Sheffield student praises 'amazing' generosity of city's businesses after life-changing charity trip

Halima Asker, from Millhouses, was invited to visit Lebanon and personally deliver vital care packages to Palestinian and Syrian refugees there after raising more than £2,500 for Salam Charity.

Before leaving, the 20-year-old, who is a first-year student at King’s College London, appealed to businesses in her home city to support the cause and was blown away by the response.

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Firms including Imrans Sheffield, A Taste of Arabia, Rassam’s Creamery, Unit Sheffield, Cookies and Cream, and Ozmen between them donated more than 200 bags of flour and rice, and 300 packets of biscuits.

“I was overwhelmed by how much they were willing to contribute at short notice. It was amazing,” she said.

Halima travelled to Lebanon for a week in April during Ramadan as part of a team which handed out more than 2,000 care packages to 1,000 families, and she described the experience as exhausting but ‘eye-opening’, ‘emotional’ and ‘incredibly rewarding’.

“The people I met there were incredibly kind and sweet, and really grateful for everything they had, despite not having much,” she added.

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Halima, who is a member of King’s College Arab Society, has since raised another £6,000 for good causes in Ghana and Yemen, and she was so moved by her time in Lebanon that she hopes to return with Salam Charity to distribute more care packages next year.

For more about Salam Charity and how to donate, visit: salamcharity.org.uk.