“Noureddine is a kind man. He has helped deliver stuff
to us without charge. When I couldn’t collect my medicine from the clinic, he
did. God bless him.” This is how a neighbor described the way Noureddine
Elmihnida, a former convict in Morocco, is responding to his country’s
coronavirus pandemic.
The thirty-seven-year-old explained: “My parents were
ashamed of me and my actions, and I needed to make things right.” He left
prison determined not to return to a life of crime and drugs, embracing
“the idea of reconciliation, first with my parents who were affected the
most, then with the community I grew up in.”
He and other ex-convicts and some volunteers began working
to make life better in El Youssoufia, a crime-ridden, densely populated
neighborhood. They cleaned, painted, and planted the area.
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Morocco established
strict lockdown measures in March, leaving many elderly and vulnerable people
stuck at home without food or medical supplies.
Elmihnida volunteered to do grocery shopping and pick up
medicine for them. His phone now rings constantly with calls from neighbors or
friends who know someone in need. He writes down their grocery and medical
requests. Then, armed with his permit to leave the lockdown, he does their shopping.
His services have gained the attention of more well-off
residents, who make donations to him that he then distributes to the poor.
“I swore to God not to take any money for my services,” he said.
Another convict released recently from prison has been volunteering with Elmihnida. He said, “Noureddine was a troublemaker for ten years, but he’s a changed man now. He has helped paint the neighborhood and plant it, and now he’s helping people at the most needy…
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