Mosques across the UK have been leading charity efforts over the past months to help vulnerable families and patients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A local mosque in northwest England has gone a mile further by donating beds to a charity for young homeless people.
The beds were first purchased as part of the mosque plan to host end-of-life patients and free up hospital beds.
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The project was later canceled after hospitals in the Greater Manchester area were able to handle coronavirus patients.
The initiative was not needed as “there was plenty of NHS capacity already,” Dr. Mohammed Jiva MBE, who had the idea to provide end-of-life care at the mosque’s premises in Bolton, told Arab News.
He added: “As the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West started to step down and we had 20 beds, we thought the beds should go to a charitable cause as they were bought with donations from the community given in good faith.”
Charity Goes On
The idea of donating the beds came to Jiva after he spoke to Backup North West, a charity for homeless.
“When they came to collect the beds and we dismantled all 20 of them and arranged for a driver to deliver them, they were shocked because the beds were new and unused,” Jiva, a full-time GP and CEO of the Rochdale and Bury Medical Committee, and the British Hajj delegation, said.
“They thought they were going to be second-hand beds and were so grateful. The people who donated are also grateful because their donations have gone toward a good cause,” he added.
This is not the first time a British mosque has provided support to the local community.
Over the past weeks, several mosques across the UK have launched food banks to help the needy during COVID-19 lockdown.
Mosques volunteers delivered thousands of isolation food packs and hygiene kits to vulnerable people over the age of 65.