HummusTown, a community founded by two Syrian women, Shaza Saker and Joumana Farho, is a humanitarian catering service that has evolved into a successful small business. Their mission is to support migrants and vulnerable people in Rome, Italy, while introducing them to their war-torn homeland, Syria.HummusTown, a community founded by two Syrian women, Shaza Saker and Joumana Farho, is a humanitarian catering service that has evolved into a successful small business. Their mission is to support migrants and vulnerable people in Rome, Italy, while introducing them to their war-torn homeland, Syria. HummusTown began in 2018 with the aim of raising funds for families and friends in Syria. The founders used their culinary skills and networking abilities to host dinner parties and donate the proceeds to those in need. As the organization grew, it shifted its focus to providing work and support for Syrian asylum seekers, eventually expanding its mission to include all vulnerable people, regardless of nationality. Today, HummusTown operates a kitchen kiosk near Rome’s train station and a small bistro. They employ 13 full-time and 10 part-time staff, and their loyal clientele includes many of Rome’s gastronomic enthusiasts. In addition to offering delicious Syrian cuisine, HummusTown conducts cooking classes, cultural events, and summer gatherings. They also provide catering services for events in the Italian capital. The organization’s commitment to supporting the community extends beyond food. They donate food to the homeless on a monthly basis, and last year they raised 40,000 euros for victims of the devastating earthquakes in Syria. One inspiring example of HummusTown’s impact is Mayyada al-Amrani, a Palestinian woman who fled Gaza with her daughter. Mayyada now earns a living by rolling traditional spiced rice in grape leaves alongside other cooks of Syrian and Palestinian descent. While she is grateful for the opportunity to support herself and her daughter, she worries about her five other children in Gaza, especially the youngest, who is not yet 9 months old. Another success story is Fadi Salem, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Rome in 2022. After struggling to find integration through migration centers, Fadi discovered HummusTown through the Syrian community in Rome. He now manages the organization and credits it with providing him with a sense of family and a pathway to successful integration. HummusTown’s story is a testament to the power of community and the positive impact that individuals can have in making a difference in the lives of others. Through their delicious food, cultural events, and unwavering support, Shaza Saker and Joumana Farho are creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for migrants and vulnerable people in Rome, while also celebrating the rich culture of their Syrian heritage.
| Associated Press
Two Syrians have founded a community that supports migrants and vulnerable people in Rome by introducing them to their homeland, which is torn apart by civil war.
HummusTown was founded in 2018 as a “humanitarian catering service” and originally aimed to raise money for families and friends in Syria.
Since then it has grown into a successful small business that no longer focuses on sending money to other countries, but on helping new migrants integrate into Italy. In the meantime, the company has built up a loyal clientele in Rome’s gastronomic scene.
As the war in Syria raged, Shaza Saker, a longtime UN worker living in Rome, and Joumana Farho, her cook, wanted to find a way to help people back home. Farho, 48, brought her “divine” cooking, while Saker, 49, networked.
“I told her, ‘Let’s invite people over for dinner … and whatever we make from those dinners, we’ll just send it to Syria,’” Saker said. “My house had become a bit of a restaurant, a home restaurant. But it was fun. We felt useful.”
The nonprofit, which started with 45,000 euros ($48,670) raised through crowdfunding, now employs 13 full-time and 10 part-time staff at its kitchen kiosk near Rome’s train station and a small bistro. There are plans to open a restaurant.
The expanded group now also organises cooking classes, cultural events and summer aperitifs, as well as providing catering for events in the Italian capital.
Every month they donate food to the homeless and last year they raised 40,000 euros for the victims of the earthquakes that hit Syria on February 6, 2023, killing thousands of people.
As more refugees arrived in Rome, the two shifted their focus to providing work and a support network for Syrian asylum seekers, eventually expanding their mission to all vulnerable people, including Italians.
They include Mayyada al-Amrani, a Palestinian woman who fled Gaza with her eldest daughter, who is undergoing treatment for cancer. She spends her days rolling traditional spiced rice in grape leaves, along with four other cooks of Syrian and Palestinian descent. Although she is able to earn money to support herself and her daughter in Italy, she worries about her five other children in Gaza, the youngest of whom is not yet 9 months old.
“They are surviving,” she said. “They are struggling and suffering especially from the lack of water.”
Fadi Salem, now manager of HummusTown, is a Syrian refugee from Damascus who arrived in Rome in 2022 after living in Lebanon for seven years. Salem discovered the humanitarian catering service through the Syrian community in Rome and said it gradually became a family for him.
“I found integration through HummusTown rather than through the migration centers,” he said. “Because from my position here I speak with many Italian and foreign clients, so I practice my Italian, English and Arabic every day,” he noted.
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