The Church of Christ Evangelical and Life Intercessory Ministry, Sabon Tasha, in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State has distributed food items to over 1,000 underprivileged Muslims on Wednesday, ahead of the Ramadan fast.
The beneficiaries were mostly almajiri beggars under the aegis of Association of Persons With Disability.
The food items distributed by the church at the Kano Road Central Mosque, Kaduna were bags of rice, maize, and millets. Prayer mats and plastic kettles were also distributed.
The ministry’s General Overseer, Pastor Yohanna Buru, told journalists that the gesture was aimed at cushioning the effect of the naira redesign, fuel scarcity, and hike in the price of foodstuffs on the underprivileged in society.
In addition, Buru noted that the gesture aimed to strengthen the peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance among residents of the states in the region.
He stated,
“We are also reciprocating the gesture of Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, a Muslim woman, who shares bags of rice, cash, and new clothes to church widows and orphans during Christmas, New Year, and Easter celebrations.”
According to him, last year, the church distributed bags of rice, maize, and other food items to poor Muslims across five northern states to enable them to fully participate in religious worship in the month of Ramadan.
He added,
“In this year’s distribution, we added mats and plastic kettles so they could pray to God to bring an end to the rising problems of insecurity, high inflation, and other problems bedevilling peace and stability in the country.
“We are targeting over 1,000 poor Muslims as we bought 50 bags of maize and millets to share in some parts of the North.”
While appealing to well-meaning individuals to come to the aid of the less fortunate, the cleric urged traders to refrain from arbitrary increases in food prices during the holy month of Ramadan.
One of the leaders of the Association of People Living with Disabilities in the state, Mallam Hassan Mohammed, expressed delight over the gesture, which he said had spanned over 10 years.
“We really appreciate our Christian brothers and sisters because the help they rendered came at a time of need when no one was bothered about us,” he said.