US Immigrant Feeds the Needy in Washington
A Pakistani immigrant who came to the US as a young adult to find a better future is now helping feed the homeless in his restaurant in Washington, D.C.
When Kazi Mannan came to the US in 1996, he could only dream about success. Now, after years of hard work, he owns a popular Pakistani-Indian restaurant called Sakina Halal Grill near the White House.
The restaurant offers free meals to the homeless and anyone else in need. Mannan says he helps the needy because he knows what it's like to grow up poor and hungry. He says giving is his way of following the ideas of Islam.
"I don't want to see another human being going through the poverty that I went through. I don't want to see another human being going through the hunger that I went through," Mannan said.
Anyone can come to Sakina Halal Grill, ask for food, use the restroom, and sit for as long as they want. "We will love you and respect you the same way we respect a paying guest. We will treat you like family," Mannan said.
Marchellor Lesueur, who is homeless, has been coming to the restaurant every day for the past eight months. "I think that he's a saint. He's a beautiful man," he says about Mannan.
Mannan says that he's provided more than 80,000 free meals since the restaurant opened in 2013. And when he's not feeding the needy in his restaurant, Mannan delivers meals to local shelters and churches.
