HNCO charity is proud to support Organic Soul with its 30-Day Ramadan Homeless Feed, and beyond, in its ongoing efforts. 

Throughout the year, the Organic Soul team set up their free food stall in Piccadilly Gardens every Friday to feed Manchester’s homeless.

 During Ramadan, however, they are there every night for 30 consecutive days with hot food, drinks, snacks and sweets.

Organic Soul organiser says: “For our service users, we are dependable. We are there when we say we’ll be there, and there’s no catch. We don’t ask questions, we don’t even ask if the hungry person standing in front of us is homeless; it’s just service with a smile.”

Organic Soul has ‘officially’ been for around seven years, but its organisers have been providing food and amenities to Manchester’s homeless and hungry for closer to ten years, when they were helping with another organisation. On a weekly basis, the self-funded outfit can spend up to £90 on a Friday buying ingredients to make a huge pot of hot food, which they cook themselves then take to the city centre. 

Supplemented by cakes and doughnuts from Greggs, fresh fruit, hot Chai, cold drinks and snack packs from local superstores, the team of volunteers from around the North West – such as Bolton, Bury, and Burnley – and can serve between 70-100 men and women in an evening stint.

During Ramadan, this figure can rise up to 150 and as they are fasting themselves, the Organic Soul team utilise a caterer to prepare the food, which can cost up to £150 for the ingredients and labour (at a heavily reduced rate).

Out every night during Ramadan

The team will then be on hand at around 9pm every night of Ramadan to spend their Iftar with the homeless; when other Muslims will be breaking fast with family.

“It’s more than just food, however,” continues our Organic Soul spokesperson. “The meal is just a small part of the service, and in many ways an ice breaker. We offer support and sign-posting to services that can help people in lots of different ways, but only if they want it. There’s no pressure. 
“We don’t ask questions. The atmosphere is pleasant and relaxed. It’s totally anonymous. Some people don’t want us to know who they are or why they’re in this situation; that’s fine. Some don’t want others to know where they are or what they’re doing; that’s their decision. 

“We don’t need to know why someone is homeless. The only thing we will never do is give out cash.”

As well as food, Organic Soul has helped with clothing, sleeping bags and hygiene packages.  Female volunteers also carry sanitary items for female service users. Barbers, doctors and dentists have also come along to offer their skills and expertise, on certain occasions.

“Our service users range from 16-years-old to 70-years-old, of all races and religions,” he adds. “We have ‘regulars’ who we see every week and sometimes when we don’t see them for a while, we do wonder what has happened. We always hope that they aren’t here for a positive reason, but sadly, it isn’t always the case.

 “Not so long ago however, a young girl who hadn’t been homeless for long hadn’t been to the food stall for a while. The next time we did see her, she needed a reference for a job at a coffee shop. Previously, she had asked for advice on how to change her situation and she was really looking forward to earning a wage, and getting off the streets.”

Life on the street

For some people however, life on the streets is favourable to staying in a shelter or hostel. Whether it is the fear of filling in forms or the threat of being found by someone they don’t want to be found by, or past experiences of being hurt by a fellow resident, or being stolen from; many feel safer on the outside.

The reason why someone is standing at the Organic Soul stall, hoping for food or seeking some support, is not theirs to ask.

“It’s easy to walk by someone in need,” he concludes. “But a simple kindness to someone who is stuck in a desolate place can go a long way. We do the best we can. With donations of food, our own money, and the help of volunteers, we feel like we are providing enough in terms of food at the moment. If we could ask for anything more, it would be people with more specialist skills that could come along more regularly.”

To help the ongoing efforts of Organic Soul, HNCO charity has pledged to fill the shelves of its own warehouse with sleeping bags, clothing and hygiene packs that can be accessed by Organic Soul volunteers throughout the year. 
HNCO is committed to efficient, compassionate allocation of charitable donations. 

Collaborating with those who share its values and vision, the charity raises funds through payments of Zakat, Zakat al Fitr, Fidya and Kaffarah, and through the sales of Ajwah dates and educational books. 

HNCO is dedicated to preserving the legacy of Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil. His daughter, Hajjah Naziha Adil Kabbani is a descendant of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), through both her maternal and paternal lineages. She is married to Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Shaykh Nazim’s deputy and spiritual heir. 

For more than twenty years, Shaykh Hisham and Hajjah Naziha have advanced Shaykh Nazim’s legacy by directing various emergency disaster relief and humanitarian aid projects in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, NWFP, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey. 

HNCO is the natural evolution of their past work to advance those outreach projects dearest to Shaykh Nazim’s heart. While the allocation of donations may be diverse, the overall endeavours of the organisation and the message it wants to spread is focused and unified; help where it’s needed most. 

Find out more by visiting: https://hajjahnazihacharity.co.uk, emailing info@hajjahnazihacharity.co.uk or by calling 0800 009 8088