Every Sunday A Roti Day now has 200 volunteers to feed slum kids

It started in 2018, by Nitin Chandeya, 47 and his friends who decided to help the underprivileged kids from the slums to feed them a one-time breakfast every Sunday. They initially started serving roti and sabzi prepared from their kitchen while today they have more than 200 people who sponsor the food and also participate in distributing the food to the kids

Mumbai: Five friends from Kalyan who started small to feed the slum kids from their kitchen every Sunday expanded their dreams of feeding the needy. Today, more than 200 people from Kalyan and nearby cities have joined them in the initiative named “Every Sunday A Roti Day”.

Kalyan India - january 15 2023 Pics: A group of five friends from Kalyan who initiated "every Sunday a roti day" a service to help needy kids with good every Sunday since last 5 years is now a group of 200 plus residents to contribute for this initiative. Today also the group served 150 kids in Kalyan, in a slum near Mutha college. on Sunday. in India 15 2023. (Pramod Tambe HT Photo)

It started in 2018, by Nitin Chandeya, 47 and his friends who decided to help the underprivileged kids from the slums to feed them a one-time breakfast every Sunday. They initially started serving roti and sabzi prepared from their kitchen while today they have more than 200 people who sponsor the food and also participate in distributing the food to the kids.

On Sunday, at least 150 kids from the slum area near the Mutha College in Kalyan were fed with a puri, bhaji, tilgul, fruits and milkshake.

“Entire week we work to earn our bread and dedicate one Sunday to the needy kids. It actually gives us immense pleasure and satisfaction that these kids are not left hungry for one day because of us. We named it ‘Every Sunday A Roti Day’ because we all connect to our Indian bread roti,” said Nitin Chandeya, 47, an employee of a private company.

The group now had a chain of people who regularly sponsor the Sunday breakfast. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this group proved to be a great help to many needy kids and their families as they kept distributing food. The group has hired a catering service owner from Kalyan who provides fresh breakfast items for the kids.

“We have got sponsors from Surat, Rajasthan, Delhi as well as abroad. It is just through word-of-mouth people kept joining the initiative. We did not do any kind of promotions. The pictures we share of the kids eating the breakfast with all smiles is what motivates many to come forward and contribute,” added Chandeya.

“Not just food, sometimes we also provide blankets, footwear, and clothes to the kids in need. We are now also planning to tie up with the civic body and hospitals to reach out to more people. We can only do this with more people coming forward and contributing to the same. The result we get through this initiative is a sense of relief even if we are able to feed one needy kid,” said Nilesh Patel, 48, one of the group members.