Group of 15 ends hunger pangs of 800 people in Rander

TNN | Apr 7, 2020, 04:00 IST

Sohail Shaikh started a kitchen on the terrace of his 3-storey building

Surat: When one square kilometre area in Rander town was mass quarantined after two persons tested positive for COVID-19 there on April 1, like many residents he too could have stayed safe in his house. But, Sohail Shaikh, 32, who runs private tuition classes in Rander, decided to feed poor people in his area.
Sohail managed to raise donation from residents of his locality, Vakhari Oli Mohalla and started a kitchen on the terrace of his three-storey building. Cooking food in the street was not possible due to ongoing massive sanitization drive by the civic body’s health department.
Since April 1, Sohail and his group of 15 friends are feeding about 800 poor people twice a day. With Rs42,000 raised from people having exhausted within two days in purchase of groceries and vegetables, Sohail and his friends are now spending money from their own pockets to ensure that their terrace kitchen continues to run unhindered.
“I could not have started the terrace kitchen without the support of my family members and residents of our mohalla. We cook food for poor people twice a day and personally visit nearby areas to deliver food packets to them. We are giving food packets to about 800 poor people living in the slums and EWS tenements,” said Sohail.
Since he is out in the field throughout day and night distributing food packets and helping in the kitchen, Sohail also ensures that he maintains social distancing from his family members, including wife and seven-year-old son. He is living in a separate room in his three-storey apartment.
“I always wear face mask and gloves in my hands when distributing food to poor people. I maintain social distancing even from my family members. Since April 1, I am living in a separate room to keep my family safe,” Sohail added.
Abbas Hans owns a computer hardware shop in Nanpura. He is also working with Sohail to provide food to poor people. Hans said, “People tell us that we are risking our lives. Yes, we are risking our lives, but the joy of feeding the needy people gives us immense satisfaction.”