Disabled and willing: Handicap doesn't stop Sharjah man from serving Iftar

Mohammed Yousuf Javed Sait, who has been actively serving iftar kits to those observing fast in the Al Qasba Masjid in Sharjah with just one hand. The 48-year-old man lost his left leg in a train accident several years ago and he now has a rod in his leg. The senior relationship officer in Noor Bank serves iftar packets that he prepares with the help of his wife and friends and serves to those keeping fast.

The man who lives with his wife in Al Qasba area of Sharjah is a regular supplier of fruits, biryani, water, juice and other iftar items to people who come to the Masjid for breaking fast. “I have lost my one leg in a train accident in Mumbai, India while travelling in a busy local train. My left hand is amputated above elbow and for the last two decades I am living with just one hand. After coming to Dubai, I got treatment donated by the Al Maktoum Foundation,” he told Emirates 24|7.

“I am doing this for the last eight years with one normal hand," he said.

He serves food to the poor hungry people for his own satisfaction. “I am living  in a blessed country and now earn a decent salary. When I came here, my salary was only Dh800 per month but now I can afford to spend some money and my time. I go every alternative day to the Al Awir Fruit and Vegetable market to buy fruits for making the iftar packets and keep in the adjacent grocery. My wife helps me cut and pack the fruits. We order 50 to 100 biryanis every day for serving iftar in the Masjid because the food donated by other donors is not  enough,” Younus told Emirates 24|7. “This  country has blessed us abundantly and it is our duty to give something back to the people.”

“When I started serving food during Ramadan eight years ago, there were not  many people to take the iftar packets. Now there are many takers and the Masjid is full during iftar,” he said, adding that some of  his friends also help him physically, morally and materially to give the free iftar packets.

Originally from Kutch region of India, Javed said he is trying to give something back to the UAE. His wife, a school teacher, also helps him in his charity drive. “He eagerly waits for the Ramadan month. His friends also help him. My only complaint is that he does not break fast at home and is always going to the Masjid to break fast with other people,” said his wife Saikha Javed, a social science and Islamic teacher..

"I was breaking fast at the Al Qasba Masjid and found a man going around serving iftar. It is said that the left hand should not know what the right hand is doing. In the case of Javed it is true because he has got a plastic hand. He is a truly inspirational man who is doing a great work with just one hand,” said NM Aboobaker, who knows Javed.

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