This month marks the annual Interfaith Food Drive sponsored by the Light House Project, a nonprofit which seeks to be an extension of the vision and public service of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha, three victims of a fatal shooting that took place in Chapel Hill in February of 2015.

Outreach coordinator for the Light House Project Shadi Sadi says that it was a tweet from Deah about supporting the youth with their projects and unifying the community that inspired him and Deah’s brother Farris to transform a property owned by the Barakat family in Raleigh to the Light House.

“And so it kind of clicked with them,” said Sadi. “They were like, ‘Hey, we have this property, and this is one of the last things that Deah had said.’ So, Farris kicked into action and said, ‘We’re going to renovate this place and make this dream a reality.’ So, that’s what we did over the next year and a half; we tore this house from the ground up.”

The Light House now acts as an incubator for young people inspiring positive change in the community, central to that is the food drive.

Sadi says that it speaks to the impact of Deah, Yusor and Razan to have so many people be so enthusiastic to rally around a cause that they championed during their lives.

“They were a living example of what the ideal Muslim should be,” said Sadi. “I think when they passed away it was kind of like a wake up call. It’s like, ‘Hey, what are we doing with our lives?’”

Sadi says the sheer number of people from different backgrounds getting involved with the food drive was inspiring and surprising to him, but also bittersweet.

“You see all these people and all this good that’s happening, and then you pause and you go, ‘Man, I just wish Deah, Yusor and Razan were here to see this,’” said Sadi.

The final drop-off for the Interfaith Food Drive takes place on February 24 at the Islamic Center of Raleigh.

More information on the Light House Project is available at here.

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