts were full of anxiety and prayers as we saw Puerto Rico face Hurricane Maria.
Hoping to contribute to relief efforts, we heard that Feeding Children Everywhere was packaging 4.4 million meals at the Orange County Convention Center to help residents in Puerto Rico. The meals were to be shipped out immediately to be distributed by FEMA to those in desperate need.
Within a day or two, Jamati members not only signed up, but were even on waiting lists. Throughout the course of the weekend, close to 60 Jamati members helped unpack supplies, assemble the meal boxes, sort items, and pack the final boxes through a pre-arranged assembly line. Once a kit was put together, it was packaged into a larger box (24 kits inside one box), which was then put onto a pallet for the forklifts to move.
One Jamati member helped pack close to 800 meals in one shift, another group packed around 960 meals in the next shift, and our Golden Club Members packed over 2,000 meals during their shift. Our volunteers were as young as Aliza Zahra Hussainali and Sanaya Alwani, both only five years old, to our 71 year-old Golden Club Member, Roshan Ali. However, like any true moment of service, it was our Jamati members who walked away humbled and gratified.
The weekend began with Nigar Paroo picking up a shift on Friday, dressed in her I-CERV shirt, ready and at the service of her city. "A lady standing behind me complimented me on my shirt,” said Nigar Paroo. Nigar was wearing one of the I-CERV shirts that displayed the ethics of our faith on the back of the shirt. “I told her these are the ethics of Islam, and as Muslims, we have to follow them.”
To Nigar’s explanation, the lady serving with Nigar responded that everyone should be following these ethics, and took a picture of the I-CERV shirt. "I was so happy to share that information with her,” said Nigar. Not only did she return for another shift later in the weekend, but she also took her husband, her sister, and her niece, who were visiting from out of town, to take part, helping pack close to 900 meals.
Another Jamati member, Karima Ali, attended a morning shift on Saturday with a few of her co-workers, helping pack close to 800 meals in one shift of two hours. “It was an incredible experience" she said. "The supplies for packing were endless, and as soon as we finished packing one box of supplies, it would be replaced immediately by another,” shared Karima, and “I was amazed at the efficiency and speed with which the volunteers around us were helping and packing meals.”
Volunteering with others, Sulaiman Karmali, a member for the Council for Florida, and his wife Shainoor, met an organizer for “Feeding our Children.” She told Sulaiman that they love working with our I-CERV volunteers in Atlanta, Houston, and other cities where they organize such events, and was happy to see us in Orlando as well.
Said Sulaiman. "It was a proud moment for us, as I-CERV is now noticed throughout the U.S. as a great volunteer organization. While we were assembling our items, there were forklifts buzzing around to deliver new supplies and take away assembled boxes. There were volunteers to take away boxes and trash, and to provide drinks. Everyone was in great spirits and happy to participate in such a massive endeavor. The whole conference floor was a sea of tables and boxes. There had to be over 1000 volunteers at a given shift.”
Seven year-old Ziyan Charania volunteered at the event with his mother, and other members of his family. About his experience, he said: “Packing food like tuna, crackers, M & M cookies for kids and their Moms and Dads made me happy. This is because when they will open the box, it will look yummy, and they will feel the love. All kids should have yummy food just like we did after packing, when we got rewarded with coupons for free food – it made me happy!”
On Sunday, close to 20 Golden Club packed over 2,000 meals during their shift. Meenaz Merchant, who led the effort in making sure our Golden Club Members could take participate, remarked that our Golden Club members “were full of energy, and offered not only prayers, but their service to those in need through this opportunity. Seeing their enthusiasm to serve, we still have much to learn from them.”
In moments of catastrophe, while our hearts ache and we pray for those who are suffering, it is also at these times that we can unite as one in the service of others. I-CERV Coordinator for Florida, Zahra Huda Hussainali, and ITREB Chairman for Florida, Salim Valiani, who both attended the event with their children, are currently working on an REC field trip for next weekend, where our students will also go to the Convention Center to pack meals for Puerto Rico.
