Various NGOs and individuals have been selflessly aiding the helpless amidst the pandemic
Ahmednagar’s Ghar Ghar Langar Sewa NGO has been providing meals for the underprivileged since the beginning of the lockdown. They have been preparing large quantities of food since March 4 after the local municipal corporation hinted at the Covid-19 situation turning severe again. Harjeet Singh Wadhwa, an engineer by profession, began the initiative last year in March 2020. The group focused on feeding the underprivileged during the tumultuous time of the pandemic. It started with seven volunteers and expanded as the requests and requirements increased. Even the local police have been helping the organisation in distributing meals and dry rations. Ghar Ghar Langar Sewa has been helping run the Covid-19 centres in the area by providing food for the sick. As the second wave hits India, the challenges faced by the organisation have multiplied. The volunteers are delivering food door to door, risking their health and safety.
Food entrepreneur Ronita Ghosh is famous for her made-to-order biryanis and food items throughout Mumbai and Pune. She has been using the infrastructure of her company, Jikoni, to deliver “Happiness Dabbas”. These tiffins include various khichdi for workers and ambulance drivers of Sassoon hospital, migrant labourers, police officers, patients and their families. Similarly, Aakanksha Sadekar had volunteered to prepare tiffins for a few medical students, but soon she found herself cooking for over 85 tiffins every day. Soon, other volunteers joined her who help her prepare and deliver Dabbas throughout the city. People have been donating money and dry rations to help ‘food warriors’ like Sadekar and Ghosh feed others in need.
A marketing consultant and the owner of the startup ‘Unlock Nature’, Vishnupriya Mishra, found herself infected with Covid-19 last year. She consulted a nutritionist to create a diet rich in proteins to recover her strength. After her recovery, she set out to help others who were infected. She reached out to various housing societies and social media groups and offered simple home-cooked food with green vegetables and protein sources. Dunzo has offered to help her deliver her tiffins. Every day, based on her nutrition counselling, she prepares around 9-10 vegetarian packets of dal, chapati, vegetable and a source of protein. She cooks the meals herself in order to maintain utmost hygiene and safety for the recipients.
