A sign on the side of the road spoke the truth of the day: “You respect me, I’ll respect you.” It was painted in white on a piece of scrap lumber, leaning up against a fence. Across the street were boarded-up row houses, a few occupied by people. Though the day was bright and a breeze was blowing, the mood in that battered part of Baltimore was subdued.
But as I neared Masjid ul-Haqq, where Islamic Relief USA’s Day of Dignity event was held on Saturday over the Labor Day weekend, the atmosphere changed to one of love, respect and friendship. A long table in front of the mosque held trays of food – spaghetti, garlic bread, fried chicken, and other things. People lined up for meals dished out by Day of Dignity volunteers and then received bags full of items to help them survive the winter.
"It’s very good, very useful stuff," said Robert Wilson, one of the beneficiaries of event. “Islamic Relief, they treat me with respect.”
Nearly 400 people came out for the event, receiving food, socks, soap, underwear, clothing, notebooks, pencils, and other school supplies. Many, clutching their bags, headed over to the picnic tables nearby to eat the food they had received.
-- Dilshad D. Ali
To read more of the post, click here to go to the Day of Dignity blog.
