“We also are children of immigrants, we grew up in poverty, the principle of sharing is part of who we are,” said Souleymane, a resident of the Sarcelles suburb where the project began.
“Even a child brought by two euros, and a storekeeper added more deli food after we explained the project to him,” he told public radio France Bleu, TeleSUR reported on Tuesday.
A group of young people from the Vignes Blanches—a neighborhood in Sarcelles—first launched the idea of a solidarity chain in a Facebook video. The video shows them giving free meals to refugees sleeping in the streets of Paris, as they challenge another neighborhood to follow their example, building from there.
Malik Diallo, who works as a delivery driver and posted the video, had observed the number of homeless refugees increasing on the capital's streets in recent months in the northern 19th neighborhood of Paris where he drives on a daily basis.
He decided to take action, and with the support of his friends, cooked sandwiches and typical cuisine from West Africa like Tchep, then delivered them in a dozen cars to northern neighborhoods of Paris like Stalingrad and Porte de la Chapelle.
The refugees were first surprised by the initiative, said Diaby, a friend of Malik, but then “extremely happy ... They thanked us, some even blessed us, it warmed our hearts,” he added.
The founders of the project hope people from beyond the capital will take part, making in a nation-wide initiative.