By: Mayen Etim
KADUNA, North-West, Nigeria – The Church of Christ Evangelical and Life Intercessory Ministry, Sabon Tasha, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, has doled out bags of grains to over 1000 poor Muslims ahead of the 30-day fasting for the month of Ramadan.
Speaking shortly after distributing the items at Kano road Central Mosque in Kaduna on Wednesday, Senior Pastor of the Church, Yohanna Buru, said the gesture became necessary as the holy month is at the corner when there is high cost of living amidst the naira notes scarcity and hike on fuel prices across the country.
While stressing that the ministry cannot forget the annual contributions by a Muslim woman, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, to the Ministry’s widows and orphans during Christmas, New Year and Easter celebrations.
He said last year, the Church doled out bags of rice, maize and other food items to poor Muslims in 5 states, to enable them participate fully in the 30-day fasting and prayers for the month of Ramadan.
“In this year’s distribution, we added mats and plastic kettles so they could stay at home and pray for God to bring an end to the rising problems of insecurity, high inflationary rate, and other problems bedeviling the country.
“We are targeting over 1000 poor Muslims as we bought 50 bags of maize and millets to share in some part of the North,” he said.
Pastor Buru appealed to the well-to-do individuals to indulge in humanitarian services in order to ease the hardship of vulnerable persons in society.
He equally called on sellers to stop taking advantage of the holy month of Ramadan in tripling the prices of goods and services, adding that they were planning the usual yearly visits to markets in order to encourage them to offer Ramadan Bonanza.
Receiving the food items at the Mosque, one of the leaders of the Association of Persons with Disability, (PwDs), Mallan Hassan Mohammed ‘Sarkin Kutaren Kaduna’ expressed happiness over the kind gesture of the Christian faithful for remembering them.
According to him, for the past 10 years, the Ministry has been given his association foodstuffs and grains for free to use throughout the Ramadan period; and prayed that God would reward the ministry them over the years.
“We really appreciate our Christian brothers and sisters because of the help they rendered which has come at a point of need, when no one is bothered about us,” Mallam Mohammed said.
Similarly, some bags of grains were also allotted to some Almajirai schools in the state.
A beneficiary of the Islamic schools, Sheikh Ibrahim Igabi, who thanked the Church for such opportunity and pray that the Almighty God bless the ministry abundantly for offering such a humanitarian assistant to the Muslims.