The Lower The Temperature, The More People Come: Zaporizhzhia Muslimahs Keep Feeding Hot Meals To Needy People

Every Saturday at about noon needy people start gathering near the Zaporizhzhia II Railway Station Park. They know that at 12:30 Muslimahs from WO “Safya” are coming, and are willing to extend a helping hand in unloading and carrying the heavy bags to the distribution site. Having done their part, they get in line and wait patiently.

Some salad, rice with chicken, chicken stew, bread, tea and cookies make a banquet for both the homeless and the “homely” folks who struggle to make ends meet; whose income is hardly enough to cover the utility bills, the simplest medications and bare minimum of the cheapest staple food (mostly grains).

The volunteers thank everyone who supports the initiative either personally or financially, for every small donation allows them to feed several people more.

The volunteers noticed a certain correlation: the lower the temperature outside, the more people come for a hot meal. The prime cost of one portion is ridiculously low, just UAH 30. What can be served for that money? Considering that the volunteers don’t include the value of their own time, labour and consumables (like fuel) in the prime cost, just the food, there’s a full meal served for each person: a bowl of soup or borscht; a platter of pilaw, buckwheat or cooked whole grains; a piece of meat or chicken; a slice of bread, cookies, a sandwich and a cup of tea. Sometimes they even manage to treat their clients with fruit.