Amid COVID Times Delivers Ward-to-Ward Suhoor, Iftaari to Attendants at SKIMS, SMHS Hospitals
Chairman Umer Wani Urges Youth to Give Up Drugs
Ubaid Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 27: (GNS) Undeterred by the unprecedented situation created out of COVID pandemic, Helping Hand Foundation – a Srinagar-based NGO – has been arranging ward-to-ward free-of-cost Suhoor and Iftaari for the attendants at twin tertiary hospitals – SKIMS Soura and SMHS Hospitals here.
The initiative brainchild of Umer Wani, a local youth has, despite limited resources, added Suhoor to its manual this year only after serving Iftaari for nearly three years now.
Umer Wani while talking to news agency Global News Service (GNS) said that it was some three years before that something caught his attention. “It was in around 2019 during Ramdhan that I went to see one of my relatives’ admitted at SKIMS Soura, however what pained me was the helter-skelter scenes of attendants frantically looking for dates and water to break their fast”, Umer says.
“This all was happening despite they (attendants) having money to buy the foodstuff albeit for the fact that they can’t leave the patients alone”, he remarked.
“That was the day I decided to start this initiative, to help reach out to these people who I think are otherwise a neglected lot”, Umer says remarking that that there (hospitals) are people belonging to every nook and cranny of Jammu and Kashmir and I thought that if something is to be done in the way of Allah, what else than this!
“I had started it with just a few people however over the time support has been pouring in from different quarters as many volunteers are joining to help us in reaching more people”, he says adding that “We currently are a team of around fifteen people delivering ward-to-ward Suhoor and Iftaari at SMHS Srinagar and SKIMS Soura hospitals.”
We have designated volunteer teams who deliver the edibles at Sehri and Iftaar times, Umer says.
Asked as who contributes the initiative, Umer says that although there is no substantial assistance for the rest of the year however some finances are garnered in month of Ramdhan only. “I usually upload videos in this (Ramadhan) only, asking the people to contribute to the cause, and whatever is collected is spent throughout to reach more and more people”, he says.
In his message Umer says that every youth in Kashmir should join the social causes and become social workers in their own capacity to alleviate the sufferings of common masses.
“I also would urge my compatriots to give up drugs as this menace may consume has the potential to consume our future generations even”, Umer says remarking that “A drug-free youth is an asset who can help the society in many ways.” (GNS)
