Since the time of the lockdown, the Annamrita Foundation in Pune which has been serving mid-day meals to 40,000 underprivileged children in 110 Government schools, has extended its support to the worst affected people in India. At present, these people are either the migrant labourers who work on daily wages or the ones who work on contract jobs. Most of these people migrated to cities for a better living, but even in the worst of dreams they must have not imagined being in a situation where the entire is in lockdown state due to which there is very little hope to get any possible help for daily sustenance. In such situations, if families are not well taken care of, they could be more vulnerable in outbreak of pandemic.
We began our journey from 25th March by providing meals to 350 people. Gradually we increased from 350 to 60,000 meals per day. Many people who saw our good work have come forward, and recently we also received a big financial support from Padmashri Mr. Rahul Bajaj and Bajaj group of Industries.
Seeing our work authorities of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Cooperation were kind enough in providing masks and sanitizers to all our volunteers who have been taking the effort to distribute free meals at 50 different locations in and around the city!
In the last few weeks we had never thought we will be able to serve 5.60 Lakh meals – which we have distributed till date, with make shift kitchens in Kondhwa, Pimpri and Salisbury Park. Now our vision is to touch the figure of 15 Lakh meals from our three kitchens until 3rd May 2020.
When we began our journey, little did we know that we will be able to touch lives of people in orphanages, old age homes and street vendors. That was only possible because few people decided to extend their support with the mindset that no one around the city should sleeps with an empty stomach. Almost everyone who has been associated with Annamrita Foundation, Pune is simply striving to serve more and more people.
Over the past 15 years, Annamrita has been driven by the vision to create a world in which no one in need goes hungry. We encourage children to go to school each day with nutritious, wholesome and hygienic food. Through this, the children receive more than just physical nourishment; we ensure that they are nourished to excel at sports and other extra-curricular activities too. Breaking the endless cycle of hunger and illiteracy, Annamrita’s reach has transformed lives of more than 10 Lakh children in over 6,500 schools across the country.
This article has been written by Shvetadvip Das and Natvar Das on behalf of Annamrita Foundation, Pune. All views expressed are the authors' own.
