Community Coalition launches Corona-busting meals service

Emdad Rahman

A COALITION OF volunteer groups has come together to support East London communities as the Coronavirus continues to bring hardship and misery to the lives of the most vulnerable community members.

At the launch of the project today – Wednesday, 25th March – 31 volunteers served 200 food packs and 400 hot meals to vulnerable local residents – many of them elderly and house-bound.

The collective is made up of the Island Network, in partnership with the Docklands Football Club, Island BWO, One Third Soup Kitchen, Al Aqsa Mosque, St John’s, Virginia Community Group, Markham Heights Residents, Millwall CA, Westferry CO, the East End Covid 19 Support Network and the Hedgecock Community Centre Foodbank, Barking.

The initiative has received tremendous local backing from the likes of Zakir Khan, Associate Director at the Canary Wharf Group, and Rohul Miah from One Housing. Prominent members of the local community who volunteered for deliveries included Abdul Sabur from Docklands Football Club, Abdul Malik from Island BWO, Tuha Mustafa, Mortuza Miah and Abul Hussain.

Zakir Khan said, “As a global community we are facing the most challenging of times and on behalf of the Canary Wharf Group – and, more importantly, as a member of this community – I want to say how proud I am to see how we have all come together to look out for our most vulnerable citizens.”

Maium Miah Talukdar, Chair of the Island Network, added, “Our volunteers are small in number and naturally we are struggling for numbers. But their spirit is kind and we will do whatever we can to help as many as possible. It’s near impossible for our Government to reach out to everyone individually, but the community can step in and fill the gaps. Networking has greatly helped us make a big impact today and will be important in our work going forward.”

The next step for the Coalition is to approach local schools and offer the service to pupils who are attending classes and the staff who are supporting them.

•If you would like a hot meal delivered or to help the Coalition, please contact Maium Miah Talukdar, Island Network Chair:
tel: 07983-798 791
email Mdmaium@gmail.com

•Read more about it:
Has Corona come to Canary Wharf?
Corona brings East London football to a standstill