A meal for a good deed

The humanitarian mindset more or less takes a backseat among humans when it comes to survival. The past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the economic crisis that followed in Bangladesh, showed that in many ways.

However, at the same time, the worst global pandemic in years also strengthened the resolve of many who help the less fortunate and think about their wellbeing in times of such crisis.

“Bhalo Kajer Hotel” is one such initiative, taken by a group of youths for the poor people of Dhaka city, where one can get a free meal every day by simply doing one good deed.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage everyone to reach out to help — at a time when inflation is high and poor people are jobless and scrambling for money and food every day — and spread hope and love among the population.

Bhalo Kajer Hotel feeds these poor and rootless people of the city every day in exchange for something good that they have done to help others.

Talking about the beginning, senior organisation member Md Jakir Hossain said the idea of doing something for the poor was born in 2009. “At that time, it was only about helping the poor people survive by giving them food.”

The idea came after organisation founders — Arifur Rahman, Sohanur Rahman Asif, Farooq Ahmed, Moniruzzaman Monir, Rubel Ahmed Himel and several others — saw and felt the disparity between the haves and the have-nots during the Eids, when people, in general, enjoy good foods, he said.

“At first, the organisation used to serve cooked meals on special days or Fridays. But in 2019, when the Covid lockdown started and the situation got worse, it was decided that one meal would be arranged every day,” Jakir told The Business Post.

“They didn’t want to sell the food but free food also does not inspire anyone to strive for something better. So they decided to encourage the poor people to do good deeds.

“Thus the idea of a free meal in exchange for a good act through Bhalo Kajer Hotel was born. And, since then, we are going strong,” he added.

Currently, Bhalo Kajer Hotel offers meals to the poor and homeless at three points in Dhaka – near Kamalapur Railway Station, in front of Karail Slum at Banani, and beside the road to Satrasta intersection at Tejgaon industrial area.

Since 2019, the hotel has been providing meals to 600-700 people every day on average, said Jakir.

Md Moniruzzaman, another organisation member, said their activities run from 12pm to 2pm at Korail Slum, then at Tejgaon from 2:30 pm to 4pm, and lastly from 7pm to 9pm on the footpath along the walls of Kamalapur Railway Station.

The organisation has also taken a similar initiative in Chattogram city recently, arranging one meal for the poor and homeless people there every week, he added.

The good feeling…

This correspondent went to the Tejgaon point around 2:30pm on Monday and saw many people — including rickshaw pullers, daily labourers, beggars, homeless people and street children — sitting on the footpath waiting while maintaining civility and social distance.

Soon, a group of volunteers came on a covered van and talked to them about the good work they have done during the day. Later, the food was distributed.

One of the volunteers, Rubel Ahmed Himal said that they list the names and the good they have done to help people that day before distributing the meals.

“But that doesn’t mean we don’t give them food if anyone fails to do something good. We give them the food in exchange for their promise that they will do two good deeds the next day,” he added.

Md Jahangir, who has lived in Dhaka for 40 years, came to have a meal at the Bhalo Kajer Hotel on Monday. He used to be a rickshaw puller but now he does not do anything due to old age and bad physical condition.

“I cleaned a road today [Monday] and dropped the garbage into the dustbin,” said the homeless man who sleeps on the footpath in front of Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital and comes to the hotel every day for food.

Middle-aged Naju, who works as a labourer in the Tejgaon industrial area, also came to have a meal. “I helped a man put vegetables back in his rickshaw van after they fell on the road in the Karwan Bazer area,” she said with a smile.

Like these two, many of the underprivileged people who came from the nearby areas to get food told this correspondent about their small but good deeds and how doing that simple act made them happy without even thinking about the meal.

That is exactly the feeling that Bhalo Kajer Hotel wants to generate by inspiring more and more people — both rich and poor — to do good work, said a volunteer.

The initiative has earned a heap of praise from people from all walks of life, with many applauding the organisers on social media and many joining the cause by donating money.

How is it done?

Senior organisation member Jakir said that they had only 20-30 members at the beginning. “But after 2019, we opened up to the idea of increasing the number of our members since we needed more money and more manpower. Currently, we have around 1,500 members, with people from all walks of life.”

“Anyone can become a member of our organisation. One will have to fill up a registration form with some basic information and pay a Tk 200 entry fee,” he said.

He said the major portion of the funding for their work comes from the “Daily Ten” members — each of whom saves Tk 10 every day and donates Tk 300 to the organisation monthly.

“At present, 60-70 per cent of our members do this regularly. Apart from them, we have some well-wishers who donate money separately. With the total, we can feed the poor for 20-22 days every month,” Jakir added.

He also said that they are working to solve the funding shortage problem and feed the poor on those seven or eight days every month they are missing. “Besides, we also have plans to introduce this initiative in different regions of the country.”

“We change the menu every two days or so. Our foods vary from regular rice, vegetables and curry to biryani and polao-roast chicken,” he said.

Asked how they determine whether someone was telling the truth about helping others to get free food, Jakir said, “We know that many will lie. Many have done that. But how long can one person lie? Someday, he or she will do something good.

“And that is where our success lies. If we can encourage someone to do some good work without thinking about their self-interest, we are happy.”

“We had a man who used to come and eat the food after lying about doing deeds. But after a month, he had a change of heart and came clean with us. Now, he has found a job and donates Tk 300 every month,” Jakir said.

“We feed the poor and homeless people to inspire good and hope among them. We want people in the country and around the world to see our work and motivate them to do one good deed every day,” he added expressing hope.