For every bite of food gone waste, there is a life that could have been saved. And for every penny spent so carelessly, there’s a possibility of making one life better with the use of that penny. This is the idea of Each One, Feed One.
In an interview with Yasmin Bhadha, CSR Professional, we discussed how Annamrita impacted her life through her charity donation.
Over the past 2 years, I have been involved with Annamrita Foundation as my corporates participated in the mid day meal programme. However, it was only during my personal visit to the schools that the importance of providing mid day meals in schools for underprivileged children hit me. Being a mother of two teenagers, I understand the importance of good nourishment for growing children. My daily thought is: Are my children getting good nourishment to see them through the day?
Seeing really small children patiently waiting in their classrooms in municipality schools, or the elder ones rushing out to be first in the line during recess, made me realize this was probably the first meal of the day for many of them. I was also happy to see that there was no fixed quantity served and that each child was welcome to eat as much as he/she desired.
With this began my personal involvement with Annamrita and I felt I wanted to do a little bit more from my side for these children. And thus the seed of Each One, Feed One Crowdfunding Campaign was born, through which we aimed to raise funds for 500 children, by reaching out to 500 people to donate for the meal of one child for one year. Within a very short time, we achieved our target! And many of the donors were so happy with the cause that they planned to donate for child education in the future. Perhaps my most satisfying moment was when both my children, on hearing about the cause, donated a part of their pocket-money for the Each One, Feed One campaign!
Kudos to the entire Annamrita team for the wonderful work they are doing. Soon you will be able to reach out to many more children from your new large kitchen in Mumbai and this means many more will have access to your nourishing meals, which will ensure they are getting educated as well.
Meals are something so basic for most of us, but the privileged take it for granted, it is only when we see their value on an empty stomach do we realise their importance. It is truly a life force, especially when created with love and care the way Annamrita does.
I would urge everyone to come forward and see the project and donate to charity online for the betterment of a child’s future, cause every Rupee counts.
Yasmin Bhadha
CSR Professional & Champion Fundraiser
