When it comes to fortunes, Forster restaurant owner, Mody Yakout is by no means a wealthy man.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But, what Mody lacks in riches, he has a wealth of generosity in almost endless supplies
Mody, who opened the popular Kings Valley Egyptian restaurant in late 2020, has been providing the vulnerable and the needy with free nutritious meals for the good part of the last nine months.
Mody knows all too well what it's like to be down on his luck.
When he arrived in Forster from the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria seven years ago he struggled financially.
But, Forster Tuncurry families put out the welcome mat, making sure he had a bed to sleep in and a meal to eat.
"They opened their houses and checked on me when I didn't have any finances and food," Mody said.
The former law student spent his time working as a kitchen hand and in security, volunteering with the Red Cross and Vinnies, and learned about tourism and travel.
Mody, who had lived and travelled to many large cities across the globe, said Forster didn't come as a cultural shock.
But, it was different to what he had been used to, it was challenging and confronting.
"It was not easy; I have a different accent and skin colour and it took a while to get accepted."
All meals are made with love.
- Kings Valley Egyptian restaurant owner, Mody Yakout
Eternally grateful for the help he received as a new resident was the impetus behind Mody's decision to help the less fortunate.
"I love Australia; I love this country and Australian people."
On some occasions Mody can feed up to 10 people, some offer him money.
"But, all meals are made with love," Mody said.
"This makes me feel I should do this more often; I should do more good things and I should look after people.
"But this is the only thing I can do at the moment."
From this Tuesday, September 7 Mody and his mate Jimmy Moore, along with staff member, Jodie Wikeepa and Cakes by Candi B owner, Candice Brown will begin a new charity chapter distributing meals on a weekly basis.
The free meals will be either delivered or can be collected at the restaurant front door every Tuesday from 6pm.
Mody explained he was happy to deliver meals because many people were embarrassed to receive charity.
"My door is always open."
Mody says his gesture is not about money or publicity.
"Money comes and goes and you can't take it with you."
"I have made the restaurant as a tribute to my home and the food is all my grandmother's recipes."
Born-again Christian, and mate, Jimmy Moore said this was his way of preaching the gospel through love rather than words.
"With the current atmosphere in Australia and the world a lot of people are doing it tough. Our vision is to offer a little light in a difficult time," Jimmy said.
"We are living this (pandemic) together and we will get out of this together.
"Our goal is to offer a hot meal one night a week in Forster to those in need; free of charge.
"To have love for our neighbours.
Jimmy and Mody had initially considered setting up a street stall to hand out the food parcels.
Forster-based wholesale food distributer, A.J Wilson also has pledged its support to the initiative.
Did you know? Great Lakes Advocate online subscribers not only have 24/7 access to local and national news, sport, what's on and entertainment - they also have access to our print editions in digital format, with all the advertisements and classifieds at their fingertips.