Meet Our December Muslim of the Month: Mona Lari!
By: Alaa Essafi
Meet Mona Lari, an active community volunteer and Cherry Hill native for over 30 years who we are proud to announce as our December Muslim of the Month!
Mona is a trustee of the Pakistani-American Society of South Jersey, a member of the Islamic Center of South Jersey, and a member of the Human Relations Advisory Committee of Cherry Hill. Mona volunteers her time helping Syrian refugees in South Jersey adjust to their new lives in the US. She founded a sisterhood of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian women in 2015 to ensure Syrian refugees resettled in South Jersey as seamlessly as possible. Since then, the sisterhood has collected donations, aided refugees in finding employment opportunities, and have essentially become sponsors and mentors for refugee families.
“Whoever has a need or wherever there is a calamity, I’m there. It doesn’t matter if it’s a thousand people or one person, I just want to be there for them,” she said.
For the entire month of Ramadan, Mona led a grab-n-go dinner for families in need at a Camden mosque. In May, she raised over 15,000 dollars to fund several food drives, distributing 1600 pounds of fresh meat and other groceries to Syrian refugees and families in the area.
“Whoever has a need or wherever there is a calamity, I’m there. It doesn’t matter if it’s a thousand people or one person, I just want to be there for them”
In the early days of the pandemic, when personal protective equipment (PPE) was sparse, Mona, with the help of her husband, distributed over 2,000 masks to frontline workers, hospitals, and others in her community.
“When I have to do something, it has to be done. I make sure it gets done. I made calls, collected the PPE, and distributed them. It wasn’t easy. There was a huge need for masks, gloves, etc. So I began looking for ways to get them, day and night, through online orders and reaching out to my connections and groups. My husband and I went door to door distributing masks in March.”
In the last month, Mona has collaborated with a Jewish community in Cherry Hill to host a virtual event on mental health. In January, they will host a series of webinars featuring mental health professionals and therapists to discuss ways to cope with pain and depression due to the pandemic.
“When we collaborate with other faith groups, the message spreads to their local community and it’s taken more seriously. If someone else from a different faith group joins in, it adds more impact and the listening audience. Working together brings us closer and strengthens our bond.”
For more information on Mona’s work with Syrian refugees and how you can support visit her Facebook group here!