Photos by: Rick Di Lorenzo
July 8 marked the 4th Annual Milton Muslim Moms Eid Dinner held at the Milton Seniors Activity Centre. The hall was filled with guests of all ages revelling in the celebration of Eid, and the end of Ramadan – a month’s worth of fasting from sunrise to sunset.The time before Eid is viewed as a cleansing, and an opportunity to focus on charity (Many observers donate food to those who need it during Ramadan).
The ticketed event kicked off with mingling followed by an awards ceremony. Town councillors presented awards for “Entrepreneur of the Year,” “She, The Talented,” “Woman of Substance,” and “Youth Leadership.” All are reserved for women except for the last. Councillor Zeeshan Hamid, who presented the “Woman of Substance” award, attended the event with his entire family. He describes the event hosts, “Milton Muslim Moms started off as a social group, but have started giving back to the community through refugee sponsorship, fundraising for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Halton, and they even banded together as a clean-up crew on Milton Good Neighbours Community Day.”
This year’s Youth Leadership title was awarded to 18-year-old Shameer Khan, for his work volunteering at the Milton Hospital as part of the Smile Program. Khan, who has also received a leadership award from the Rotary Club, first began volunteering at Birkdale Place Retirement Community. He hopes to gain experience that will contribute to a career in medicine.
Following the awards, attendees enjoyed a dinner buffet of biryani, korma, and seekh kababs. Children were entertained by a clown who diligently created balloon animals in varying colours. For the entertainment portion of the evening, guests clapped along to a late night musical Qawwali performance, presented by Milton Boyz.