Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
CARING schoolgirl Layla Jivanjee is urging families to cut back on food wastage this holy month and support GulfWeekly’s Ramadan Appeal 2018.
Your campaigning community newspaper has linked up with charity champions Feed the Need to urge people, hotels and corporations to contribute hot meals and everyday groceries for distribution to those struggling to make ends meet.
The St Christopher’s School Year 5 student counsellor has been assisting her parents Michelle Bailey and Riyaz Jivanjee, co-founders of Feed the Need, for the past four years.
Layla supported her mum’s initiative by purchasing a fridge in May 2014 using her saved pocket money and birthday gift cash, as reported in last week’s GulfWeekly. Now there are fridges across the island being stocked up with supplies by supporters to help lowly-paid expat workers and local families going through hard times.
Layla, 10, who lives in Saar, said: “I thought it was a great idea when mum told me about it that I decided to pay for the first fridge with my own savings. I’m proud of mum for helping others and we do it as a family so even my three-year-old little brother Adam, is learning how important it is to be part of a caring community.”
The food crusaders have placed 20 fridges around the kingdom which are regularly filled with hot meals and grocery items such as rice, milk, cheese, bread and fresh fruit.
Layla has also participated in several food drives staged throughout the years held at Alosra stores and visited labour camps to help hand out meals. Now she is appealing to other children to join the war on wastage and ask their families to be more food conscious at home as well as cut back on excess water use.
Layla said: “I learned we waste too much food. It’s easy to blame supermarkets or hotels but most food waste comes from families at home and that was a shock to me. The other thing is all the water we use to grow the food that we then throw away, so it’s like a double waste.
“I have given talks to different schools about how we can help, like joining me in the Ramadan Food Drive that we have every year.
“I’m so happy when kids come to ask me what we do and how they can help. It makes me feel proud of myself and our family and excited that we are making a difference to those that need help.”
This year’s food drive will be staged on Saturday. Michelle, co-owner of EMEA Business Development, said: “Alosra stores have allowed us to set up tables and chairs inside their stores and children are able to talk to customers about the campaign as well as collect food donations. A responsible adult sits with them, or nearby to supervise.
“Riyaz and I are both extremely proud of Layla for taking hold of this idea and making it her own. She has spoken at school groups in four countries and chatted to the general public about it, explaining how we help others. Most of all, she encourages other children to join in and builds a giving, loving community of all nationalities.
“Adam follows Layla’s lead and helps sort through donated clothing and helps me stock the fridges. He often says ‘sharing is caring’ and he’s only three!”
People can contact Michelle on 39627883 to donate hot meals and other food can be donated at any time at the fridge locations. For details, visit www.feedtheneedbahrain.com
