With night temperature dipping in the city, Hyderabad-based Humanity First Foundation (HFF) took up an initiative to donate winter wear, including blankets and bedsheets, to mentally and physically handicapped people in the city.

Speaking to siasat.com, Dr. Shujath said, ”I started a dinner distribution program for homeless and needy people in 2015. It was then I saw people who did not have plain bedsheets to cover themselves. From then on, I started with the distribution of blankets.”

“Back in 2015, 500 blankets were distributed. This year, we have distributed 2000 blankets in floods, winter, slums, old age homes, orphanages, etc.”, added Shujath.

Earlier last week, HFF installed two geysers at Orphanage Hostel Ashraf Ul Uloom Kachiguda Hyderabad and one geyser at Hostel for Orphan at Warishguda Secunderabad. They also distributed 350 jackets to kids in Chintalmet Slum.

Several other non-profit organizations too, are helping the needy amid winter chills.

Princess Begum Sahiba Niloufer Khanum Sultana Farhat of Hyderabad better known as Princess Niloufer was married to the second son of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Moazzam Jah (whom the popular fruit market Moazzam Jahi Market in Abids, Hyderabad is named after). Princess Niloufer, who also was one of the last princesses of the Ottoman Empire, was not only popular in the old city’s party circuit, she was also known to have famously said, “No more Rafats will die,” after one of her beloved maids, Rafatunnisa Begum, passed away during childbirth because of the lack of medical facilities. Which is how the famous Niloufer Hospital at Lakdikapul in Hyderabad came to be, which she started under the Hyderabad Women and Children’s Medical Aid Society in 1943. There is no doubt that she was as benevolent as she was beautiful and that her generous soul must be smiling down with pride at Mohammed Shujatullah as it is outside Niloufer Hospital that Shujatullah first started serving breakfast to the needy and has been doing so for the past 704 days. Every day, at 8 am, one is sure to find him serving piping hot upma made with pure ghee, along with chutney. And from there, he heads to the Government Maternity Hospital in Koti where he’s been serving breakfast for 283 days. And Shujatullah does this every day, including weekends, holidays and festivals.

Peddling back to the start, in 2015, Shujatullah, a student of Sultan Ul Uloom College of Pharmacy, started distributing dinner at Secunderabad Railway Station. This was a part of his prayer so that he could clear his academic backlog. “The satisfaction I gained out of this was priceless,” says the Hyderabadi. He thought to himself, ‘God has given us so much, can’t we forgo some money so that the poor can be fed?’. So, in a classic example of ‘charity begins at home’, he asked each member of his extended family of 25 to forgo one day’s salary every month. Soon, with the help of his near and dear ones, he started serving dinner to around 250 people. He completed his Bachelor of Pharmacy and started pursuing his Doctor of Pharmacy. With that, he began serving at Niloufer Hospital and Government Maternity Hospital. The upma that is served is made at the Gharana Food Court at Padmarao Nagar, which Shujatullah, who lives in Musheerabad, transports in an auto. He is a stickler for quality and tastes the food before he proceeds to serve it. On most days, he is the only one serving, however on weekends, a few volunteers join him.

“I know that some people wait for me to serve breakfast from 7:30 am and that is why I make it a point to be there every day”

Mohammed Shujatullah, Founder, Humanity First Foundation

Speed breakers

But just because Shujatullah is doing a noble deed, it doesn’t mean that he does not face any obstacles, first of which was thrown in his path by his own parents. They insisted that he study first, marry, settle down and then start doing ‘all this’, as it is only in the later years of life that one begins to think of charity on such a large scale. All Shujatullah did was hand them a paper and ask them to give him a guarantee, in writing, that he will live up to his 70s. If they could do so, he promised to stop ‘all this’ the very next day. “My parents just said ‘He has gone crazy’,” he laughs as he shares this. As dramatic as it sounds, it did work and we recall a Steve Jobs quote in this context, “…the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Its because of this that Shujatullah doesn’t leave any scope for his parents to complain. He maintains an attendance of 90% and scores around 70%. Currently, he is interning at the Aster Prime Hospital in Ameerpet and showing no signs of stopping. Explaining his purpose, he says, “My point is, what will I take from this Earth after I die? Nothing. I just want to do good deeds,” he says, taking us into a philosophical tangent. And that’s not all. Being a Muslim, he was asked to serve only Muslims by his own brethren. They even went as far as suggesting that he serve only a particular group of Muslims. Of course, he paid no heed and started his own NGO Humanity First Foundation. And thank God for that, as he has fed as many as 5,56,000 people since that day at Secunderabad Railway Station. One feedback he often receives is that the food is homely and doesn’t give them a bad stomach, unlike food from hotels.

“Occasionally, during his exams, his cousins hold down the fort, but other than this, he never misses a day. This is mostly because he knows that some people depend on the breakfast and it is probably the only meal they might have that day”

Wait, there’s more?

Shujatullah has not limited himself to these two places. On Sundays he even serves at AKM Orphanage in Kachiguda, Home for Disabled in Secunderabad and Fatima Old Age Home at Falaknuma. During winter, he distributes blankets and under his Orphanage Programme, he distributes basic necessities like soap, rice, books and toothpaste to orphanages. A year ago, a few people from Sadasivpet in Sangareddy district approached Shujatullah, requesting him to help them with employment opportunities for the widows and other women of their district. So, he set up sewing centres in Rahmat Nagar, Feroz Gandhi Nagar and Veltur and through these, helped teach 450 women how to sew. “We even donated 20 sewing machines,” he informs. He has also started a programme called Project Transformation where he helps those who are abandoned on the street. He gives them a bath, a shave, even a haircut and takes them to an old age home. Consistency might be a lesser-acknowledged trait, but having served every day since he started this, Shujatullah knows how hard it is to achieve it. He sleeps six hours a day and between calls, studies and all his volunteering work, he has no time for movies or ‘chilling’ with friends. And now, he doesn’t even desire the mundane. Ask him how he unwinds and he says, “I take myself to an old age home, joke and laugh with them and automatically feel rejuvenated,” he tells us. And when we run out of questions to ask him, feeling exhausted just at the thought of all that he does, he maintains his cheery disposition and makes us promise that we will visit him soon to serve at any of the venues. We affirm, hoping that some of his zest will rub off on us.

Even in this advanced world, ‘food, shelter, and clothing’ still remains the basic needs of every human. And, Humanity First Foundation through its meticulously crafted ‘Upma’ is ensuring that every human is having a satisfying breakfast, thus, taking care of the need of food.

The fear of failing another exam made Mohd. Sujathullah turn to his Almighty. When his prayers were answered, he did his bit by feeding 10 needy people at a railway station in Secunderabad. However, this triggered a mixed emotion, and he wondered if he could do something more. The countless hungry people and the apathy of the society towards such people seeded in his heart and mind the idea of serving food to every needy, hungry, and neglected human; thus emerged Humanity First Foundation. He started with his own pocket-money and steadily his family, friends, and relatives pitched in to contribute and grow Humanity First Foundation that now reaches to more than a thousand people in Hyderabad.

Mohd. Sujathullah, a 27 year old young man, has completed his graduation in pharmacy and is currently pursuing Doctor of Pharmacy- Pharm. D. from Sultan ululoom College, Hyderabad. He has become more disciplined and thoughtful now, as he has to balance his passion, his studies, and also devote time to his family who thought him to ‘share and care’. Mohd Sujathullah zealously depicts his routine, “I get up by 5 am every day, check the arrangements at the hotel where the Upma is prepared, I coordinate with my auto rickshaw-driver who carries the cans to all places and by 8am I am at the Koti Maternity Hospital serving nearly 300-350 patients and attenders. Within 15-20 minutes I wrap up there, rush to the Nilofer Hospital by 8:30am, and again there we serve about 400 people. Once done, we go to our 3rd location NIMS Hospital by 9 am and wrap up by 9:20 am. I quickly, then, have my breakfast and reach college by 10am. It’s tough, but after all this, I’m very satisfied and this work gives me that immense deep happiness in me.”

For Mohd. Sujathullah, humanity comes first; he only sees hunger and the need to eradicate it. Humanity First Foundation provides selfless service to humanity and does accept donation from others to keep it growing and serving. Mohd. Sujathullah reveals, “We serve Upma made with pure Ghee and milk along with Chutney. We serve it in a bowl and provide spoons with it to eat. Each day the cost comes up Rs. 5000 for serving 3 hospitals. There is no harsh rule for donation. Anybody can donate as per their budget and plan.” Humanity First Foundation has expanded its wings. It also distributes dinner to the needy on the road as well as provides diapers and medicines to the old age homes. It is venturing into educating the needy with their admissions, books, and fees.

Mohd. Sujathullah, as a child, aspired to be a pilot; but destiny piloted him towards a new journey. A journey with a dream of serving breakfast to 10,000 people everyday, with an aim to eradicate hunger. A teenaged Mohd. Sujathullah when learnt that his class teacher’s father was unwell, he made a point to visit her and spend some time with her father, all with an intention to help her and lessen their pain. He, probably, never knew that he would soon be on his way-liberating thousands from the pain of hunger.

Mohd. Shujathullah from the city of Hyderabad famous for its Biryani, says “Koi insaan kabhi bhuka nahi soega”, is now making Hyderabad famous for the Humanity First Foundation special breakfast-Upma made with pure ghee and milk and served along with chutney and love and sincerity.

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Sujathullah always wanted to serve humanity since childhood. His parents taught him the value of humanness from an early age. Since he was born in a joint family, Sujathullah was aware of the importance of helping each other and living together in harmony.

Mohammed Shujatullah found Humanity First Foundation in 2016, and he fed the poor with his own money. “I saw poor people longing for food in Secunderabad railway station. I felt that I should feed them. When they saw food in my hands, they rushed towards me”, he said to The Logical Indian.

“People living with comforts hardly realise the pain and suffering of the hungry. However, we observe many people living around us not having sufficient food to lead a healthy life, which is the primary right of every human being,” says Sujathullah. With the help of friends and family, he now feeds 700 to 1000 people every day, free of cost. The foundation has no permanent volunteers but people often show the willingness to help him. Shujatullah leads the initiative and manages to get the volunteers each time. “We get donations from facebook groups and generous people”, he added.

Free Breakfast

Shujatullah, under his Humanity First Foundation, gives free breakfast to patients in two hospitals – Nilofer Children’s hospital and Koti maternity hospital, Hyderabad. “We provide food for 700 to 1000 people every day around the hospital premise. My friends and family also extend their full support,” says Shujatullah.

Service in Orphanage and Home for disabled

Humanity First Foundation volunteers visit orphanages and homes for the differently-abled and distribute materials such as rice, oil, salt, and garlic. For children, they gift toys and chocolates.

Medical Camps

They also conduct medical camps in slum areas. Doctors including general physicians and dentists visit the regions and perform necessary health checkups. Free medicines are also distributed during these medical camps. Shujatullah says many people had been diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension through these camps.

Distribution of blankets

Humanity First foundation has saved 500 people from the harshness of the climate during the winter season, providing them blankets for free.

A Pharm D student from Sultan Ul Uloom College of Pharmacy, Hyderabad, Sujathullah sets an example to the world to serve humanity selflessly. His mission is to work for the needy irrespective of their gender, caste, race or religion.

Hyderabad’s boy named Sujathullah is a man full of humanity. The 24-year-old man used his pocket money to Feed 1000 people who are needy every day. The man every single day wakes up at 7:30 a.m and reaches the Koti Maternity Hospital in Hyderabad, where around 300 poor patients wait in line for their meal. He has been doing this food offering service for free from quite sometime now. So far he completed 604 days of daily free breakfast distribution at Nilofer Hospital and around 180 days of free breakfast at Koti Maternity Hospital.

The beautiful thought to feed the needy came into this man’s head back in 2016. He started feeding the poor with his pocket money near the Secunderabad Railway Station. He felt pretty overwhelmed when hungry people rushed to him seeing food in his hands. He is currently pursuing Pharma degree from the Sultan Ul Uloom College of Pharmacy and lives in a joint family. He realized the importance of helping others because of his family he says.

He used to spend his pocket money on buying and distributing dinner, drinking water and blankets. He soon started a foundation called Humanity First. When Sujathullah expressed his desire to spend his money on serving the poor, his family asked him to complete his education, get a job, get married and then donate post-retirement. But however, he managed to convince them and have them bear his expenses.

Sujathullah distributes free food every day to the needy

As a regular schedule, he distributes breakfast at Koti Maternity Hospital from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and then at Niloufer Hospital from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. after which he leaves to the college.  He serves nutritious and healthy food to the poor without any compromise. He orders the breakfast for 1000 people from a hotel in Padmarao Nagar. He spends an average of Rs 3,500 for 20 kilos of food while transport, disposable spoons and bowls cost another Rs 500.

The foundation he has set up also carries out various social activities. His foundation also helps the disabled people and provides free counselling sessions for them. He every now and then visits these places and distributes items to fulfil their necessities. He also conducts medical camps in slum areas. He brings in General physicians and dentists to conduct basic health and dental check-ups. He also distributes free medicines through these camps.

He also distributes blankets for the people sleeping on footpaths during winter. His mission is to make sure that no one, irrespective of race, caste, or religion, is hungry. He wants to create an ecosystem of charity and generosity towards the poor.