Fareeda, her parents and her two children do not have enough money to celebrate Eid in the way many families across the world can.
“We get up early in the morning on Eid day,” she said.
“The men of the house go out to pray. I stay at home with my daughter and we start preparing food from Islamic Relief. When the men return from prayer, we all eat together. On Eid day, we prepare Biryani and a sweet dish. We cannot do more.”
Fareeda has lived with her parents for the last 10 years after divorcing her violent husband. She does not earn a living and relies on the income of her father, who is a driver. Her son Zeeshan, eight, is blind and goes to a special free school where he stays overnight.
Fareeda, her daughter Farheen, 10, and her parents live in a single room in Hubaalli, western India, made of bricks and tin sheets. They cook their food, which is usually vegetables, pulses, rice and roti (wheat bread), over firewood.
“We are able to manage simple food,” she said. “But my father is getting older and he cannot always work.”
Last year, Islamic Relief distributed nearly 250,000 Korban food packs in India, reaching more than 1 million people who otherwise would not be able to celebrate Eid with a special meal. Fareeda and her family were among those to be given a pack.
“May Allah bless all the donors who have been helping people like us,” Fareeda said.
Share your Korban with people like Fareeda through Islamic Relief.