Hiba Zien, 24, gives away bags of free meals in the town of Qatana in the countryside of Damascus, April 9, 2022. Watching the suffering of people amid the tough economic situation in Syria, Zien has started a personal charity activity called "Ramadan Taxi" to distribute free meals for the poor people, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan, by her own car. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
Hiba Zien, a 24-year-old Syrian, has started a personal charity activity called "Ramadan Taxi" during the holy month of Ramadan to distribute free meals for the people in need by her own car.
Zien hoped her initiative will encourage more, calling on the young generation to make a difference in their societies to the best of their abilities, especially during the current difficult times.
by Hummam Sheikh Ali
DAMASCUS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Watching the suffering of people amid the tough economic situation in Syria, the 24-year-old Hiba Zien has started a personal charity activity called "Ramadan Taxi" to distribute free meals for the poor people, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan, by her own car.
Hiba Zien, 24, (L) prepares bags of meals to distribute them in the town of Qatana in the countryside of Damascus, April 9, 2022. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
The young woman, who studies mass media communication at the Damascus University, was inspired when she saw an initiative carried out during Ramadan last year in Syria's central city of Homs by a woman of her age, who used her own car to deliver free meals.
Zien got the names of poor families from the mayor of the town of Qatana, which locates on the outskirts of capital Damascus, then secured meals for them from good deed doers or charity associations, and delivered the food by her own car.
She started the initiative on her Facebook page. On the first day of Ramadan, she gave away three meals only.
Day by day, she started being contacted by other charity associations, which heard about the initiative and loved to encourage the idea. Some of these charities helped her secure a large number of meals each day to distribute in Qatana.
When she met Xinhua, Zien was collecting packed meals from a charity kitchen in the Mazzeh area in Damascus. She packed them in the trunk of her car and set off to Qatana, driving a BYD car with a manual transmission.
She does that almost every day during Ramadan, grabbing the meals, driving along the narrow alleys of Qatana and handing over the meals to the families on the list she has got from the town mayor.
Syrian volunteers prepare free meals for the needy people during the holy month of Ramadan in Damascus, Syria, April 14, 2022. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
"I haven't had a chance to participate the volunteer work due to the far distance between my residence place and the headquarters of charity associations, so I decided to start with my car in the town I live," she said, expressing her happiness to start her sole initiative this Ramadan.
"People who want to help others and do good for the neighbors can start offering help without waiting for big funds or support," she said.
Syrian volunteers are seen preparing free meals for the poor people during the holy month of Ramadan in the capital Damascus on April 14, 2022. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
Zien hoped her example will encourage more individual initiatives and spread to more areas, calling on the young generation to make a difference in their societies to the best of their abilities, especially during difficult times.
Syrians are going through nowadays a tough economic situation, as a result of the suffocating economic sanctions imposed by the United States. ■
