KOZHIKODE: Nearly hundred days ago, Ayyoob V P, a casual labourer, and wife Shemina M P, were struggling to keep their nose above water as the flood left them in deep trouble. They looked up to people around for help and, much to their relief, found several good souls lending their hands.
Life has been a struggle for the couple and the floods made things far more difficult as they lost a few of their belongings. Further, they had to find a temporary accommodation. Yet, when their daughter Ayesha Hadiya’s first birthday came on Saturday, they decided to celebrate it in a noble way, with the city’s destitute.
Ayyoob said: “We didn’t feel like conducting any grand party or function at our home to celebrate our daughter’s first birthday. We wanted to serve society and support the needy in the smallest way possible. So we decided to help the street-dwellers and other deserving people in the city.”
As part of the celebrations, the family distributed packed lunch kits to 99 destitute people across the city.
“We started our short journey from the S K Pottekkat Square near S M Street and went around the area to find deserving people and provide the food kits to them,” said Ayyoob.
He, however, is already familiar figure among the city residents for his acts post the floods. The couple had received a relief fund of Rs 10,000 from the state government. However, Ayyoob took only Rs 1,585 of it to repair his house and returned the rest of the amount to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.