Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

A good Samaritan gives out iftar to workers in Salalah

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Hundreds of low income workers gather every evening at Bait Fadhil Mosque in South Awqad not only to pray but also to break fast after day-long fasting during Ramadhan.


They get free fill of biriyani, chicken, some snacks, dates, yoghurt and beverages every day. The whole process is managed by a group of volunteers, who take inspiration from an Omani gentleman Abdullah Bait Fadhil.


Not less than 350 people get free iftar meals in two tents in the same locality all through Ramadhan.


The system initiated by Abdullah has taken a shape of an institution, as this is the fifth consecutive year for the free iftar and thinking this to be a good cause as many people have started giving donations to let the noble cause continue.


Commenting over the idea or inspiration behind the cause, Abdullah gave full credit to his parents and grandparents who were organising iftar for a long time on a smaller scale by getting food items contributed by different families of Fadhil tribe.


“As I remember, it was a very good initiative. It gave us a community feeling and service to those who were not able to do iftar arrangements properly either due to work pressure or financial crunch.”


“Then I noticed a large number of people coming to Salalah to work in different sectors. They were poor workers working on very small salaries. Initially I started on my own and started getting support from many people. Now it is fully organised. We have six employees for the purpose and there are volunteers who take care of food sorting and distribution at the time of breaking the fast,” he said.


For Abdullah, who is a senior advocate by profession, this is an act which gives him peace and pleasure and gives him some sense of service after each passing day of Ramadhan.


The volunteers ensure that every fasting person gets food and it is not spoiled. They take maximum care of hygiene and cleanliness. It was interesting to see young children coming there and working as volunteers.


Among them were Hamed (8), Abdul Malik (7), Al Hakim (5) and Hamid (3).


They were seen following the instructions of their brothers and uncles and enthusiastically serving packed items like water, laban (a cooling yoghurt drink) and fruits.


“We bring them deliberately to let them understand the whole thing and inculcate among them the value of community service like this,” said Bakhit Hamed Bait Fadhil, parent of some of the children taking part in the community iftar.


Mehdi Othmani, GM of Hilton Salalah Resort, who was also invited by Abdullah, was overwhelmed with the gesture.


“I could not hold my tears. The kind of job these people are doing is great service to humanity. I am amazed to see the kind of quality they are maintaining despite mass arrangement being done on daily basis… they are setting up very good example for the others to follow.”


A Bangladeshi worker expressed gratitude to the iftar organisers and said: “I come here every Ramadhan. This makes workers like us very convenient to break fast as we live in Salalah without families and we hardly get time for cooking.


Kabeer, an Indian expat, gets good salary but comes to Bait Fadhil Mosque every day because his family has gone back to India. It is easy for him to have iftar and do prayers at the same place. He thanked the organisers for their noble cause.


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