"It's a really incredible partnership, not only between charity and the school district and these families, but also an interfaith effort," said Nick Melvoin, the Vice President of the Los Angles Unified School District Board of Education. "We have Hindus, I'm a Jew myself, of course we have these Muslim families who are celebrating their holy month of Ramadan."
"We want to spread interfaith harmony and peace among our community by supporting others in our community as well," said Shayona Shah, BAPS Los Angeles volunteer.
Southern California's largest Hindu temple, BAPS, partnered with LAUSD and Senator Ben Allen's office to collect and donate essential items to Afghan refugees in Los Angeles.
According to the U.S. Department of State's Refugee Processing Center, over 2,000 Afghan refugees have been admitted into California between October 2009 and February 2022.
"It's been such a tumultuous few months for these families and as we enter the holy month of Ramadan we want them to feel like they have what they need to celebrate and to uphold their faith," said Melvoin. "But also, we want them to know that we are community that is welcome of them."
Over 150 pounds of dates, 25 pounds of assorted nuts and much more were donated to support over 100 families to help them celebrate this month of Ramadan.
"By [being] able to support them and be there for them we're creating a sense of a stronger community and building this interfaith harmony within this community by supporting other faiths," said Shah.
Organizers are hoping the food, tarps and other essential items helps families with their traditional family-style dining during the month of Ramadan.
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