Five young people feed the hungry

Ahar Ghar, set up by 5 youth, distributes food to the needy every day. They had a special menu for EidProthom Alo

Every day at least 150 packets of food are distributed free from Ahar Ghar among helpless families in Bhairab, Kishoreganj. Five young people of Bhairab have formed Ahar Ghar (Meal House) where food is cooked, packed and given to needy people of the area.

For Eid on Monday, Ahar Ghar distributed the 1000 food packets for lunch. At night they will distribute some more. The local people are full of praise for these youth who been helping the needy in an orderly and well-organised manner during the coronavirus crisis.

Many people’s kitchens have been empty for quite some time. Adults may be able to deal with hunger, but the children cannot. I heard them crying. I couldn’t just sit at home after that.
Sidratul Rashid, one of the founders of Ahar Ghar

The five young people running Ahar Ghar are Sidratul Rashid, Arafat Bhuiyan, Sumaiya Hamid, Hridoy Ivan amd Md Robin. They are close friends and are involved in various social and cultural organisations. It was Sidratul Rashid who first got the idea of Ahar Ghar, after he was moved by the predicament of some suffering neighbours. He got together who his friends and then they got down to work.

Arefin Jalal, councillor of ward 11 of the municipal town, said, “These youth are active, proving that humanity still lives. The humanitarian spirit of these young people has restored faith in humanity. They are collecting funds, cooking, packing the food and silently delivering this to people’s homes.” He feels nothing could be better than what they are doing during these hard times.

Ahar Ghar began on 14 May when these young people took eggs, vegetable, rice and dates to the area Panchabati in ward 3 of the municipal town. They gave out 112 packets on the first day.

On Eid they have cooked something special – murag polau.

They began their venture with their own money, but now many people come forward with financial help.

Sidratul Rashid said, “Many people’s kitchens have been empty for quite some time. Adults may be able to deal with hunger, but the children cannot. I heard them crying. I couldn’t just sit at home after that.”

He said that people are not being able to visit each other and enjoy Eid. “The poor people are suffering the most. We have expanded our efforts today so that everyone can have a good Eid lunch. We will continue this effort for some time longer after Eid.”