With 47 confirmed cases of coronavirus in South Carolina including one death in Lexington County, three college students who are part of the Upstate’s Muslim community have chosen to give back when Greenville’s most vulnerable are in need by providing groceries and other essentials to local charities.

“We believe that if we show mercy to others, God will show mercy to us,” Fareeha Munawar said on Tuesday.

Munawar helped initiate the effort with her son, Wajih Qazi, a Clemson student, Sofia Siddiqui, a student at Furman and University of South Carolina student Sameer Ebrahim.

Munawar, who teaches social studies and South Carolina history at As-Sabeel Academy of Greenville, said she has been involved in community work for 15 years.

“All the doom and gloom in the media, it was hurting me so much and then when the kids were coming home from college I said, 'How do we change a negative situation into something which is uplifting, which is adding some positivity in the air?'” Munawar said.

Local closings and updates: Schools | Colleges | Grocery stores | Churches | Businesses & Events | Restaurants |

Munawar and Qazi spent Tuesday afternoon at Lowes Foods in Greer, buying food items with about $70 of their own money which they later delivered to Greer Relief & Resources Agency.

Siddiqui, the Furman student, contributed $25 in groceries from ALDI to the agency; Ebrahim, $100 in groceries from WalMart.

“You're home, you want to just help your community,” Qazi said. “You just want to be here and do what you can.”

Siddiqui said there are members of the Greenville community with pre-existing medical conditions leaving them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and that as students with a common faith, together, they had something to offer.

“I think as students we also know that those who are older and those who have heart, lung and immune diseases are more vulnerable to the virus so that helps us perpetuate this idea of giving back to the community and combine the knowledge we have with our faith-based principles,” said Siddiqui.

Ebrahim, who began the first week of USC's extended spring break this week, said he preferred serving to sitting still.

“There are a lot of methods one could use to spend their extended spring break,” Ebrahim said. ”You could relax and go on the phone and be isolated from the community or you could get involved and help out and this is something to get more active and involved that I would rather do than just sit at home by myself.”

He said his faith played a significant role in his desire to serve the community he loves and explained that he does not see his religion as a set of restrictions in his life, but as a code of ethics that guide his principles.

“For my religion, I don't see it as rules and conditions of what I can and cannot do, I see it as a code of ethics, and the code of ethics says take care of others before you take care of yourself,” Ebrahim said. “Take care of your larger community. They don't have to be of your religion for you to take care of them. We're all a giant community and it's our responsibility to help others.”