Second Quarter Update

Executive Summary

It has been half a year since Meal on Me was started.  We thank everyone for the enormous support that you have given to us over these 6 months.  We would also like to wish you a Happy New Year and a successful one.

This second quarter has been a quiet one, a quarter of consolidation and trying to overcome some challenges that we faced.  In summary, for the second quarter, we have accomplished the following activities:
1.  Issued 60 vouchers for each of the three organisations in October (September end) and November (October end) combined.

2.  Received several donations such that we have £533.33 in the bank account in reserve.

3.  Sent out 60 greeting cards over the festive season for the clients of the three organisations.

4.  Asked if the organisations would help us conduct a survey of the service we are providing among their clients.

5.  Received 34 redeemed vouchers from Aroma Cafe.

We did not issued any vouchers in December and neither are we issuing any vouchers in early January 2014.  This is because they are still 242 out of the 312 vouchers we have issued so far that are still to be used.  We hope that more vouchers will be redeemed before we issue more.

The main users of vouchers seem to be from the One Parent Families and Bethany Trust.  Based on feedback we have had with various parties, we have taken the decision to terminate our association with Saheliya.  We are looking for another organisation to partner with.

Other decisions on improvement of Meal on Me will have to wait till we receive back the survey and have done our analysis.

Accounting

In terms of the accounts, we thank you, our donors, for your generosity.  We have to date £533.33 in the bank account and we also received £10 from Miss Shahidah Shah to pay for the greeting cards.

30/9/2013	Balance C/F	703.33
1/10/2013	Transfer to Aroma Café	-450
4/10/2013	NM	50
8/10/2013	MS	10
22/10/2013	SA	50
24/10/2013	Anonymous	300
25/10/2013	Anonymous	50
31/10/2013	Total October	713.33
30/10/2013	Balance C/F	713.33
4/11/2013	Transfer to Aroma Café	-450
4/11/2013	NM	50
8/11/2013	MS	10
22/11/2013	SA	50
25/11/2013	Gordon McGill	25
25/11/2013	Anonymous	25
30/11/2013	Total November	423.33
30/11/2013	Balance C/F	423.33
4/12/2013	NM	50
8/12/2013	MS	10
24/12/2013	SA	50
30/12/2013	Total December	533.33
30/12/2013	Balance C/F	533.33

Voucher Movement

We have in the last two months collected back 34 vouchers which makes the total of vouchers used in the last half year to be 70.  There are 242 vouchers left to be used/distributed.  We are working with the organisations to see where the distribution activities can be progressed further.

Issue Date	No. of Vouchers Given to Organizations	No.  Of Vouchers Collected	No. Of Vouchers to be collected
July	40	0	40
August	20	14	6
September	72	22	50
October	90	0	90
November	90	15	75
December	0	19	-19
Total	312	70	242

Relationship Challenges

There has been problems with clients coming into the cafe at times and ordering more than £5 worth of meal.  We had an understanding with the cafe owner, Mr. Akbar, that he would not charge them if the price of the meal was not too much over £5.  However, we have had feedback that this was not the case.  At the current moment, our vouchers do not state the value because we felt it was more dignified for the voucher users.  But as it is creating a misunderstanding between the users and the cafe, we are going to put the value of the voucher in the hope that it will lessen the misunderstanding between the voucher users and the cafe.

We are also reviewing the service we are providing through the survey that we are conducting.  We hope to get back the completed survey this month so that we can tighten the running of the project and address any problems or dissatisfaction that the users have.

Sadly, we have decided that our relationship with Saheliya will be coming to an end because of several reasons:

1.  They have not been distributing the vouchers to their clients very regularly. 

2.  Their clients have difficulty in coming to the cafe to use the vouchers as these are usually women involved with abused cases.

3.  There has been rumours that the staff at Saheliya were using the vouchers themselves.  We have been unable to confirm these rumours but we are not happy with any hint of misappropriation of the vouchers (and indirectly the donations from the generous donors).  

We are looking to see if we are able to obtain/reclaim the undistributed vouchers we have given to them to be redistributed to the other organisations or to be given to a new organisation.  We will keep you, our donors, posted on this matter.

Meanwhile, have a happy and blessed new year.

Regards,

The Meal on Me Team

October Update - Donor's List & Other matters

This has been a challenging month as one of us is battling flu for the past two weeks after being out of town for the early part of October and the other is really swamped with other projects.  On top of that, we have had problems with getting the new vouchers printed and coordinating with the cafe regarding the redeemed vouchers for this month.

But we have managed to overcome those challenges and we would like to thank our donors for this month's successful issuance of the vouchers.

Published Name	Date	Amount
NM	4/10/2013	£      50
MS	8/10/2013	£      10
SA	22/10/2013	£      50
Anonymous	24/10/2013	£    300
Anonymous	25/10/2013	£      50

This month, with your support, we have raised £460.  Added to the balance of £253.33 in the bank, we have £713.33.  We will be distributing £450 worth of vouchers for October - 30 vouchers for each of our partner organisations.

We are unable at this time to update on the voucher usage for October but will update the blog later when we have the information.

Regards,
Meal on Me team.

End of September Usage Report, First Quarter's Update and Donors' List

We are coming to the end of the first quarter of the first year of Project Meal on Me.  It has definitely been an exciting and rewarding journey for the two of us coordinating the project.  But we are unable to progress this far without support from the donors, the cafe and the organisations we are partnering.

Our main objective is to benefit the poor and needy in the community.  At the same time, we try to ensure transparency in all our dealings with the donors, organisations and cafe.  If we fail to do so, please let us know immediately.

Below are the report for the current month and the full quarterly report:

September 2013:

Vouchers issued at end September - 90 (30 per organisation)

Money paid to Cafe Aroma and Mosqie Kitchen at end September - £450

Total Vouchers redeemed in September - 24

Saheliya - 10

Bethany Trust - 10

One Parent Families - 4

Total donation this month - £665

The actual donors' list will be reported below as part of the quarterly donors' list.

First Quarterly Report:

No. of vouchers issued - 222 (worth £1110)

Total amount paid to Cafe Aroma and Mosque Kitchen - £1110

Total No. of vouchers redeemed - 48

Total donation - £1363.33

Donors' List

Published Name	Date	Amount	Remarks
Anonymous	12/7/2013	£  100.00
Isniati Ali	13/7/2013	£    50.00
Gordon McGill	16/7/2013	£    25.00
Anonymous	16/7/2013	£    20.00
Anonymous	16/7/2013	£      1.50
Anonymous	16/7/2013	£      3.50
Alex Chai	18/7/2013	£    28.33	(Minus Fee charged by PayPal)
Servant of God	19/7/2013	£    15.00
Anonymous	21/7/2013	£    10.00
Anonymous	21/7/2013	£    20.00
Gordon McGill	22/7/2013	£    10.00
S.B.G	26/7/2013	£    15.00
S.A.	26/7/2013	£      5.00
S.A.	27/7/2013	£    25.00
V.C.	28/7/2013	£    50.00

N.M.	3/8/2013	£  100.00
ClogsTounWillmott	1/8/2013	£    20.00
E.M.	5/8/2013	£    10.00
T.A.	8/8/2013	£    50.00
V.C	9/8/2013	£    30.00
M.S.	9/8/2013	£    50.00
S.A.	21/8/2013	£    50.00
Isniati Ali	23/8/2013	£    10.00

N.M.	4/9/2013	£  100.00
M.S.	8/9/2013	£    10.00
Zikri Ali	13/9/2013	£    50.00
I.K.	15/9/2013	£    25.00
Sadhia Sarwar	17/9/2013	£  250.00
Andrew Edwards	20/9/2013	£    50.00
Norbert Jobst	20/9/2013	£    50.00
Sister A	24/9/2013	£    50.00
S.A.	25/9/2013	£    50.00
Anonymous	28/9/2013	£    30.00

Thank you all for your continuing support and God bless.

The people who the Project has touched and our supporters.

As we have been saying that we truly appreciate your support, but so do the people using the vouchers. 

This afternoon, Sharon and I were in Aroma Cafe with some friends. She went to check with Mr. Akbar regarding the vouchers that has been used but on the way saw a couple who were looking a bit uncertain. She approached them and found out they were trying to exchange the vouchers for food. (Though she didn't tell me afterwards, I am guessing this would be their first time claiming the vouchers.)

So she took them downstairs to the Mosque Kitchen so that they could actually see the variety of food and make their choices. She later told our friends and I that they seemed happy and appreciative when she revealed that she was one of the organisers of Meal on Me voucher scheme.

And earlier, we had feedback from Bethany Trust, one of our partners.  They have given the vouchers to some of their clients who had given positive feedback.  It was heartening to hear how one family is using the vouchers as a reward for their kids' good behaviour. Or that another used it when he was struggling with money for food.

But while we are organising, the project would not be able touch these people's life without you, our donors and supporters. So from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.

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.

September Mid-Month Update

It's mid September and we thought we would give an update on how the project is doing in its third month.

1.  On the donor's front:  So far, we have raised £185 for this month.  The list of donors will be released at the end of the month but we would like to thank the donors for all your generous donations.

2.  On the partnering organisation front:  They have been quite satisfied with the project.

3.  On meal vouchers redemption:  When we checked today 17th September, there has been 12 new voucher redemption.  The breakdown is as follows; 3 from Saheliya, 4 from One Parent Families, and 5 from Bethany Trust.

Thank you again for all your support.  Please do give us your feedback and ideas on how we can improve this project.

Regards and God bless.

Voucher Usage Report - Early September

We are pleased to note that further to our earlier report of 14 vouchers redeemed in early August, there were another 10 vouchers redeemed in the second half of August.

Out of the 10:

• 3 were by Saheliya's clients

• 5 were by Bethany Christian Trust's clients

• 2 were by One Parent Families' clients

This brings the total of redeemed vouchers to 24 out of the 60 vouchers issued at the end of July.  We are also pleased to update that 72 vouchers were issued on 2/9/13 to the above three organisations.  We will continue to monitor the usage and keep you updated.

Regards,
MoM team.