Why Food?
Every Muslim who fasts knows the discomfort of hunger. Your mind gets cloudy, your body weak, and a workday, without energy, feels unbearable. But that’s nothing compared to actual starvation and living with hunger and malnutrition every single day. A balanced diet ensures that children grow healthy and have strong immune systems. Proper nutrition means pregnant mothers don’t run the risk of dying during childbirth, or losing their babies.
How it Works
MGR works to reach people tackling hunger all year round, but in the month of Ramadan and during Eid ul-Adha, we’re able to boost our efforts. Last Ramadan, your donations enabled us to feed 12,000 people across Asia, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. From providing warm iftar meals to 500 Palestinian’s a day in Gaza; to distributing food packs to 5000 people in three Gambian villages – your support made a huge difference.
£6: This can give one person two warm meals a day. During the month of Ramadan, £6 is also the cost providing a suhoor/sehri and iftaar meal to one fasting person, for one day. Donating two meals makes a world of difference to someone who faces hunger every day. It means one child won’t have to go to bed hungry tonight; or that one expecting mother can eat her fill for two.
£60: This can provide one family with a food parcel, which can last them a month. The content of MGR food parcels vary in each country, based on the cultural diet and needs. A typical food parcel, supplied to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, contains the following list of items: 3kg sugar, 3kg rice, 900g lentils, 1.8kg cooking oil, crushed lentils, canned beans and hummus, salt, tea, cheese, pasta, jam and more.
The Food Issue
Hunger kills. Every day, 8,500 children die of poor nutrition and hunger related diseases. They die quietly before they’ve had a chance to live. 98% of the world’s undernourished people live in developing countries. Hunger is most prevalent across Asia, and then Sub-Saharan Africa. Out of those affected worse by hunger are women and children. Thousands of pregnant women in the developing world die during childbirth for lack of proper nutrition and maternal care. Most infants are born underweight.
World hunger is a cause of social inequality, which means that while some enjoy surplus wealth and resources, others are being crushed by a lack of the most basic human needs. The Global Food Crisis isn’t something we can solve over night. But we can work to ensure less people go hungry.
What We Do
We provide food aid in villages across two continents. We provide food for people in communities crippled by poverty, conflict or natural disasters. We tackle hunger and malnutrition in a variety of ways.
We supply food parcels
MGR food packs include staple foods and basic necessities like wheat grain, rice, pulses, oil and sugar. The contents of each pack will vary according to region as well as the context in which they are being distributed. Food packs are also provided in times of emergency: during a conflict or following a natural disaster. They are a life-line for families who have been misplaced or have little to get by on.
We distribute food seasonally
Our work to provide food for people tackling hunger continues throughout the year. But seasonally, we’re able to boost our efforts. During the month of Ramadan, we provide food parcels, warm meals and bottled water for fasting Muslims in developing countries.
We distribute Qurbani meat
Qurbani distribution is another one of our seasonal projects. Every year, MGR performs Qurbani on behalf of donors during Eid ul-Adha. The sacrificial meat is distributed among people in poor villages around the world. Often, Eid ul-Adha is the only time of year most of these people are able to eat meat.
We distribute Aqiqah meat
In the Islamic tradition, Aqiqah is an animal sacrifice performed after the birth of a child. Similar to Qurbani, MGR carries out Aqiqah on behalf of donors at any time during the year. The sacrificial meat is distributed among poor families in remote villages for whom meat is a rare luxury.
We give fruit trees and crops
We gift and plant fruit trees in poor villages to support families. Once a fruit tree has reached maturity, it can become a life-long source of food for a poor family. It can also serve as a source of income. Families can sell or trade the surplus fruit and fruit products to buy other foods and needful items. Find Out More
