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Outside the Pune Mosques, the Muslim community raised funds to rebuild 74 Dalit houses

The Maharashtra Dalit Muslim Unity NGO managed, through generous contributions by Muslim people in and around Pune, to rebuild homes for 74 Dalit families that lost their homes under fire.

Outside the Pune Mosques, the Muslim community raised funds to rebuild 74 Dalit housesI

n a heart-warming story about Maharashtra’s Dalit-Muslim unity, an NGO succeeded in rebuilding homes of 74 Dalit families who lost their homes to a fire with the help of generous contributions from the Muslim community in and around Pune.

The slum near Ambedkar Nagar in Pune caught fire on April 24 due to a short circuit and in just a few minutes dug around 74 homes away. Fortunately, no lives were lost due to the help of locals and fire staff but the residents lost all their possessions.

The Bandhubhau Bhaichara Foundation (BBF), an organization founded in 2014, was among the first to come to the aid of the victims, says Swati, a resident who lost all her belongings in the fire. “We were on roads with kids with nothing to eat … BBF members came to support us and provided us with food,” she says in a TwoCircles.net conversation.

BBF president Shabbir Sheik says this effort is in keeping with Islam’s teachings. “Our religion instructs humanity on us and helping the poor. After visiting the post-fire slums of Ambedkar Nagar we decided to build the homes. At some of the mosques in Pune City we declared our intentions and stood outside the mosques to gather charity. We have received a very good response, Alhamdulillah. Our community had donated cash and cement , sand and other building materials. Several people volunteered as labor, seeing our efforts, while others made some anonymous donations as well. We met our target within a very short time and it is because of the efforts of the Muslim community that we managed to hand over the keys of all the 74 homes within seven months of the fire, “adds Sheik.

Another resident, Meena Shinde, said she lost all hope after the fire. “But after seven months, thanks to the help of our Muslim brothers, I am glad to have returned to my home,” she adds.

In the minds of some locals, BBF ‘s efforts have also helped improve the picture of the Muslim community.

Swati adds, “I had misunderstandings about Muslims earlier, because I used to have many derogatory things about the culture here. But BBF ‘s kindness during a time when we lost everything and their determination to give us a roof again cleared my mind … I will never again think bad about the culture.

 

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