‘He could never bear seeing people go hungry’: Food charity founder Nizar Shariff dies at 53
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Mr Nizar Mohamed Shariff, the founder of local food charity Free Food For All that has provided food to over 144,000 beneficiaries, died on Oct 31.
PHOTO: FREE FOOD FOR ALL
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE - Mr Nizar Mohamed Shariff, the founder of local food charity Free Food For All (FFFA)
Mr Nizar, who was known as “Big Bear”, started the charity in 2014 to provide not just food to needy families, but nutritious meals.
“Today, we bid farewell to our beloved founder, Mr Nizar, whose mission of providing free food for all touched countless lives,” FFFA said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
Mr Nizar helped set up free food initiatives for the needy and led community outreach programmes, while advocating social equality, inclusivity and environmental sustainability, the post added.
He also worked to cultivate compassion and empathy in the community.
Mr Shaik Mohamed Ammar, the youngest of Mr Nizar’s four children, said the charity was like his father’s fifth child.
“He went from being able to walk and drive to using a wheelchair and then being bedridden,” said the 21-year-old.
“But even then, he always made the charity a priority because, he said, there are people who need his help, and if not him, who else?”
Mr Ammar, who is now head of operations at FFFA, was only 12 when Mr Nizar founded the charity, and at that age he could not understand its importance.
“Only much later was I able to see how many lives my father impacted and how important he was to society – he really played an integral part,” said Mr Ammar.
Mr Nizar had been suffering from diabetes and kidney failure in recent years.
But his poor health did not stop him from helping others, said Mr Mohamad Faiz Selamat, 45, a volunteer with FFFA since 2014.
Mr Faiz had first partnered Mr Nizar after hearing about his efforts in handing out food at various Housing Board blocks and a mosque in Eunos. At the time, Mr Nizar, who used to work in the shipping industry, ran the initiative independently, funding the food items himself.
“To Mr Nizar, it was just the simple act of giving,” said Mr Faiz. “He could never bear seeing people go hungry.”
He recounted instances when the pair were having meals at hawker centres and Mr Nizar would look out for people who needed food.
“That’s the kind of person he was, really about serving other people,” said Mr Faiz.
Tributes for Mr Nizar have poured in on Facebook from friends and charities that he worked with.
Mr Abraham Yeo, co-founder of charity organisation Homeless Hearts of Singapore, said he remembers Mr Nizar calling him with an idea to open a safe shelter for people who often face rejection from society.
Mr Yeo said: “He leaves behind a great legacy for his family and for us as a community.”
Homecare service SG Assist wrote a tribute to Mr Nizar in a post: “Every time we reached out, needing assistance for the beneficiaries we served, Mr Nizar was the first to respond, always eager and always generous.”
Mr Nizar helped to establish free food initiatives for the needy and led community outreach programmes, while advocating for social equality, inclusivity, and environmental sustainability.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF SHAIK MOHAMED AMMAR
Mr Jason Cai, a friend of Mr Nizar, said in a post on Wednesday: “To me, he was a great visionary who was able to unite people, inspire hope and heal the world, through the good work he had done and the many great ideas that he has yet to realise.”
Mr Nizar also helped people beyond Singapore’s shores. Mr Ammar said that even while his father was bedridden, he would send aid to people in Kenya, Yemen and Gaza whenever he received messages asking for assistance.
“Without thinking twice, he would be there for them in any way or form he was needed.”
Former Sembawang MP Amrin Amin wrote in a post on Tuesday: “Just four days ago, he shared about how he managed to get a water truck to give out 3,000 litres of water to Gaza. Nizar humbly described this effort as a ‘drop in an ocean’.”
Mr Amrin added that Mr Nizar was someone who was always full of ideas and an “imaginative thinker and doer”.
“You’ve done a great deal, dear Nizar. Thank you for the inspiration,” he said.
On the future of FFFA, Mr Ammar said: “The charity cannot afford to stop as there are people counting on us.
“I will try my best to continue this. It is what my father wanted, it was his last wish.”
Mr Nizar was one of the finalists of The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2018
