by Saifullah Bashir
SRINAGAR: On a Friday night, Rayees Ahmed, the owner of Tifan Aaw, received a distress call from Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura asking him if he can deliver food to some attendants and the Covid-19 patients admitted at the premier health facility. Without a second thought, Ahmed hurriedly packed some fresh food items and rushed towards SKIMS.
“It was an emotional scene. They were handling the Covid-19 patients and had eaten just a few dates at Iftar time. I brought happiness on their faces,” Ahmed said.
The Tifan Aaw—the business of delivering homemade food— was started by Ahmed in late 2019. However, feeling socially obliged to cater to families whose all members are Covid-19 positive; he along with his team started delivering food to them while ensuring zero physical contact.
“There are many families where all members are positive and no one is able to cook. We deliver food at their doorsteps,” said Ahmed.
Tifan Aaw is also delivering food to doctors, health workers, and medical shops amid this raging contagion.
“Compared to the first wave of Covid-19, the second wave is more contagious. Therefore, we need to take additional precautions,” Ahmed said.
Tifan Aaw witnessed a steep rise in orders during the ongoing second wave of Covid-19. “We are delivering over 100 food packets daily,” said Ahmed.
To deliver free food to distressed people in hospitals and homes, Tifan Aaw launched a campaign namely “Food for Kashmir”.
“We asked people to sponsor the meals as per your choice and we will deliver it free,” said Ahmed.
Ahmed said he believes the Tifan Aaw is an intermediary. “It is like taking from people to give to other people in need.”
“It was well-received by people and we started receiving calls where people were saying they will cover the cost of food items of 10 people. We then delivered to those 10,” said Ahmed.
Also, Tifan Aaw has maintained a separate account for donations and money is being consumed to serve the needy people.
“We will pay tribute to Covid-19 warriors, particularly doctors. We are selecting hospitals and are distributing free food to them. They are away from home and they might be missing the homemade food. They are doing heroic jobs,” he added.
