In Flint, Michigan, Dignity is Served

As I flew over Lake Michigan I couldn’t help but notice the bright lights along Chicago’s Gold coast. Only the stars were brighter than the lights from the high rises that studded the Chicago Skyline. Then our plane crossed over Lake Michigan, and Chicago’s bright lights were replaced with the sparse lighting of Western Michigan. We inched closer and closer to the ground of Flint, Michigan, and everything became noticeably darker.

The factories that once pumped out the cars and other machinery were shut down. The neighborhoods that housed these great leaders of the auto industry were now empty. Those left behind after the auto plants closed largely remain unemployed, which has increased poverty and homelessness in Flint.

I rode through the streets of Flint with Br. Saleem Khalid, Islamic Relief USA’s Domestic Programs Manager. We saw block after city block littered with closed businesses and factories. It was a grim scene. But when we arrived at the Flint Housing Committee, we were greeted with a pleasant smile from one of the many volunteers at the Day of Dignity site.

We came around the corner of the parking lot and saw throngs of people waiting in the sun to receive the goods and medical screenings that would be provided by the Day of Dignity volunteers. Bus loads of people picked up from different parts of Flint flooded the parking lot of the housing commission. “We have a billboard downtown,” said Terrence Clark of the Flint Housing Commission, “People know about this event. They are going to come.”

Infants, children, adults, and even elderly people awaited their turn to receive their bags, which included hygiene kits, gently-used clothing, new school kits, and toys. As they were awaiting their goods, some of the children giggled and laughed in the moon bounce. And at the end of the line they received Subway sandwiches and water. The beneficiaries walked away with smiles on their faces and bags filled with goods.

The volunteers worked tirelessly throughout the day to serve everyone with dignity. This event was led by the Flint Muslim Youth Group and organized by Ghada Alkiek, a recent high school graduate. She led her young crew of volunteers with energy and enthusiasm. And despite the fact that most of the volunteers were fasting, it seemed that the longer the day got the harder they worked. By the end of the day, 700 people had been served with dignity.

As the day wrapped the volunteers asked eagerly what my impression of the event was. All I could say about the event was “Alhamdulillah, this event was very good.” If these young volunteers are the future of Islamic Relief USA, then we have a bright future ahead of us.

-- Karim Amin, National Day of Dignity Coordinator