I Live in a Garbage Dump

Old Shanty

“My name is Mohammedd Rijwan Abdul Kadar Bombewala and I live in a garbage dump. Surrounded by dirt, dust, the stench of disease and death, my 3 young sons, a daughter and my wife huddle together in a shanty which is about 10 feet wide and 12 feet long. Yes, there are bathrooms much bigger than that! To add to this, my humble home is illegal. We live in the constant fear that the authorities will demolish it and the four walls that keep the roof above our head will come crumbling down.”

Rijwan is a 36 year old Memon from Surat, Gujarat who drives an auto rickshaw for a living. Already reeling under a mountain of debt, he could barely make ends meet or bring food to the table for his family. The authorities demolished his illegal shanty on numerous occasions and he was left to the mercy of the heavens above. The community came to his rescue and the Memon Jamaat enrolled his 4 children into school. Nathani Charitable Trust, along with WMO have provided the family with a home in Makka Apt, Bhagatalav, Surat. A proper one bedroom, with a living room and a kitchen.

New House

“My children are going to school and there is a place I can call my own. I will never forget the 21st of November 2016, the day we entered our new home. Because that was the first night, in many a decades, when I slept peacefully. For I knew when I woke up the next morning, there would still be a roof over our head and clean air for my family to breathe!”

Rijwan is just one of the thousands you can help by sending your Zakat to the World Memon Organisation. Together we can build homes, communities, families and dreams.