Islamic Aid Group Delivers 500 Ramadan Meals Daily in Seine-Saint-Denis Amid Pandemic

Fatima, Shanwaz and Sabrina. Addresses of the beneficiaries written in pen in a small notebook, this trio of SIF volunteers travels the streets of Seine-Saint-Denis in a van every evening. "Our goal is to deliver everything before the breaking of the fast, and no later than 9 pm," explains Shanwaz to the newspaper Le Parisien. "Unfortunately, we don’t have time to chat with people here..." adds Sabrina.

Shanwaz contacts the beneficiaries by phone. "We’ll be there in thirty seconds. Can you come down so we can give you your bag?" he asks one of the beneficiaries. At the given address, the van stops, the volunteers get out, gather the meal in a bag, give it to them and leave for a new address.

This daily exercise, the trio will do it throughout the month of Ramadan. The distributed meals include, among other things: chorba, "Tunisian-style" pasta, a dessert and a fruit. 500 meals are delivered each evening, but the SIF plans to reach 1,000 by the end of Ramadan.

This social action by the SIF provides some relief to families in need. The health crisis has led to a decrease in the purchasing power of several families in the poorest department of metropolitan France. "People who worked in the informal economy, in restaurants that have closed for example, find themselves with nothing," explains Shanwaz, a web developer whose hiring in a large company was canceled.