TheCable

An Ilorin-based non-governmental organisation, the Pious Muslim Women, has announced its decision to feed 2,000 Muslim faithful during the Ramadan period.

Hamdalat Yusuf, founder of the group, made this known in a statement, in which she said about 2,000 Muslims will receive N5,000 each.

She said the gesture, which was the sixth in the series of the organisation’s feeding programme, has held every year since 2014 when the group was established.

She congratulated Muslims on witnessing the holy month of Ramadan, charging them to “abide by the scripturally prescribed tenets of fasting during Ramadan”, in order to reap the benefits.

“Every year, we organise our Ramadan Feeding Programme. It is one of our many programmes aimed at benefiting the vulnerable in the society; our Ramadan Feeding programme is a succour to widows, orphans and indigent Muslims in our community,” she said.

“We cover the major towns of nine states in Nigeria in which most of our members reside. The states are Kwara, Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Rivers states.

“Our usual practice is to give raw foodstuff such as rice, beans, garri, wheat, semovita, groundnut oil, among others.”

She, however, noted that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group has decided to give a sum of N5,000 to each of its beneficiaries and “the target is to feed about 2000 people across these states.”

She listed the distribution as follows: 150 persons in Lagos, 100 in Ogun, 250 in Osun, 250 in Kwara, 37 in Rivers and 160 in Oyo, while Kaduna, Kano and Niger will account for the balance of the funds.

According to Yusuf, the Ramadan food support to indigent Muslims began on Wednesday, and “this year’s feeding exercise will gulp about N10 million to feed 2000 people.”

She added that the Pious Muslim Women group generates the bulk of its funds from the contributions of members, not only in several states across Nigeria, but also in countries like Canada, UK, South Africa, Ghana, Dubai, among others.