'Rahma' restaurants help needy Algerians during Ramadan

Free meals, food baskets and financial support are being handed out to poor families across Algeria as part of holy month celebrations.

By Lyes Aflou for Magharebia in Algiers – 15/08/11

Many needy Algerian families rely on the generosity of the state and private individuals for food during the holy month of Ramadan. Free meals, home-delivered food baskets and financial support are the primary forms of help.

According to the Ministry of Solidarity, nearly 1.5 million needy families will benefit from the food donations. Disadvantaged families and individuals with special needs, such as the disabled, receive baskets containing vegetables, fruit and dairy products necessary for a balanced diet.

More than five million meals are also being served at some 691 "rahma" (mercy) restaurants across the country. Roughly 13,000 volunteers have been recruited to help with the task. The Algerian Red Crescent, the Muslim Scouts and charities are all involved in running and funding the restaurants. Health inspection committees are monitoring the restaurants to prevent any outbreak of food poisoning.

A national committee with provincial and commune-level offices has been set up to organize the solidarity effort.

In Algiers alone, more than 27,000 food baskets and more than 90,000 envelopes containing money were distributed within the first nine days of the month, Radia Benmiloud, head of the Department for Social Action said August 10th.

Benmiloud stated that the baskets, which contain food between 6,000 and 9,000 dinars in value, include basic essentials such as couscous, flour, sugar, coffee, rice, dried vegetables and oil.

"The work of the national solidarity sector and the province and communes of Algiers has been co-ordinated with the contributions of benefactors in order to ensure that this expression of collective generosity will be successful," she said.

As for the direct financial support, she said: "Money orders of between 6,000 and 10,000 dinars, according to the funds available within each commune, were given after the individual needs of certain needy families had been examined".

In Algiers alone, nearly 190,000 eat-in meals and 57,730 take-away meals have been served, Benmiloud said. Homeless people, travelers passing through Algiers and those who are apart from their loved ones and cannot afford a substantial meal are able to visit any of 143 free restaurants.

Mokrane, who is unemployed, visited a "rahma restaurant" on Rue Larbi Ben M'hidi in central Algiers. Although the meals, which consist of a starter, a main course and a dessert, are free, the way in which they are served left something to be desired, in his opinion.

"In order to serve everyone, over a hundred people, the staff must sometimes serve the meals more than an hour before the fast ends. As a result, the meals are cold and lose their flavor," he told Magharebia.

Hamid, a waiter, told Magharebia that was to be expected "given the large number of diners who queue up before the restaurant opens, if you want to eat when the muezzin calls".

"We don't need to serve up haute cuisine," said Salah, another diner. "The food is given to us free of charge and it's just as good as what you could have at home if your financial situation was better than ours."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/08/15/feature-03.