Why Giving To The One Love Table Is A Unique Choice?
Written by Habeeb Alli and Edited by Juliane Martin
Because feeding people is always rewarding in all religious denominations.
Well that was the easy one liner.
But there are so many causes and people operating food banks are numerous especially during Covid.
Well to think of it being part of a family of people of all backgrounds that are informed by faith and love
and dignity is itself very ambitious given the times we live in.
Whenever we find such a community based upon these eternal values of the Golden Rule we must be
able to jump at it with our hearts, dollars and time!
When we started out One Love Gala it was because the then government of the day did not want the
continuation of Chaplaincy services for inmates locked up in federal prisons across Canada. They were
about to sever the important work diversity chaplains perform inside and outside prisons.
I was inspired by Bob Marley’s’ song One Love, One Heart to start advocating for this service by
highlighting the work Chaplains do to reintegrate inmates successfully into society..
Food insecurity is a rising concern in Canada during the Pandemic and around the world. No one is safe.
There is only One God and His Religion Is to take care of humanity.
I have been working with many Muslim organisations and participating in many Interfaith initiatives and
saw during my time at providing food hampers in Toronto to families affected during the Pandemic that
all walks of life were involved. The Hindu Pundit giving donations, the Rabbi picking up food at the drive
by, the Pastor delivering food hampers to the elderly and the Imam opening the mosque doors for
persons of all backgrounds to receive the Mercy of God through human servants.
Now that I have had the opportunity to do the food hampers differently, again the One Love song has
inspired me to have the fabric of Interfaith and Multiculturalism sew itself into this beautiful dress with
our amazing Christian Chaplain Julianne Martin as Director and the humanitarian Muslim leader Sadro
Usman leading the operations whilst the Hindu community activist Rajmini Ram renders her continued
support and the Jewish voice for the voiceless Orev Katz prods us on- the family of One Love is woven
from the threads of far and wide of volunteers, clients and donors of varied ethnicity, race, religion,
sexual orientation, nationality and languages because the human dignity of one is the dignity of all. We
are all the Children of Adam!
As in the case of Father Abraham he was the patriarch to all, he loved all and opened his dinner table for
all and as such when you give to the One Love Table you give to all- without judgment or need to prove
you are worthy- you are doing the work of the Prophets when you let people enter your space freely as
Rumi said: Come As You Are!
Thank you!
Megwich!
Merci
