The tradition of indulging in the thickened sweet milk-based drink called boeber on the 15th night of Ramadaan, signified having reached the halfway mark of the holy month of Ramadan.
Hundreds of people gathered for the communal fast breaking meal on Chapel Street, an initiative of the District Six Foundation and Gift of the Givers.
This was the second mass iftar hosted in the historic District Six, featuring live dhikr (Remembrance of Allah) before the evening meal on Chapel Street.
Ziyaad Williams, a founding member of the District Six Foundation, explained that the organisation was established during the COVID-19 pandemic, after identifying a dire need to feed people during the difficult period.
“And we fed people until as far as we could because remember there is no funding for us. We are on our own, we take from our own pockets. Then the Gift of the Givers came on board,” Williams.
“Up till today he (Ali/ GOTG) is with us and we’re feeding lots of people. Not just our community, but people as far as Blikkiesdorp is here, Mitchells Plain, Hanover Park, Bonteheuwel, Kalksteenfontein, Valhalla Park- they’re all here. We started this last year. We had 1 300 people, now we’ve got more,” Williams said.
Those who had gathered were from diverse backgrounds, comprising Muslims and non-Muslims. A large group of visitors from Australia were also invited to witness and take part in the celebrations.
Williams said the mass street iftars displayed Ubuntu or ‘togetherness’ and hoped these would continue.
“This is how we celebrate, whether you’re Muslim or non-Muslim. This is how we used to live in District Six. This is District Six. Everybody ate out of everybody’s homes,” Williams said.
Gift of the Givers Project Manager Ali Sablay said the organisation was reached last year to assist with the mass iftar in District Six and continued its support this year, coinciding with “boeberaand”.
“And we thought to spread that love and to spread that festive spirit of Ramadan. We came into the community of District Six, which was one of the first communities where the Muslim slaves were staying and where the families were displaced.”
The team fed close to 2000 people, Ali said. Decked on the paper-lined streets were dates, savouries, falooda, boeber, and akhni served as the main meal.
Throughout Ramadan, Gift of the Givers continues to run extensive feeding programmes, supporting 23 mosques, madrassas, and institutions, providing meals to various destitute communities.
“With that feeding, we are feeding close to 3 000 to 4000 people every night,” Sablay said.
Additionally, every weekend during Ramadan, the organisation conducts mass feedings in various under-resourced communities across the Western Cape.
“And we see the spirit of love, especially during the month of Ramadan spread all over the Western Cape. We have 23 feeding schemes going as far as Atlantis, Paarl. We sent food hampers into Mossel Bay and those areas as well. So during this month, we ensure that every family, during that spiritual hour of iftar, they’ll have something to eat”.
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Images: Shakirah Thebus
