One of the joys of being a global team is that we get to share and learn from culturally diverse experiences. And this time, our Indonesian team got together to make a difference during the holy month of Ramadan.
You might’ve already heard of Ramadan as the period in which Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, but it involves so much more than that. For a bit of context, this holiday season falls on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which is dictated by the lunar cycle. As a result, the exact Ramadan dates may vary a bit each year, but it begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent moon.
This 2022, Ramadan lasted the entire month of April, and, just like Christmas to the west, Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, community bonding, and being grateful. That’s what inspired our team to spend two afternoons (the 20th and 21st of April) packing and handing out meal packs to people in the streets.
“I am so happy to get together with my colleagues, some of whom have been working from home for more than 5 months, to do this social service during Ramadan. I hope we can do this more often”, expressed Sheeta, Project Manager at 24Slides.
Our incredible Indonesian colleagues got everything set up and running so smoothly that you wouldn’t even tell it was our first Ramadan activity ever.
Back in January, we held an auction requested by our team in Malang, where we gave used furniture from our previous office a second chance. That’s how we got funds available to distribute 250 iftar meal packs (a light meal people eat after the sunset during Ramadan) each day. The food came from food stalls (called warung in Indonesia), so we also got to support local businesses that had it tough due to COVID-19.
Wiwin, one of the business owners shared: “During the pandemic, I only made 60% – 70% of my normal income because my consumers are mostly college students and they had to stay and learn from home. Basically, we were trying to survive, but this activity has helped me a lot to get bigger orders. Thanks for trusting our local business to be part of this event”.
To top it off, colleagues from Denmark – including 24Slides CEO Tobias Schelle – landed in the city to bring some helping hands.
In the end, we engaged 35 colleagues in a social, sustainable, and impactful activity by handing out a total of 500 meal packs to the community. As a Certified B-Corporation, we proudly support and honor our team’s passion for giving back and we can’t wait to see where it will take us next.