Tag Archives: Mujtaba Askari – Founder & Trustee – Helping Hand Foundation

These Muslim Covid Warriors helped Hyderabad in overcoming Oxygen crisis

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, FREE : Food, FREE : Healthcare / Assistance, Leaders, Useful / HEALTHCARE, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Relief organizations of Hyderabad, run by Muslims, have come to the rescue of the state and offered help to fight the shortage of Oxygen.

A TCN Ground Report features some of them. 

Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in Hyderabad in the southern Indian state of Telangana and rise in deaths due to the virus, the severe shortage of oxygen, ventilators and beds in both the government and private-run hospitals exposed the shortfalls of the healthcare system of the state.

Reports said that many patients were turned away from the hospitals due to a shortage of beds and died in their homes. Those admitted to the hospitals died due to lack of oxygen supply and delay in oxygen tankers reaching them. This lead to hundreds of deaths in Hyderabad alone. 

Reports also said that hospitals were overcharging Covid-19 patients. These factors contributed to many people choosing to opt for home treatment. 

It was then that the relief organizations of the state, run by Muslims, came to the rescue and offered help to fight the shortage of Oxygen. 

Talking to TwoCircles.net, Shiba Minai, an activist said, “I make at least 50 to 60 calls to get a bed for a patient”. 

Shiba helps people by connecting them with groups, hospitals and organizations that have been helping patients with beds and oxygen facilities. 

Shiba has been doing relief work since the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic by providing food for the homeless, migrants, poor people in the slums. She has also helped with the funeral services of the victims. 

She said that a lot of people reach out to her during crisis time. To help these desperate families, she would seek financial help from friends and family members. 

“I get calls from people who are unable to find a bed or oxygen if they are already in the hospital or are under home treatment. Then, I call up hospitals and once I get the right hospital, I then connect the patient or the attendant to that hospital,” she said.  

Shiba said the work she does is exhausting. “Making several calls to hospitals that want to know how much can the patient be able to pay and meanwhile handling calls from attendants of patients is taxing,”. 

Talking about an incident wherein a 45-year-old woman whose saturation levels dipped low and her family could not find a hospital with a bed, Shiba said that she tried her best but “the hospitals refused to admit her after coming to know that her oxygen levels were quite low and she had fewer chances of survival.”

The family of the patient roamed to 6 hospitals, who earlier had assured of the availability of bed refused to admit her once they saw the saturation levels. The woman was taken home where she later succumbed. 

“I tried to help this lady from 9 p.m. till the wee hours of the morning when it was time for Suhoor (early morning meal during the Muslim month of Ramadan). Sadly, she could not be saved,” Shiba said in a sad tone. 


Although Shiba has helped sixty persons with beds with oxygen facilities, what makes her sad is that the “number of patients who I could not help is higher than the ones I helped.” 

Shiba is not alone in doing Covid-19 relief work. Like her, several organizations have helped Hyderabad overcome the Covid-19 crisis from the last year. This year too they have come forward to battle the oxygen shortage in the state. 

‘Oxygen on Wheels’

Mohammed Asif Hussain Sohail, the chairperson of Sakina Foundation, who is popularly known as the ‘Hyderabad Hunger Warrior’ for feeding the hungry for more than 10 years, has been receiving close to 200 calls every day from patients who are being treated at home. He also gets calls from hospitals especially Osmania and Gandhi General Hospitals requesting him for oxygen facilities. 

“The price of oxygen cylinders is quite high at Rs 30,000 and the cost of refilling has gone up to Rs 2500 which a common man cannot afford,” Sohail said.  

Md Asif Hussain Sohail of Sakina Foundation

Sohail said that as hospitals are running out of oxygen and due to black marketing, he has to verify if the patient needs oxygen or not before helping. 

“Sometimes, they don’t need oxygen and we have to counsel and advise them not to give in to their fear and explain to them that a needier person requires it more,” he explained.

Sohail claims that he has “spent more than Rs 10 lakhs from his pocket to buy cylinders and send them to the homes of the needy.” 

“Every day, in Hyderabad itself, my Foundation has provided more than 200 free cylinders. We have reached out to at least 2000 people so far,” he said. 

Oxygen on Wheels is another initiative of the Sakina Foundation. As part of this initiative, oxygen cylinders are provided to patients who are on their way to the city for treatment from their towns and villages. 

“Many people were dying on the way to Hyderabad. Not being able to get proper treatment in their villages they would travel to advanced hospitals in the city. The patients would only be saved if they arrived on time and if the hospital had oxygen,” he said. 

“I wanted to save lives so I came up with this idea to provide emergency oxygen cylinders on the highway,” Sohail said.

As soon as they receive an SOS call, his volunteers drive to the spot where the patient is and help him/her with the oxygen. 

Sohail said that they have driven up to 200 kilometers to provide oxygen to a patient on the highway.  

“Patients were coming not just from the districts of Telangana state but also from Bhopal, Maharashtra, Karnataka. We met them all on the highway and immediately helped them with the oxygen if their saturation levels were low,” Sohail said, adding, “Nearly 150 persons were helped on the highway.”

Sohail said that “love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.” “Without it, humanity cannot survive,” he added. 

700 people given oxygen aid by Helping Hand Foundation

With the oxygen crisis in the state, volunteers of the relief organization Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), headed by Mujtaba Aksari, have been at the forefront. 

The group distributed a flyer with their contact numbers for people to seek help in cases of Covid-19 emergency. The group also provide help with giving decent funeral services to Covid-19 victims deaths irrespective of religion. 

Mohammed Fareedullah, who heads the project told TwoCircles.net, “When we receive a call for help, our doctors consult them online and based on the doctor’s recommendation, if the patient needs oxygen, we advise the attendant to come to our godown and take the oxygen cylinder without paying any advance or rent. 

A patient receiving oxygen help from HHF | Photo by HHF

Fareedullah said that the families of the patients just have “to pay the refilling charges.” 

“The plant where we get the cylinders refilled have begun to charge double of what they used to charge earlier. But we charge the people a nominal amount,” he said.  

 “The cylinders provided by HHF are usually for home patients but if the patient develops complications and their saturation level drops despite the oxygen therapy then we help them reach the hospital where again our counsellors in the hospital help them with other needs. When the patient recovers and is discharged we ferry them home in HHF ambulances. If they do not recover the volunteers help the family with the last rites too,” explained Fareedullah. 

Helping Hands Foundation owns about 15 ambulances which are free for all patients. The group has 100 cylinders and a luggage trolley to transport the cylinders to the houses of people who cannot come to their go down.

To date, HHF claims to have helped more than 700 people covering the entire old city and many other localities.  

Humanity First Foundation: from feeding hungry to procuring Oxygen

Mohammed Shujatullah,founder of relief organization Humanity First Foundation has been feeding patients and their attendants at three government hospitals for the last 5 years. 

One day when Shujatallah received a call requesting help with oxygen, he decided to buy cylinders and give them for free to patients and then refill the empty ones and help whoever needed them. “Prices had doubled for both the oxygen cylinders and for refilling but through donations to Humanity First, I continued helping people every day with the 110 cylinders we have,” he said. 

Md Shujatullah of Humanity First Foundation checking oxygen cylinders | Photo by HFF

His organization has an ambulance, which carries the oxygen cylinders to hospitals and homes of patients. 

In the month of Ramadan, Shujatallah said that his foundation received good donations and he managed to help as many people as was possible for him. 

Patients at the gate of a hospital supported by SDIF | Picture: SDIF

‘Our motive to save lives keeps us going’

Another local initiative known as Social Data Initiative Forum (SDIF)founded by Azam Khan and Khalid Saifullah started oxygen services during the first wave of the pandemic with their stock of 15 cylinders. 


During the second wave, as the oxygen crisis has only gone worse, the group has been adding to their stockpile of oxygen cylinders. 

The founders said that they had to pay more than the normal price for both purchasing and refilling the cylinders. 

“Our services are not restricted to just providing oxygen cylinders. We also set up an oxygen bank at Government notified Covid-19 hospitals where usually the poorest of the poor come to access health care. People from the rural parts come to Hyderabad with hopes of quality treatment and they face a lot of hurdles waiting to get admitted after already having travelled a long distance,” Azam Khan said. 

“The waiting period at the hospital and the travel time further delays the process of the treatment, which is why we opted to help in the government hospitals,” he clarified. 

In Gandhi Hospital alone, which is the largest Covid-19 hospital of Hyderabad, Azam Khan said they have “20 oxygen cylinders in circulation which are serving at least 400 patients per day.” 

“This supply of oxygen is crucial to their recovery,” Khalid added. 

Apart from the 20 cylinders, they have 100 more cylinders at the other two government-run Covid-19 hospitals of Hyderabad. 

They said they have helped more than 100 people so far. 

Azam Khan narrated an experience that made them realise the significance of their work. 

The King Kothi Government hospital had requested SDIF to set up an oxygen bank. 

“I felt we had to start the work immediately and even though it was Sunday, our team went to the hospital. As soon as we reached the hospital, we saw four dead bodies being carried away. We were told the hospital had run out of oxygen causing the death of these four persons. We immediately set up our oxygen cylinders. Later the doctors informed us that our timely help had saved three persons who were critical and would not have survived had we not reached on time. This experience both saddened us and also made us feel happy that we could at least save the lives of other three persons,” he said.  

“Our motive to save lives keeps us going,” the duo said.

The SDIF is helped by two other charity organizations from Hyderabad namely Safa Baitul Maal and Access Foundation, who work in close collaboration with them. 

Pre and post-Covid care given by Al Hamd Foundation

Al Hamd Foundation, a charitable trust that helps widows, students and the poor, took up Covid-19 relief operations during the last year’s lockdown. 

Amid the ongoing second wave, the foundation is continuing with online consultations of patients with doctors. 

When patients contact them online, they are connected to doctors who advise home treatment keeping in view the severe crunch in the hospitals and also the fact that many cases can be treated at home with proper medications and care.

Al Hamd Foundation Covid relief services

The foundation has provided home treatment to fifty-two patients, who had reported low oxygen levels. 

The founder of Al Hamd Abdul Azeem Mohammed told TwoCircles.net that the treatment cost they incurred for each patient would have run up to Rs. 7 to 8 lakhs had they been treated in a hospital. 

“The team of AL Hamd ensures that the patient does not panic and develops a strong will to fight the disease and survive. The team also helps with the oxygen cylinders, the medicines and regular monitoring by the doctor who visits the patient. At times when the patients are poor and the team notices that they need provisions apart from the medical assistance, Al Hamd provides the family members with rations as well,” Azeem said. 

Al Hamd has given 300 oxygen cylinders and 6 oxygen concentrators to other organizations that are helping people affected with Covid-19. 

They have four oxygen hubs and seven ambulances in Hyderabad-Secunderabad and a fifth one is coming up soon.  

“We have ordered 25 oxygen concentrators from the UK which is likely to arrive by in the last week of May. Each oxygen concentrator of 5-6 litres costs around Rs 46,000. We have also ordered 5 C PAP machines that cure respiratory disorders. And since we are not a hospital, we intend to donate these C PAP machines to the hospitals where there are facilities to treat patient with respiratory disorders that are linked to Covid” explained Azeem. 

“We also give post-Covid care by giving immunity-boosting drugs and foodstuff,” he added. 

Al Hamd is run with funds from family and close friends. 

50-bed oxygen therapy centre set up by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind 

Well-known socio-religious organization Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Telangana has also set up a 50-bed oxygen therapy centre in Wadi-e-Huda near Shaheen Nagar, Hyderabad. JIH’s sister concern Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) supports recycling the cylinders, rifling them, coordinating with other organisations for availability. 

Post Script

To support Helping Hand Foundation, you can make a GooglePay donation here: 8125203286

Donate to Humanity First Foundation here: https://www.donatekart.com/humanity-first/Help-Shujatullah

To help SDIF reach out to more needy persons, donate here: 

https://www.donatekart.com/SDIF/Help-SDIF

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / b y Nikhat Fatima, TwoCircles.net / May 21st, 2021

Hyderabad mosque where women, children of 31 slums go for healthcare

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Useful / HEALTHCARE, , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The women and child centre at the mosque has an all-women team comprising a senior general physician and other staff

[Image for representation.]

Hyderabad: 

Proving that mosques can play a larger role beyond merely serving as places of worship, a Hyderabad-based NGO has opened a community healthcare centre at a mosque in the city to specifically cater to the health needs of women and children in the slums.

Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), in collaboration with US-based Support for Education and Economic Development (SEED), has opened the clinic at Masjid Mohammed-e-Mustafa, in Wadi-e-Mahmood, a slum area in Rajendranagar mandal.

The exclusive women and child centre located on the first floor is catering to a cluster of 31 odd slums in Rajendranagar Mandal, covering a population of about five lakh.

This is the second community health centre to be opened in a mosque by the HHF. It is already running one in the old city of Hyderabad.

The NGO embarked on the new initiative realising the need to focus on the healthcare needs of women and children, especially during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which has made things worse for women and children’s health.

Covid, lockdown induced joblessness, loss of income, coupled with closure of schools which serve mid-day meals and anganwadis, which provide supplementary nutrition, has only added to lack of adequate nutrition in children and women and more so pregnant women in the last few months, says the HHF.

Apart from hunger and malnutrition, lack of access to basic health care services in the public and private health care domain has made health care inaccessible and expensive for the weaker sections, particularly maternal health for pregnant women, consequently health issues like anaemia in women, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Women and immunisation services for children have been majorly compromised in the past few months.

The NGOs choose Wadi-e-Mahmood as the area lacks basic healthcare facilities.

The women and child centre at the mosque has an all-women team comprising a senior general physician, a child specialist, obstetrics and gynaecology specialist, a dental surgeon, dietician, nurses, counsellors and front desk support staff.

The centre, named Rabia Clinic in the memory of the mother of one of the principal donors, provides basic primary care in which women and children can approach for seasonal illness and for health services like nebulisation, IV fluid replacement, wound dressings etc. Free third-party lab services including TIFA scans will be provided to pregnant women from weaker sections during ante-natal period.

All patients coming to the clinic will be assessed in a triage, which has trained counsellors, who are doing thermal screening and checking oxygen saturation levels, and entering the details in an ICMR-developed risk assessment form which gives scores on a scale of 1-10.

A dental chair with state-of-the-art features has been installed to carry out simple to medium level procedures in women and children like removing dental carries, root canal procedures etc.

Apart from curative aspects, the focus is on preventive health to check for non-communicable diseases among women, anaemia during the ante- and post-natal periods and malnutrition in children.

Counsellors and dieticians use a WHO recommended template to check blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference and family history to assess the overall NCD score on a scale of 10. Those who score above 4 will be counselled for weight loss, diet and physical exercise along with early diagnosis and treatment of NCDs like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, thyroid problems and other chronic health issues.

Similarly, children will be also assessed using WHO recommended form to determine the extent of stunting and wasting and the ones who are chronically malnourished will be provided protein supplements and mid-day meal will be provided to 100 school going children under 10 years at the mosque three times in a week to fill in the gap.

Children will be checked for immunisation and will be vaccinated in due course if found not compliant. Iron supplements to women found anaemic and nutritional supplements along with vitamins will be provided to children found stunted and wasted through an exclusive Nutri Rehab Programme.

Mujtaba Hasan Askari of the Helping Hand Foundation said the clinic was catering to women and children, irrespective of their religion, caste and creed.

“Most of the health issues faced by women and children are being neglected in the current pandemic plus there is no focus on preventive health which we intend to focus on through this clinic at the masjid,” he said.

The women and child clinic is fully Covid-compliant with special cabins for doctors protected with plastic curtains, glass mounted tables to protect front desk staff, a triage at the entry point, pedestal-mounted sanitisers stands and large exhaust fans for free flow of air across the entire space of the clinic and a separate waiting area for patients coming to the clinic.

HHF has already been running a community health centre at Masjid-e-Ishaq at Nawab Saheb Kunta in the old city since November 2018.

The health centre last year introduced yoga to help people fight non-communicable diseases. The organization said since yoga was found to be effective in tackling non-communicable diseases, they made it part of the prescription.

The counsellors at the clinic teach various asanas to the patients every alternate day besides giving them YouTube links to follow yoga on their mobile phones.

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India> Health / by IANS / September 02nd, 2020

Helping Hand Foundation launches COVID emergency care services in Hyderabad

Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, FREE : Healthcare / Assistance, Useful / HEALTHCARE, ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Helping Hand Foundation has stepped up with its services during the pandemic.

Hyderabad:

City-based NGO Helping Hand Foundation (HHF) has launched two different packages with the aim to provide COVID-19 emergency care services. The NGO introduced two packages which include free oxygen supplies, testing, and free transportation for patients. 

Here are the details about the packages

PACKAGE 1: Free Oxygen supplies and Testing

– Free Supply at the doorstep of 65 Kgs of oxygen cylinders, with pulse oximeters for medically prescribed for suspected and positive cases under home isolation care (Free refilling with no security deposit)

– All patients on Oxygen therapy will be medically supervised and monitored by a competent team of doctors online along with round the clock command and control centre.

– Patients will be provided the inflammatory markers test free of cost.

– RT-PCR (SARS-COV2) at Rs 1500/- every Monday & Thursday in collaboration with Lepra (Blue Peter) ICMR Lab

– This can be done only by appointment and you may call: 8897867726/8977898706 for the above services 

PACKAGE 2: Free Patient Transportation in Emergencies

– Ambulance services fitted with Oxygen/Drop to and from Hospitals and only in containment zones from 6 pm to 12 am 
You may call: 9603540864/9490810914

– Apart from these services the HHF is for any coronaemergency in providing assistance are available at OGH (6pm – 12am) daily chest Hospital, Erragada (9 am to 1 pm), District Hospital, King Koti (Shortly). 

– For pregnant women who are facing difficulty in seeking treatment, our services are available at, Govt Maternity, Petlaburj, Govt Community Center, Barkas, Govt M.N. Area hospital, Malakpet. Services are also available at ENT, Koti, MNJ cancer Hospital & NIMs.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / by Mohammad Hussain / July 08th, 2020

A faith that serves and not divides

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

A Hindu priest and a Muslim social worker have come together to promote harmony during times of polarisation and communal discord.

Mujtaba Hasan Askari with C.S. Rangarajan

Despite differences in their faith, culture, attire and, as some would see, calling, a Hindu priest and a Muslim social worker have been making a statement in humanity as they work together to foster love and goodwill. The polarisation they witness around them appears to be of no consequence to the duo.

C.S. Rangarajan, chief priest at the Chilkur Balaji Temple in the city, and Mujtaba Hasan Askari, of Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), have been working ceaselessly to give communal harmony a chance. They’ve been doing their best in promoting shared values and upholding the doctrine of ‘unity in diversity’ through well thought-out programmes.

“Our aim is to ensure that human values are placed above religion and faith. Humanity is the biggest religion,” they say in unison.

The divine intervention
Both batch mates of the College of Engineering, Osmania University, Rangarajan and Askari quit their lucrative jobs at the peak of their career to bring about social change. While the former, a social reformer who wants to purge the society of caste-based prejudices, turned to spirituality and became the chief priest at the Chilkur Balaji Temple, the latter founded the NGO Helping Hand Foundation to serve humanity in his way.

Interestingly, what brought the duo together was a deaf Dalit woman named Kamalamma, who sells flowers at the Chilkur Temple. In 2018, she tied rakhi on Rangarajan’s wrist, but it would be much later that he learns about her handicap.


Rangarajan recounts how after he learnt of her deafness, with her rakhi on his wrist, he felt duty-bound to help the woman. He quickly took Kamalamma to the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, where the ENT surgeon diagnosed her with profound hearing loss and recommended a hearing aid. The hearing aid, priced at `55,000, was expensive. The local newspaper reported the story, and as luck would have it, Askari read about it and got in touch with Rangarajan to let him know that his NGO would foot the bill. The hearing aid restored Kamalamma’s hearing. “There’s no doubt. Divine intervention has brought us together,” says Rangarajan, smiling. “God operates through human beings.”

Serving God through humanity
Instead of parting ways after that incident, the good Samaritans stayed in touch. They met regularly to exchange ideas on the positive work they could do for a society caught in the whirlpool of political turmoil and religious polarisation.’


Then, sometime last year, Lucas — a Lallaguda-resident — approached Rangarajan, looking for support for his daughter’s education at the St Francis College, Begumpet. The priest immediately contacted Askari, who arranged the money from HHF. Here was a Muslim NGO reaching out to help a Christian girl on the recommendation of a Hindu priest.

Since then, the duo has been working closely to promote interfaith dialogue. Clearly, for the duo, humanity is an integral part of religion, while religion is a private thing. A few months ago, Rangarajan even visited the Masjid-e-Ishaq in the Old City, where HHF runs a primary healthcare centre. There, he addressed the community on the need for communal harmony.

Rangarajan and Askari plan to promote communal harmony in a visible manner, through social work and dialogue.

In fact, in the coming days, they intend to conduct health camps by Muslim doctors in some temples and by Hindu physicians in some mosques. The idea is simple-to make a difference through the work they do, and it’s heartening to watch just that restoring peaceful co-existence, one kind act at a time.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle & Trending / by J.S. Ifthekhar / January 23rd, 2020

How Indian Muslims Engaged in COVID-19 Relief Efforts Are Countering Hate With Love

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, FREE : Food, Videos, , , , ,

Across India, Muslims have been as engaged in operations to help people worst affected by the crisis as anyone else.

People sit in Hyderabad as volunteers distribute relief material. Photo: PTI

By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up.”

– Martin Luther King Jr. 

As India soldiers through its lockdown amid the COVID-19 crisis, it is clear that the devastation it has wrought on lives and livelihoods is unprecedented in living memory.

From living on the fringes of society to now struggling for survival, the lived reality of millions of Indians today is one of deprivation and desperation. Dominating the narrative is also a vile and hateful worldview that seeks to find opportunity in a humanitarian catastrophe, and reflects a willingness to advance a “nationalist” agenda, albeit at the cost of the nation.

Thankfully, the story of COVID-19 in India does not begin with deprivation and end in hate. An integral aspect of our collective situation today is that tragedy has engendered resolve, and for some noble souls, countering hate is an exercise in demonstrating love and compassion. 

Initiatives across the country to provide relief to the most vulnerable segment of society reflect how civil society can make a difference even in the face of government inefficacy and ineptitude. Especially heartening is the work of organisations that are working to provide succour to all, regardless of religious or caste identities. 

In Mumbai, “Food – Ek Chhoti Si Asha” is a broad community relief effort initiated by Nikhat Mohamedy, a Hijab-clad Muslim lady.

Now serving over 25,000 meals a day to the poor and destitute across the metropolitan city and far-flung suburbs, it all started with Mohamedy coming across a daily wage worker from the slums who had not eaten for two days. This led to her cooking food for 150 people in the vicinity of her home near Crawford Market.

The sheer extent of the need and Mohamedy’s passion for relieving hunger saw many more people join and contribute to the effort with their time and money. Today, the organisation has one main kitchen serving 15,000 meals a day and several “satellite kitchens” across the city serving an additional 10,000 to 15,000 people.

Volunteers, donors and beneficiaries come from every religious community and every sect. “This is about recognising the fact that we are all children of Adam and Eve, and feeding those brothers and sisters who are hungry and deprived is fundamental to expressing our humanity, ” says Mohamedy.

“For me, personally, this work is also an expression of my identity as a Muslim. Widespread prejudice against Muslims cannot be allowed to get in the way of serving all who are impacted by this crisis regardless of their religious identify or social status,” she adds.

Helping Hand Foundation, a nationwide NGO operating in the health sector is another organisation that has pivoted towards awareness campaigns and emergency assistance in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

A dedicated team of 100 volunteers including several ambulance drivers, nurses, paramedics, counsellors and patient care givers are working on a daily basis to reach out to areas where food and medical attention are urgently needed. This is in addition to awareness campaigns on social distancing and hygiene, in government hospitals as well as in slums, along with the efforts it takes in educating the masses on ways to safeguard their health at this time.

“We have been engaged in the mission to serve our fellow citizens even before COVID-19. The magnitude of the challenge facing our country and the sheer plight of those in need has only strengthened our resolve to do more,” says Mujtaba Askari, the organisation’s founder and trustee who is based in Hyderabad. 

“As for the demonisation of Muslims, the antidote to hate can never be hate. It is love and compassion,” Askari adds.

Food packets to be distributed by the Helping Hand Foundation. Photo: Facebook

The phenomenon of individuals and organisations transcending religious differences to serve all is not limited to Muslims.

In Mumbai, a Bengali Welfare Association has reallocated the funds meant for Durga Puja celebrations towards COVID-19 relief efforts. From Gurdwaras  to Buddhist monasteries hundreds of houses of worship of practically every religious community have recognised the existential nature of the crisis facing the country and the world, and have risen to the occasion by welcoming everyone who needs help.

The point of highlighting Muslims doing the same is not to take anything away from the magnanimity of these laudable efforts. In the current climate, however, of unending vitriol being poured on Muslims by some public figures and media outlets, there is something especially uplifting about so many Indian Muslims rising above anger and bitterness to stay focused on providing relief to fellow citizens.

Not only are Muslim-led efforts in various states working towards relief a common phenomenon, established nationwide organisations of Indian Muslims such as the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) have a long track record of being in the forefront of relief efforts in the face of natural calamities. Their grassroots-based nationwide network is now being effectively leveraged  to provide relief to Indians of every creed and caste, which the organisation plans to continue until the lockdown is in place.  

Undoubtedly, the struggle to save India’s soul will be long and hard, and things will likely get worse before they get better.

However, it is the acts of kindness that so many people of every religious community are willing to extend to each other that keeps the hope alive for millions of Indians. 

These acts already represent a triumph of pluralism over bigotry, and of compassion over cruelty. 

Musaddique Thange is a project management professional based in the US. He has served as a board member of the Indian American Muslim Council and has been engaged in social services in San Diego, California for the last 10 years.

source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Analysis / by Musaddique Thange / April 27th, 2020