Iftars Provided for Needy During Ramadan
by Deanna Othman
Anyone who knows Sister Amberina Khan knows what a massive project she undertakes every Ramadan. And every year, she seems to become more and more ambitious with what she seeks to accomplish, And every year, by the grace of Allah, she succeeds.
If you live within the perimeters of the masjid, chances are you've seen Sister Amberina zooming around in her blue minivan, shuttling food between the Mosque Foundation Food Pantry, Asqa School and the various houses of her army of assistants.
This renowned project, which provides iftar every day of Ramadan to 350-700 needy people, began about 10-12 years ago with a 19-year-old man. "A man converted at my husband's work, and he had no family," explained Sister Amberina. She decided to send him food daily, but soon realized he couldn't tolerate her famously spicy Indian cuisine. She then asked her current partner in the project, Sister Jamila Aduib, and Umm Haythem Abuzir, to aid her in cooking. "I used to go outside at fajr and find plates of food at my doorstep," she says.
Her operation quickly ballooned as masjid after masjid discovered her benevolent acts of charity, and asked to be among the recipients of her food. As the number of people needing food increased, so did the logistical problems. People often came late , or never came, to pick up the food. This year, Sister Amberina contacted Zakat Foundation, who arranged for a paid driver to shuttle the food to the masajid. The project also served food to Iraqi, Somali and Burmese refugees, and Islamic Foundation graciously paid for a driver to deliver food to those families. Other recipients of the food included senior citizens on the Southside of Chicago, and disabled individuals unable to leave their homes for iftar. No one in need was ever turned away.
Upon entering Sister Amberina's home on a typical day in Ramadan, one is immediately overtaken with the chaos. However, it is clearly a contained, methodical chaos. Foil pans filled with food line the foyer, and empty pans from food that has already been packaged for delivery climb up to the ceiling. The work day begins at 10:30 am. Sister Jamila plays the role of cashier, fashioning a budget from her network of connections; Sister Khowla Ahmed did the grocery shopping. "Whoever could afford to donate money, but couldn't cook, bought the groceries. Whoever couldn't afford the groceries, could do the cooking," Sister Amberina says.
Everyone in the community contributed somehow--Aqsa School kitchen, by warming the food, the Mosque Foundation Food Pantry, by storing food donated by local restaurants, and also providing supplies like rice and oil. Even unsuspecting neighborhood boys, who Sister Amberina often pulled from the streets to help her load and carry food.
In the first half of Ramadan, the iftars fed 350 people daily, and in the second half, when they began serving the refugee families, 700 people enjoyed the donated food each day. Sisters of various nationalities--Uzbek, Turkish, Algerian, Bengali, Libyan, Indian, Palestinian and beyond, came together daily to cook and package the food. "One sister came in every day at 3 pm, whether I was home or not, and cooked 40 lbs of rice on my stove," Sister Amberina explains. Her door was always open, literally, for anyone willing to come in and help.
Sister Amberina cited many instances where the extra blessings of Ramadan were apparent in her work. "A few times there were mix-ups, and we were extremely short on food. All of a sudden someone would call me and say they had extra trays of food. People were dropping in all the time, subhanAllah." Even when the weather changed, it was cooler outside, the Somalis and Iraqis did not go out to get the food because it was too cold for them. Sister Amberina asked people to bring by a sweater or blanket for them. I came to her house the next day with a few items, and witnessed a mountain of goods piled in her garage.
One of the final miracles of the month occurred the day before Eid. One of the sisters had promised the families some items for their children and themselves for Eid. "I was not prepared and did not know how we'd come up with the things she'd promised. All of a sudden a woman pulled into my driveway with 3 vans full of stuff. There were clothes, sweets, toys, oil, and other supplies." Sister Amberina said this woman had all of these new items she wanted to donate, but didn't know where to take them. Then someone from the neighborhood pointed her to Sister Amberina's home and said, "Go to that house. They will take it."
Sister Amberina immediately called the woman who made the promise to the families and said, "Allah sent us the toys and the gifts. I'm ready."
As the final task of the month, one donor brought 250 lb of chicken and 150 lb of lamb for the needy families. A local butcher cut it, free of charge, and a group of sisters bagged it for distribution in the Food Pantry. This offering, along with food donated for Eid day by other local families who own restaurants, brought the hectic, tiring and amazingly fruitful season to a close.
After speaking to many of those involved in this project, not one person complained of being exhausted, overwhelmed or was glad to be relieved of this responsibility. Rather all were honored to be a part of a mission sent to them by Allah (SWT). For in the end, regardless of how many prayers you offer or the difficulty of your fast, serving others with your own two hands provides a feeling of immediate gratification many of us scarcely have the chance to enjoy. May Allah grant us all the opportunity to serve as vehicles of His mercy. Ameen.