Residents of Juliana Court in Heideveld hosted a mass boeka on Saturday April 9, which about 200 people attended.
The mass iftaar was organised by Juliana Court resident Merle Thwaites, who said that she wanted to do something to bring the community together and she thought of doing this by having residents share a meal during the month of Ramadaan.
“A lot of old people and children go to sleep with nothing in their tummies, so we thought that this way they would at least get something decent to eat,” she said.
Residents all contributed to the mass iftaar with savouries, cake, fruit, water, soup and food. Children sat eagerly as they awaited the maghrib (evening prayer) athaan (call to prayer) to break fast at 6.30pm, while their parents set everything up in the court. Muslims are now fasting for just over a week and will celebrate Eid-ul Fitr on either Monday May 2 or Tuesday May 3.
Ms Thwaites said that she’d be organising more mass iftaars in Heideveld this Ramadaan. She said that she hoped tit would become an annual event in the community as Ramadaan was a month of sharing and blessings. She said that children especially deserved “lekker” treats to break their fast after a long day of fasting. Muslims start to fast at 5.51am.
Vice-chairman of the Juliana Court Working Committee, Ashraf Ross, said the event was a huge success and more than they hoped for. He said that residents were so happy and the smiles on children’s faces were heartfelt.
“This is the first time in over 25 years that we have had a mass iftaar and it was very nice. Our community needs this – to be together in good times not only the bad. As a working committee we are working on many things to uplift the youth and eradicate unemployment and poverty,” he said.
Heideveld ward councillor Anthony Moses said the mass iftaar is a commendable act of worship where residents have good hearts and take care of their neighbours.
“I am really proud of these (good) Samaritans. I hope that community members see this as an act of love and that those who have a lot, give to others in a time of dire need,” he said.
