After 11,000+ meals for poor, NGO seeks corporate funds for lockdown 2.0

After having served meals to 11,900 marginalised poor and supplied grocery essentials to 2,600 needy families in the city, Saad Pratishthan Pune Trust has appealed

After having served meals to 11,900 marginalised poor and supplied grocery essentials to 2,600 needy families in the city, Saad Pratishthan Pune Trust has appealed to corporates for sponsorship to help additional 1,500-2,000 families with ration kits.

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Marginalised people such as migrant labourers, homeless destitutes, scrap pickers, jobless daily wagers, commercial sex workers and others were the focus of attention for the relief work.

The trust received about Rs 50 lakhs in donations from individuals and organisations for relief work during the 21-day lockdown. Funding of Rs 5 lakhs from National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) was used to distribute 1,000 health kits to waste-pickers and policemen.

With the lockdown having been extended the NGO has appealed to new donors, especially corporate sponsorship. The trust volunteers fan out in different areas of the city and distribute ration kits and meal to the deserving poor and the needy.

On Friday, a car loaded with meals and ration kits meandered through the arterial areas of the city, distributing meals and ration kits to the poor. The distribution was undertaken near Sardar Vallabhai Patel Cantonment General Hospital where the hungry and the homeless were fed. The joy of the receivers knew no bounds upon receiving the food packets from volunteers Chinmay Damle and Sai Tamhane.

Speaking of the two worlds that exist in Indian society- one of abundance and the other poverty, Sai Tamhane said, “There is a need to bridge the gulf between the haves and have-nots in the society. Our mission is to ensure that the vulnerable sections of the society don’t stay hungry.”

Damle said meals and rations were being distributed after due diligence and verification as per a list provided to them by credible NGOs.

Amit Dhole, trustee, Saad Pratishthan said. “Our focus has been on reaching out to people whose names are not in the voters’ lists and people who don’t have ration cards. While local corporators or MLAs often and to a large extent, take care of their voter base, this other section of the urban poor is the most vulnerable. Most of them are migrants and have no line of credit at the local store nor any formal channel through which they can access the government ration shop.”

Saad has served 850-1,100 cooked meals daily with the help of Tiranga Bhuvan, Kothrud; Poona Guest House, Urban Foundry and Westin Hotel. Daily, around 400 ration kits weighing 30 kg each have been distributed across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. These kits contain 10 kg rice, 10 kg wheat flour, 5 kg mix dal, 2 kg besan, 2 litres oil, ½ kilo spices , 1 kg salt and soap.

The trust has obtained police permission for four trucks and five private cars and a group of young men and women have been serving as volunteers. Some NGOs have provided assistance by identifying the most needy. Precaution is being taken in terms of hygiene and avoiding mass gatherings.

The trust was founded by Suhas Dhole, chairman, UGC Supply Chain Solutions Pvt Ltd as a social foundation to work towards humanitarian causes in Pune district.

“We are grateful to our donors for enabling us to help the poorest of the poor in these testing times. With the funds ,we have collected so far, we hope to feed around 5,000 people. We plan to continue the initiative till a week after the lockdown ends,” Suhas Dhole said.

BOX: Issues and Challenges

• Many beneficiaries attended to by Saad Trust unable to access government’s food distribution network due to absence of ration cards

* Received support from NGOs like Robin Hood Army, Mashal, Samapathik Trust, Saheli, Janaseva Foundation, Manoday Vyasan Mukti Kendra and others.

* Marginalised communities which need attention: Potraj (Khadimachine chowk, Hadapsar SRA), Rajgond (Gosawi vasti), Pardhi (Bopodi), the LGBTHI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Hijara, Intersex) community across Pune through Samapathik Trust; Commercial sex workers (with the help of Saheli NGO and Faraskhana Police station), various nomadic tribes and daily wage labourers, migrant workers.

* Areas of operation: Sangvi,Yerawada, Pimpri, Charholi budruk, HInjewadi, Hadapsar, Sasanenagar, Vimannagar, Lohegaon and Katraj, among others