BEKASI, WEST JAVA — The sixth day of Ramadan 1445 Hijri, which coincided with Sunday (17/3/2024), was a fun day for Afina Ulfa (4). She and 14 other orphans had the opportunity to shop for the items they needed at LuLu Hypermarket, Mega Bekasi Hypermall in the Belanja Bareng Yatim activity. This activity is a routine agenda every time the month of Ramadan comes by Dompet Dhuafa and LuLu Hypermarket.
Afina, or Neng as people usually call her, used this opportunity to buy shoes. The reason, she said, was to replace her worn-out shoes that will be worn during Eid al-Fitr. She doesn’t want to be outdone by her friends, who have new shoes for Eid.
Another child who also participated in Belanja Bareng Yatim was Alwi Muhammad Mukhlisin. This grade 3 elementary school student chose to shop for kitchen needs, one of which was cooking oil. He admitted that this cooking oil was for his mother who cooks every day for him and his grandmother at home. Other items he bought were sandals and clothes that he will wear later during Eid al-Fitr.
‘The sandals broke. So I’ll wear them for Eid,’ she said to her companion as she picked up her sandals.
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The collaboration between Dompet Dhuafa and LuLu Hypermarket has been going on for four consecutive years. In addition to organising the Belanja Bareng Yatim activity, another form of cooperation is the existence of infaq and alms via the LuLu Hypermarket cashier. So that customers who come can simultaneously make donations for humanity. In fact, it doesn’t stop at Ramadan, afterwards, the two also work together to succeed Dompet Dhuafa’s Tebar Hewan Kurban programme to remote areas of the country.
‘Brothers and sisters, happy shopping! Fulfil the needs that are not yet at home. Hopefully it can be useful for all of you,’ Faqih exclaimed to the orphans in the middle of the crowd of people shopping.
Ahmad Faqih Syarafaddin, GM of ZIS Collection of Dompet Dhuafa, explained that in the month of Ramadan 1445 H, Dompet Dhuafa has the theme #RamadanMendekatkan. This means that the month of Ramadan is an effort to get closer to / between anyone. That is, between servants and the Creator, between muzaki and mustahik, between fellow brothers, neighbours, and everyone.
‘Hopefully, this spirit will be felt in all of us, so that later we will truly get victory on the day of Eid,’ he said.
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Also present to greet the orphans at this Belanja Bareng Yatim activity were Mr Shereen as GM of LuLu Hypermarket Bekasi and Dian Mardiana as Head of Marketing LuLu Group Retail. In addition, there was also Kak Reza Pahlevi who accompanied the children shopping until they broke their fast.
For four years holding this noble activity with Dompet Dhuafa, Dian Mardiana said she was happy to be able to continue inviting orphans to shop to complement their needs. During Ramadan 1445 H, the Belanja Bareng Yatim activity is scheduled to be held three times. Apart from Mega Bekasi Hypermall, there will also be LuLu Hypermarket & Dept. Store Cakung and LuLu Hypermarket The Park Sawangan Depok.
‘The important thing is that the children are happy with this programme. Because our goal in holding this programme is to make them happy and cheerful. It just so happens that today there are many promos and discounts. So it’s a good time for the kids to shop today,’ said Dian.
‘I think it’s a good collaboration. And I hope they will be happy,’ added Mr Shereen before the kids started shopping.
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In addition to the shopping fun, the Belanja Bareng Yatim event this time was also accompanied by the musical performance of the marawis group Al Kafi Entertainment and also a stand-up comedy performance by Kemal Aziz. At the end of the event, after the orphans had finished shopping, they along with the older siblings listened to a tausiah by Ustaz Suherman, one of Dompet Dhuafa’s Cordofa Dai, then continued with breaking the fast together.
For shopping techniques, the children were accompanied by older siblings from Dompet Dhuafa, including Kak Reza who is a Dompet Dhuafa Volunteer Specialist. They are free to take the items they need. There are no exceptions to the items that can be purchased, as long as they are needed. After that, the older siblings invited them to the cashier to make the payment process. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and Photo: Riza Muthohar
Editor: Dhika Prabowo