Article written in Singapore's Malay Paper on 25th August on Meal on Me

We were honoured that Project Meal on Me were featured in Singapore's Malay Paper on Sunday 25th August 2013.  The following is the translation of excerpts from the article:

With the support of her family in Singapore and friends in Scotland, Dr Shidrati ... and her friend, Ms. Sharon Gray ... who had embraced Islam six years ago - chanced upon the idea to help certain groups of people through Project Meal on Me (MoM). This group includes single parents and those from broken families, minority women who are asylum seekers/abused/looking for work, and those who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes.
When interviewed through Skype, this daughter of a taxi driver and housewife ... said:
"...With the idea from my friend, we worked on it and introduced this project which is not only beneficial to the Muslim community but others as well."
Under Project MoM, a donor will donate through (online) banking or Paypal for vouchers of £5 each. MoM will then pay (what is) currently the only cafe which is participating in this project, i.e. Aroma Cafe & Mosque Kitchen. This cafe is located beside the Edinburgh Central Mosque on Potterrow in front of the University of Edinburgh. At the same time, MoM will distribute the meal vouchers to participating charity organisations. The organisations, in turn, will give the vouchers to their most deserving clients.
"All of the vouchers which are distributed (and redeemed) will be recorded. This is because we wish to maintain transparency of the project," added Dr Shidrati.
The co-founder of Project MoM, Ms. Gray, said, "All Praises be to God, with this project, I feel so grateful that I can offer my services. Hopefully, with God's will, everything will run smoothly."
Since starting in Ramadhan, MoM had been successful in distributing at least 126 vouchers (£630) to the three participating charity organisations - One Parent Families Scotland, Saheliya, and Bethany Christian Trust.
According to Dr Shidrati, the eldest of four siblings, the idea to establish the project came from the Suspended Coffee project which originated from Naples, Italy. Under Project Suspended Coffee, a donor would pay for a coffee in advance at participating cafes. Then any needy person can approach the cafe and obtain the previously paid coffee.
For both Dr Shidrati and Ms. Gray, project MoM that they co-founded is a form of da'wah to the Edinburgh community at large. For them, the initiative would (hopefully) raise the profile of Islam and the small Muslim community by contributing positively to the general population.
"Most of those who contributed are friends and family. All praise to God, even though it is small, it is starting to get the attention of the public," said Dr Shidrati whose duty is to administer the Facebook page and blog as well as taking care of the accounts and keeping track of the donations.