This Ramadan, Help Every Slum Child Open Their Roza With a Meal

No child is ever meant to eat from a dustbin. Yet hunger has a way of pushing innocence into corners no human heart should accept. When there is nothing to eat for three or four days, when the stomach burns and the body weakens, survival becomes desperation. In those moments, eating discarded food is not a choice, it is helplessness. This is the reality for many children living in slums, where hunger is not an occasional visitor but a constant companion.

Ramadan is a sacred month, a time that teaches us patience, compassion, and empathy. It is believed that every good deed done during this holy month brings double blessings from Allah. It reminds us to feel the pain of the hungry and to open our hearts to those who have less. But for slum children, Ramadan is not just about fasting, it is about enduring hunger with faith, even when there is nothing waiting at the end of the day.

Meet Chandani, the founder of Voice of Slum, an organization devoted to the upliftment of slum children. Her mission is simple yet powerful: to ensure that no child sleeps hungry. Through education and full-time meals, she tries to give these children something they are often denied, dignity and hope. Despite having so little, slum children observe Ramadan with quiet dedication and immense faith. One child softly says, “Kabhi kabhi kal ki roti se hi roza khol leta hoon” (sometimes I open my roza from yesterday’s stale bread) Another shares, “Sometimes I just eat salt and water and open my roza.” These are children who spend the entire day fasting, even when they are unsure if they will get a single proper meal by nightfall. Hunger does not break their spirit; it only deepens their resilience.

For Chandani, Ramadan is deeply personal. She believes her roza is only truly fulfilled when she feeds a hungry child. She often says that when she goes into the slums with food during Ramadan, the children are already waiting. They believe wholeheartedly that Chandani didi will come and they will receive at least one meal that day. That belief keeps them going.

Chandani loves these children like her own and wants to feed every hungry child she sees. But the truth is painful; feeding every child in the slum is beyond her capacity alone. Her desire is clear: no child should remain hungry, and food must reach every child. But she cannot do this without us.

Together, we can help her reach every child and ensure they receive a warm meal for iftar- one that fills their stomachs and touches our hearts.