"Life is even more difficult in Ramadan because it is harder to find employment"Mohamed Husain, 44, is a labourer from the village of Galigamuwa in central Sri Lanka. He lives with his wife, daughter and four sons in a house made of wood and mud. With an irregular income and no savings, the family lives hand-to-mouth, surviving on eggs from their hens and local rice. “I have five children and it is very difficult to feed them on my income alone,” said Mohamed. “I can’t explain the difficulties we face. I have growing children who need food and books, as well as other day-to-day basics.” Life is even more difficult during Ramadan because it is harder to find employment. “I’d never heard of Islamic Relief before they visited us about the Ramadan food distribution. I was amazed - I thought Allah had sent someone to help me!” Mohamed and his family observe Ramadan by reciting Quran, reading religious books and praying taraweeh. “Our house is located in a jungle and surrounded by mountains. Dangerous animals often pass by during the late hours of the night so we have to be very careful when we go out for prayer. Eid is a joyous occasion. We forget about the challenges of life and celebrate the festival with our family. On Eid day, we wear our best outfits, but we rarely buy new clothes.” Like Muslims around the world, Mohamed and his family also enjoy a special Eid meal. “Usually it’s biriyani,” said Mohamed. “My wife is really good at making sweets and on Eid she cooks palagaram (a fried sweetmeat).” “Three of my children are still at school. Imtiyas, the eldest, is learning to be a carpenter and I hope that when he starts earning he will be able to help us support the other children through school. “Education is very expensive these days and the cost of living is so high that sometimes I’m not able to keep up. Because we don’t have any electricity at home, my children find it hard to revise their work, but they are determined to study.” Mohamed explained that his family’s favourite meal is meat with rice, but they are usually unable to afford it. “Sometimes we are forced to borrow from people in order to feed our children. Today, however, we will break our fast with the dates and rice from our Ramadan package.”
Help us to reach more families with a gift of food this Ramadan. £40 can feed a whole family for a whole month
£200 will feed five families for a whole month
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