HideOut invites members, their families and supporters to break fast together in second annual community iftar.
Friday 14th April saw HideOut hold its second annual Iftar event following the success of the first community event in 2022.
HideOut welcomed over 150 young people and their families, members of the community and supporters into the Youth Zone to honor the holy month of Ramadan and partake in breaking fast together after sunset.
The evening began with various activities for young people (including art, cooking and sport) set to encourage them to explore religion and faith. Activities aimed to help young people understand the history and practice of Ramadan and learn about cultures, beliefs and heritage.
HideOut welcomed Chaplin of University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, Mohammed Ulla, to speak at the event:
“Ramadan is about looking at all the beautiful things we have and being thankful for them. It’s about working together, being like this as a community – regardless of our faith – coming together to open fast, being welcoming and to get to know one another”.
Young people were central to the evenings event with Senior Club Mumina reciting a spoken word piece she wrote about navigating her youth and being proud of her religion, and Senior Club member, Shaz, leading the call to prayer.
Reflecting on her piece, Mumina said:
“I wrote this spoken word piece to show my appreciation for my culture and to be able to express my feelings and thoughts about it to others who may not necessarily follow the same beliefs as me, but want to gain an understanding about my religion and where I come from.”
Following call to prayer, attendees were treated to traditional Eastern food and broke a day of fasting together.
Patron, Mission Mars, also donated a number of Rudy’s pizzas for guests to enjoy.
Inclusion Coordinator, Sam Morris, said:
“We ensure that as a community, we identify and celebrate things that make us all different, but also the things that bring us together. At the start of the week we celebrated Easter, and we’re ending the week all together breaking fast – sharing experiences and learning from our friends, colleagues, and of course, the young people we work with. It’s been an amazing thing to be part of, and the sense of community felt on the night was lovely”.
At HideOut, we ensure our youth provision is inclusive, supports community cohesion, and provides an environment where members from diverse demographics, ethnic communities and those with additional needs or disabilities feel safe, involved and welcome.
HideOut now welcomes a membership of over 6,000 young people (March 2023) from across Manchester, including 67% identifying as Black, Asian or from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
