A UT student group has partnered with a local charitable organization and two West Campus restaurants to help provide financial relief to struggling orphans abroad. 

The Dobie Center location of Niki’s Pizza and the Guadalupe Street and Dobie Center locations of Verts Kebap will donate a portion of their proceeds this month to The Miracle Foundation to provide funding for orphanages in India. The initiative was organized by members of the UT chapter of Muslims Without Borders, a national organization working to help those in need outside the U.S. Niki’s Pizza will be donating 15 percent of its proceeds every Wednesday in November from 7 to 8 p.m., and Verts Kebap will be donating 10 percent of its proceeds Nov. 5-9 on orders where customers mention the initiative.

Syed Hasan, government sophomore and president of the UT chapter of Muslims Without Borders, said his organization chose to get involved because of the positive work The Miracle Foundation has done in the past.

“A lot of the kids were actually malnourished, but given the resources they got from The Miracle Foundation, today they are really healthy,” Hasan said.

The Miracle Foundation works to bring basic necessities to orphans in need worldwide and has headquarters in Austin and Delhi, India.

Niyoshi Mehta, education program manager for The Miracle Foundation, said the organization has helped hundreds of children around the world, and she hopes the organization can collaborate with the UT community again. 

“We haven’t partnered with a lot of UT student organizations in the past. However, we look forward to doing more work with students at UT,” Mehta said. “Over the years, we have been fortunate to have several interns and volunteers from UT that have enabled us to accomplish so much. Muslims Without Borders is a group of passionate young individuals who are taking a stand and changing the world to help those in need, and we are excited to be able to work with them.”

Taariq Chasmawala, electrical engineering sophomore and historian for the UT chapter of Muslims Without Borders, said this is the first initiative the organization has participated in with The Miracle Foundation, and he hopes it will be the beginning of a strong relationship between the two groups. 

“The Miracle Foundation was a pretty good choice because they are also based in Austin, so it could lead to a volunteering opportunity later on,” Chasmwala said. “It is generally just a good idea to begin with, working with a foundation like that.”

Printed on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 as: Local partnership feeds orphans