This Man From Hyderabad Feeds 100 Underprivileged People Daily

A resident of Mir Alam Mandi, Hyderabad, 47-year-old Hyder Moosvi has been serving food to the underprivileged people for the last three years.

It started in 2015 when he, with some of this friends, thought of distributing food to the needy. “We decided to start a page called ‘Food For Hunger’ and started distributing food at night. In those days, because of fewer funds, we were able to serve people only six to eight times a month. Soon our work received a lot of appreciation and also donations, and we made this social work our duty and started to serve food every day,” said Moosvi, while speaking to The Logical Indian.

From inclement weather to a paucity of funds, many obstacles come in the way but Moosvi persevers in his efforts.

Since March 2017, Moosvi has been catering to 100 people on an average, every day. “It has been almost 15 months now, and we have not even skipped a single day of food distribution. It is my god who is helping me to serve others,” he adds.

Moosvi, who wakes up at 4:30 in the morning for his early namaz, says that the humanity is bigger than any religion. He takes care of his playschool till 12 pm, and then in the afternoon, he goes to buy groceries. He hands over the supplies to his wife, who, with the help of two other cooks, prepares the meal for about 100 people. After the evening namaz, Moosvi fills his bag with food, paper plate and water pouches and starts his late evening routine to deliver food.

“Initially it was difficult to find people, we did not know how to search for them. Slowly people started to recognise our work, and now around 7 PM, people gather on Dabeerpura Bridge waiting for their food. They line up in queues at 8 pm and we start distributing food to these people,” said Moosvi, father of six children.

When asked if non-veg is included in the menu he said, “No, we only serve vegetarian meal because we do not give food on the bases of religion, many of these people are our Hindu brothers and if we will include non-veg in it the meal they might not be able to eat. Sometimes we take eggs with us and ask them if they want it.” Moosvi reckons that each food packet costs him about 40 Rs, and he tries to change the menu regularly.

Moosvi says that sometimes people from his community have criticised his efforts based on religion. He says that he ignores all these comments because his service is not for any religion, but it is for the humanity.

“Mazhab ko bhuk ni lagti but Insan ko bhuk lagti hai, mujhe bas uss Insan ka pet bharna hai (Religion does not feel hungry but a human does, I aim to fill his stomach only),” he adds.

Moosvi told The Logical Indian that the only time he feels embarrassed is when there are more people to be fed and less food to give. “They come in a hope to get food for the night, but sometimes they have to leave without food,” he adds sadly.

As of now, he manages to collect around Rs 1.2 lakh every month, using which he feeds around 3000 people every month. He says when there is lack of funds he tries to provide the money from his pocket.

After distributing the food, Moosvi takes feedback from the people. “There have been times when there was less salt in the curry or the rice was overcooked, I listen to them so that they do not just get their stomach filled but also enjoy the food,” said the 47-year-old.

Moosvi wants to start a Mohalla food bank, with a refrigerator where he can store food. “I will ask the Mohalla people to contribute for the bank. I also want to set up a monthly clinic where these people can get some basic medical treatment,” he said.