The greater Washington, D.C., area is one of the most affluent regions in the United States, yet also one of its most impoverished.
In the late winter chill, men and women in black coats and gray blankets amble through McPherson and Franklin squares, blocks from the White House. The District has the nation’s fifth largest homeless population, with a crisis double the national average.
Kazi Mannan believes the nation’s capital has more to offer its disenfranchised residents.
Though Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed a plan four years ago to end homelessness by 2020, a brief look around the city shows there’s been little progress, if any. In 2013, when Mannan took over Sakina Halal Grill, he proposed a first step.
Right off K St., the epicenter of high-dollar lobbying, the homeless have a haven. At Sakina, people without money eat free. Mannan says his mother inspired him to help the destitute, and he decided owning the restaurant gave him a great opportunity to do it. “I want my own way of helping people,” he said.
Sitting at a table near the front, where all the furniture is imported from his native Pakistan, Mannan recognizes customers, some dressed in D.C. professional attire, others wrapped in old coats. He wishes them well as they walk out the door.
The air smells like turmeric and cumin, and the menu boasts naan bread, vegetable samosas, and tikka masala.
When Mannan immigrated from Pakistan, he said America gave him an opportunity for success that he wants to share.
“I was a stranger here, and Americans, to me, they gave me that chance,” he said. “Now I can use that chance to promote peace, love, and kindness and bring people together.”
Mannan keeps the doors open with the help of donations, which come in letters containing checks ranging from $6 to $800. The restaurant has become a huge success, with glowing media coverage and a large clientele. Sakina serves about 16,000 homeless people each year.
Mannan wants to go even bigger. In the nation’s political seat, politics seems to be the next step. The upcoming mayoral election in 2022 is still far away, but Mannan said he may run. If elected, he promises he would not take a salary.
Even now, though, he has his doubts. “I don’t like politics,” he said. “I’m a humanitarian.” It may feel like nothing gets done without a lobbyist or politician in this city. But through his own ideals and initiative, Mannan already accomplishes much.
