When the cold and snow had people seeking shelter at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center last week, a woman who saw a little bit of her life experience in those people stepped up to help.
"I say, 'I will help you,'" Shaza Alsharaa said.
Alsharaa stepped up to help the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief provide food for people in the emergency shelter.
"She's my lifesaver," Hala Halabi of ICNA Relief said of Alsharaa. "There's nothing impossible for her. Everything's possible."
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Alsharaa made 700 meals over 3 days to feed people in the shelter. One hundred forty pounds of rice and hotel pans of drumsticks filled her home kitchen.
Alsharaa is a former Syrian refugee who came to Dallas six years ago.
"I came here with my husband for a new life, for a good life with my kids," Alsharaa said.
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That's when she said she learned to cook by watching YouTube and asking friends.
"We needed help from anybody here when we came," Alsharaa said.
She wants to pay the kindness she received forward.
"They want to give back," Halabi said. "They want to do something for others. They want to show the reality of the refugee."
Alsharaa said she hopes the people who ate her warm meals on those cold days know one thing.
"They will feel we love them," Alsharaa said.
