Members of Canterbury Mosque in Kent have donated over 1,000 hot meals of fish and chips to health and social care key workers across Canterbury, Herne Bay, Faversham and Whitstable.
The meals were donated by Ossie’s Fish Bar, run by Ossie Ultan, and is a local favourite.
The mosque has also donated £400 to help a local crowdfund to give keyworkers 3D-printed PPE face shields achieve its funding goal as they battle the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
NHS staff thank staff at Osse’s Fish Bar for their generous food donations. Credit: Canterbury Mosque.
Volunteers and committee members generously helped to feed staff at Sturry GP surgery, Ramsgate ambulance station, the Ambulatory Care Unit at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Cross Lane medical practice, Pilgrims Hospice in Canterbury, Canterbury Health Centre, the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service in Canterbury, the Newton Place Surgery in Faversham, and Whitstable and Tankerton Hospital.
Credit: Canterbury Mosque.
Staff at various supermarkets in the Whitstable received hot meals, as did council workers, JobCentre Plus staff, pharmacy workers, and Kent Police officers based in Canterbury.
Chair of Canterbury Mosque, Dr Mohamed Ali, informed Tell MAMA that, to date, they have raised and donated more than £5,000 to assist a range of local charities, including food banks, and helping the NHS in its Rapid access GP station at Kent University with volunteers and refreshments. A donation of £500 went to Canterbury Food Bank to help them with emergency food relief.
Ed Withers, who created the PPE crowdfunding page, said the large donation from the mosque on Facebook, that it has “really shown the spirit of Canterbury’s community.”
Dr Ali added that several of his committee members are on the frontlines battling the coronavirus pandemic in Canterbury Hospital and in local GP services. Others, he said, are helping to organise volunteers, fundraising, and providing essential spiritual leadership for Muslims across Canterbury.
Despite closing its doors before the lockdown announcement on March 23, the mosque continues to encourage its worshippers to donate to local and national coronavirus relief efforts, which includes the giving of zakat.