Omaha volunteers pack 15,000 meals for malnourished kids across the world

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Saturday, Omaha volunteers packed enough meals to feed 70 hungry kids for an entire school year.

That’s 15,000 meals to be delivered to communities across the world facing severe food insecurity and malnutrition.

Islamic Relief USA and Rise Against Hunger, two nonprofits, partnered with the Islamic Center of Omaha to assemble meal packs for malnourished kids across the world.

“In our database, we only had two volunteers for the entire state of Nebraska, but then we reached out to the local mosque and the local MSAs (Muslim Student Associations) from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, University (of Nebraska) Lincoln,” said Wsmah Siddiqui, the midwest volunteer engagement specialist for Islamic Relief USA. “So they were able to recruit volunteers for the community.”

Ismail Moussa was one of them. His job was to transfer finished boxes to pallets for transportation.

Moussa’s been a member of the Islamic Center of Omaha for 13 years.

“It’s my duty as a believer, as a Muslim, to make sure my neighbor is eating as I’m eating,” Moussa said.

Most of the packs will go to kids in schools facing malnutrition regardless of religion.

Rise Against Hunger identifies schools with the demand through international community needs assessments.

Then they ship off shelf-stable food consisting of rice, soy and dried vegetables.

“I cannot feel good when I’m eating at home and then there are kids in the other part of the country, there are kids on the other side of a country,” said Moussa.

But the work Saturday did leave him with a good feeling.

“It makes me feel really great that we’re able to do something like that.”

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