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“Army of Robin hoods” distribute blankets as mercury dips in Pune
Robins’ from the Robin Hood Army, a volunteer-based zero funds organization distributed a total of 60 blankets on Sunday
With the mercury dropping in Pune, availing warmth is now a luxury for those who can’t afford it.
An army of good Samaritans have taken it upon themselves to distribute blankets to fight the cold weather.
‘Robins’ from the Robin Hood Army, a volunteer-based zero funds organization distributed a total of 60 blankets on Sunday in Kondhwa and around 175 in Jejuri.
“Today we had around 60 blankets to donate which came from two donors. This was just for the Kondhwa region. Today, we also had a successful drive in Jejuri, 65 kilometres from Pune, where we have given about 200 grocery kits and 175 blankets” said Umme Sutarwala, volunteer coordinator for the Wanowrie chapter, who has been with RHA for almost four years now.
The organisation prefers to accept donations in kind rather than cash like ration, blankets, and their “happiness pack” which contains 12 kilograms of rice, five kilograms of dal, two kilograms of sugar, one kilogram of salt, and two litres of oil.
This has been the updated plan of action. The basic motive of RHA was to serve hot fresh meals to people but because of Covid-19 they had to adapt as the demand for action was on the rise during the pandemic.
“We have our regular drives every Sunday where we have food for around 150-200 people from various restaurants and donors. This weekend we had blankets since it is winter and not everyone can afford winter clothing,” added Sutarwala.
The Robin Hood Army was started in 2014 by Harvard graduate Neel Ghose along with three other counterparts in New Delhi. In about six years, they have grown into an organization with over 75,000 robins working tirelessly in 200+ cities all over India and abroad.
“As long as we have generous donors, money is not that big of an issue, especially in Pune. We keep getting calls from donors who want to give more. So it is not an issue. We do have to scout for donors to start with but once they are set up, it becomes smooth sailing.” explained Darshan Narang, a resident of Kondhwa, who has been volunteering with RHA for 3 years.
Before the Covid-19 outbreak, the RHA volunteers were feeding hundreds on regular basis. The volunteers picked up surplus food from restaurants, caterings at weddings, and housewarming parties.
“The major reason RHA can work so smoothly is there are no monetary donations involved. We have people who come of their own will and all our volunteers are extremely dedicated to make the globe hunger-free. Mixing in money in this system can attract people with ill-intentions and will corrupt the system put in place,” added Sutarwala.
