Random Acts of Kindness – To raise awareness of Ramadan, peace and unity. Team member Brandon Dellow, along with Roghayeh, and Ramatullah gave out small bunches of flowers with messages of love and acceptance as a Random Act of Kindness, down at Geelong’s Waterfront. Brandon tells us:
“We met people, and talked to them about Ramadan, as well as just the generally wishing them a good day and sharing a smile. We all had warm hearts to see how appreciative people were to these random acts. I was also surprised to find that some people didn’t want to accept random gifts because they felt they didn’t deserve them, they wanted them to be gifted to someone else more deserving.
“One family was blown away that this happened to them, and couldn’t believe it would happen to them. Another asked where the cameras were. There was a total of 33 interactions.
“We had spare flowers left, which we placed on park benches with a message to ‘Take Me Home’. What an amazing night! What will your random act of Kindness be???”
Here is more information about Ramadan from the ICV, Islamic Council of Victoria. http://www.icv.org.au “Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim calendar, is a special time for the Muslim community. As a most blessed month, it is a time for reflection, prayer and renewal of faith. Muslims worldwide fast from dawn to sunset, abstaining totally from food, drink, smoking and other sensual pleasures to complete one of the five pillars of Islam and to achieve greater self-discipline, self-purification, character building and compassion for those less fortunate.
“Q: What is Ramadan?
Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam, which every Muslim must endeavour to observe or fulfil. The others pillars are:
- Shahadah – declaration of faith;
- Salat – the five daily prayers;
- Zakat – Purification of wealth by the charitable donation of 2.5% of annual savings;
- Hajj – Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, obligatory once in a lifetime for those who are physically and financially able.”
Ramadan in Australia, this year, is from the 5th of May until the 4th of June. Ramadan is a lunar month so it begins about eleven days earlier each year.
Story and photos: @Brandon Dellow
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