London mosque offers meal to homeless

Every Thursday evening, Eva, a 45-year-old woman from Germany, makes her way to a mosque in North London where she will receive a warm meal, something that is hard to come by for a homeless person living on the streets.
Eva has been living in the U.K. for five years and has been homeless for the last three. She lost her job as a cleaner when the company she worked for closed down. Since then she has been living on the streets, struggling to find work and subsisting on handouts from churches, which have become scarce in recent months.
“Before the church would provide basic food and some shelter, then I had to ask cafes and restaurants for the food they don’t use and even then I am refused due to their policies.”
For the last two years, however, Eva has been attending the ‘Meal for All’ event hosted by the Finsbury Park Mosque every Thursday evening where she enjoys a free dinner and talks to other homeless people and volunteers. The food served includes a variety of cuisines, from Indian curries to Middle Eastern kebabs and doner.
“I think this initiative is an excellent idea,” she said amid the hubbub of the mosque’s busy food court.
“They serve us good food with good portions and no one is left out. Out on the street you are made to feel alone and invisible, but here they talk to you and want to get to know you, not because you are homeless but because you are a human being with feelings and emotions.”
“This initiative has changed the way I view the Muslim community in the U.K. Before I had negative thoughts about them but now seeing what they have done for me and seeing how they take care of the community, Muslim and non-Muslim, I can only thank them,” Eva said while drinking a hot cup of tea provided after the meal.