Newport mosque organises free meals for NHS and emergency staff

Worshippers at Shahporan Bangladeshi Jame Mosque, in Hereford Street in Maindee, have delivered hundreds of meals to the Royal Gwent Hospital, Gwent Police Station, and St Cadocs Hospital, among others, with the help of Shahinoor Indian Takeaway and Eco Foods Ltd.

Chefs at Shahinoor cooked the meals, while staff at Eco Foods provided the produce, with eight members of the mosque delivering the food.

Shaz Miah, who attends the mosque, explained why worshippers at the mosque wanted to help.

“As a British Muslim who has lived in Newport most of my life, I wanted to make sure we mobilised our community into action to help others and show what Islam is all about,” said Mr Miah.

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“With mosques shut down, there is a large community there of good people with some time on our hands, and we have the facilities and people to be able to offer the service, so it was a no-brainer.

“It has been a really productive period of donating for us as a community, and we hope we have played some part in providing some comfort at this awful time.”

Secretary at the mosque, Anhar Miah, and Harun ur Rashid, mosque chairman, said in a joint statement: “Shahporan Bangladeshi Jame Mosque cannot thank the frontline staff enough for all their efforts in the work they do day in and day out, they risk their lives in saving others.

“We want to help where we can and we hope this gesture goes a long way in appreciating the work they do.

“The police force are also playing a crucial role in this unprecedented time and so we want to say thank you by providing a comfort meat.”