Our community is constantly changing and so are its needs and opportunities. The ongoing crisis due to COVID-19 has given rise to significant societal shifts in our world and as a response to that, the emergence of local communities and grassroots movements that aim to mediate adversity and respond to societal needs is growing. As people and organisations throughout the world come together to address issues that matter to them, the one thing that I wanted to contribute towards is to help vulnerable women in our community.
9Kitchens is our community initiative that is so close and dear to my heart. I started this community initiative to employ vulnerable women who I met during the first lockdown in London. I felt that delivering emergency food parcels to people who were willing to work, was not sufficient to help them. So, I decided to employ one woman from Syria and now two, to start cooking for neighbours and friends.
As a beginning to this initiative, we currently only employ vulnerable women in North West London, one day a week. It is my hope to eventually offer this opportunity to a wider set of underprivileged but resilient women by training them, providing them with earnings above London's living wage and thus enabling them to gain confidence and help their family. Here are some of my goals for this project:
Improve the quality of life for everyone in a community
Employ and impact the lives of a significant number of underprivileged women
Promote sustainable food practices
Protect the environment and our surroundings
Inspire all members of our local communities about the importance of healthy eating without impacting our planet.
Be a platform that supports multiple local community efforts
At present, we only offer our service one meal a week.
They are simple middle-eastern or north african plant-based recipes that are healthy, nutritious and are suitable for everyone who want more plants on their plate.
We offer different dishes every week, some examples of our dishes include:
- Red pepper and Tomato Bulgur Pilaf, - - Roasted Fall Vegetables with Tahini and Zaatar,
- Fasolia,
Falafel, Tabouleh, and so much more.
As it is a local initiative, we are only able to deliver to certain areas in Brent, North West London:
Willesden Green area
Dollis Hill/Dudden Hill
Queens Park / Kilburn
Kensal
West Hampstead
Mapesbury / Bronsbury
By placing an online order with us, clients are extending their support to underprivileged women from various backgrounds by giving them the opportunity to earn a living. While working on this initiative, I always make it a point to maintain complete transparency regarding the funds received, be kind to each other, promote green and chemical free food, and most importantly inspire others to eat well and do good!
This is the year to be bold, a year to do something different, a year to offer a helping hand. At BOM, we're taking this chance to be more bold, not just once as we stepped forward with this initiative, but with each and every opportunity we get to provide for our community.
Join our initiative and be a be a part of change!