Serving every afternon..
This little one jumps at the food! So cute!
Locals come support us:
Donors Board:
Friday, September 18, 2009
Donors for Daily Mass Feeding
Inspired and generous donors come forward everyday to sponsor this initiative of Daily Mass Feeding in cash and in kind. Some prefer sending in cheques and some prefer donating groceries needed to cook the food we serve. Some celebrate the special days like birthdays, anniversaries by contributing to this noble cause.
We at SPCT, like to acknowledge and thank this gesture by putting up their name on the board outside when the feeding is done so the people who take away the food can thank their sponsors
We even encourage the sponsors to come and experience the joy in serving the people.
You know where to contact if you would like your name on our hall of fame board, contact us at donate@wipeatearremoveapain.org or call us at +91 93412 59083
Wipe a Tear, Remove a Pain!!
My afternoons...
The most looked forward time of the day for me is the afternoons between 1 - 2pm. For most of us who are working, we look forward for this time of the day because we get a break from the non stop work since the day began.
But for me personally its because I get to spend some time with the poor and needy who stand outside the SPCT office in Rajarajeshwari Nagar,Bangalore looking for a sumptuous lunch. Somedays I just stand and watch the priceless expression on their faces. Expression of satisfaction when they put that first morsel in their mouth, expression of pangs of hunger they feel while standing in the line waiting for their turn, expression of curiosity to see whats there for lunch today, expression of happiness when they get a sweet with lunch, expression of motherhood when she feeds her little one. You can just stand there and enjoy these moments.
Then there are some days when I go speak to them when they come and share their experiences on how their life has changed because of the unlimited food they take back home in the afternoon. Some say, thanks to the annadana, they dont find the need to buy groceries as they take back food for the full family for dinner too. This helps them save a lot of money and that amount they save goes for her daughters education. Some say that since the food is nutritious and blessed by a Divine being Shri Shri Nimishananda (the driving force behind SPCT) it has helped and cured them of a lot of diseases. There are innumerable such experiences they shared, but at the moment I just recollect these two.
Some days I just feel like serving these people who come there longing for healthy food. Serving them is a different experience in itself. There are moments while serving when my head says - "You have given him three servings of rice. Enough. There needs to enough for the others too." But then when I look up and see their faces and my heart melts and I want to serve them till the brim of the vessel they have brought. Who I am to say how much they should get, I dont know how many mouths he/she has to feed, so how can I decide?
At the end of that one hour as everyone starts moving back home, I go back inside with mixed feelings. One side I feel sad about the difficulties they have to go through for basic neccesity of food, but on the other hand, glad and blessed to be part of such a great cause who can help such needy!
If you want to join me, help such people and feel the joy I feel, contact us +91 93412 59083 or email me at donate@wipeatearremoveapain.org or reachus@wipeatearremoveapain.org
Wipe a Tear, Remove a Pain!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
They never go hungry... - an article in Times of India
According to a latest study and Times of India, India is failing its rural poor with 230 million people being undernourished — the highest for any country in the world. Malnutrition accounts for nearly 50% of child deaths in India as every third adult (aged 15-49 years) is reported to be thin (BMI less than 18.5).
According to the latest report on the state of food insecurity in rural India, more than 1.5 million children are at risk of becoming malnourished because of rising global food prices.
With such statistics, Shree Public Charitable Trust started the Annadana initiative for the locals around Rajarajeshwari Nagar.
The Times of India covered this initiative of ours and the article was published in the monday edition (14th September) on page 5.
They are destitute, some come from broken families and others are left to fend for themselves in the twilight of life - yet hunger is what pains them the most. At times, two square meals a day can even be wishful thinking.
Fortunately, the Shree Public Charitable Trust's (SPCT) Nithya Annadana or daily mass feeding project ushers in that much needed ray of hope. Every day as the clock strikes 1.30 in the afternoon, the young and old start queuing up near the SPCT office to collect their share of food - a healthy and nutritious meal served to over 250 below-poverty line (BPL) people, around the year.
Nurtured under the aegis of Shri Shri Nimishananda, SPCT was set up in 2006 in Rajarajeshwari Nagar. The Nithya Annadana project was initiated in the same year. "Food is such a basic necessity for existence, yet thousands go to bed on an empty stomach every day. We wanted to start at the grassroots level," says Roopa Satish, a trustee.
The downtrodden from several slums in the vicinity of SPCT office have benefited from this project over the years. "Here I can eat a full meal to my heart's content at least once a day. The food is fresh and served with lot of love. I can even pack food for my kids back home," says domestic worker Lakshamamma, who was deserted by her husband.
There are regular variations in the menu -- bisibele bath, tomato rice, pongal, puliyogare rice, lemon rice -- the taste changes on a daily basis. During festival time, sweets are an addition. "On the first day, people kept trying to break the queue as they were sceptical if there would be enough food for all. Today they know everyone will get sufficient food, no matter when and in what numbers they come," says Vani Vasudev, a volunteer with the Trust.
"Sometimes outsiders too contribute to the annadana to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays and other auspicious occasions," she adds.
"With regular intake of food, the health of many of these undernourished people has improved. The money they save on food can be utilized to meet other requirements of life," says Ashwini Prasad, also a volunteer.
The Trust has 30 full-time volunteers and around 50 part-time volunteers for specialized activities. Some of their other initiatives include providing a free ambulance service in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, organizing regular health camps, distributing free notebooks and other scholastic aid to rural schools.
Nurtured under the aegis of Shri Shri Nimishananda, SPCT was set up in 2006 in Rajarajeshwari Nagar. The Nithya Annadana project was initiated in the same year. "Food is such a basic necessity for existence, yet thousands go to bed on an empty stomach every day. We wanted to start at the grassroots level," says Roopa Satish, a trustee.
The downtrodden from several slums in the vicinity of SPCT office have benefited from this project over the years. "Here I can eat a full meal to my heart's content at least once a day. The food is fresh and served with lot of love. I can even pack food for my kids back home," says domestic worker Lakshamamma, who was deserted by her husband.
There are regular variations in the menu -- bisibele bath, tomato rice, pongal, puliyogare rice, lemon rice -- the taste changes on a daily basis. During festival time, sweets are an addition. "On the first day, people kept trying to break the queue as they were sceptical if there would be enough food for all. Today they know everyone will get sufficient food, no matter when and in what numbers they come," says Vani Vasudev, a volunteer with the Trust.
"Sometimes outsiders too contribute to the annadana to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays and other auspicious occasions," she adds.
"With regular intake of food, the health of many of these undernourished people has improved. The money they save on food can be utilized to meet other requirements of life," says Ashwini Prasad, also a volunteer.
The Trust has 30 full-time volunteers and around 50 part-time volunteers for specialized activities. Some of their other initiatives include providing a free ambulance service in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, organizing regular health camps, distributing free notebooks and other scholastic aid to rural schools.
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