Mosque In Walsall Donates Food And Care Items To Staff At Walsall Manor Hospital

Members of the Aisha Mosque in Walsall donated platters and parcels of food and basic care items to the intensive care and general staff at the Walsall Manor Hospital. The donations, which were also coordinated with other local churches and charity groups, have been collected as a way of showing appreciation for the staff who have been working through the coronavirus crisis. The platters are mostly made up of south-east Asian food and include samosas and pakoras.

“I think it’s just amazing the fact that we’re in a position where we are able to provide the service”

The collection efforts for the donations was led by Sehresh Mohsin, the activity coordinator at the mosque and its lead for the COVID-19 Response Team. Mohsin told the Express & Star that the drive started about four weeks ago, when the lockdown did and says that once they launched the donation drive, help came very quickly. The drive is made up of about 30 volunteers, not just from the Aisha Mosque, but also from local churches.

Thanks to the efforts of these volunteers, up to 20 deliveries a week have been made, targeted at mainly at the elderly and the vulnerable. The deliveries themselves include food, but volunteers are also able to deliver prescriptions for those in need. A food bank is also available for anyone who may need it.

The deliveries to the hospital staff was a first-time occasion. However, Sehresh said that they have gotten very good responses from the hospital staff and said that she hopes to make these into an on-going thing.

The Aisha Mosque also offers a number of other services for the local community in these trying times, including helping with shopping, making friendly phone calls for those lonely and posting mail.

Walsall’s Communities Were Hit Hard by the Outbreak

Walsall’s Muslim community leaders have been active in urging the local community to adhere to social distancing and lockdown. The community has closed its mosques like all others in the United Kingdom and issued warnings to its members against gatherings in local shops. These warnings gained urgency after the community was shaken by a number of deaths, including that of 64-year-old Mumtaz Ahmad, 66-year-old Basharat Hussain and 36-year-old Areema Nasreen who was a nurse in Walsall Manor Hospital.

Indeed, Walsall and the wider Birmingham area witnessed a spike in COVID-19 cases over the course of April, standing currently at about 11,000 cases. and over 900 deaths. Among those taken to self-isolation after showing signs of the virus was Richard Beeken, the person in charge of the health trust running the Walsall Manor Hospital.