Non-Profit Initiative
Founders: Saniya Prabhu, Tia Nagpal, Aashna Thomas and Pallavi Tulpule
It’s ironic, isn’t it? The idea of starting a non-profit organization to fight malnutrition came about on a dining table, as four girls ate at a restaurant in the suburbs of Bandra.
Pre-lockdown, the four of us sat at a table at a restaurant. However, by the end of our meal, we realized that we had ordered too much food and requested the waiter to pack our leftovers. He responded by saying that this particular restaurant had a ‘no packing policy’ which meant that they didn’t pack food but rather threw away the excess.
On learning this, we were taken aback. Millions of people across our country struggle to eat even one meal a day. Yet here we were, throwing away nutritious food without giving it a second thought. We felt strongly about this but couldn’t find an opportunity to help.
That was until the Raah Foundation approached us.
This is Gift of Nutrition, an initiative in collaboration with The Raah Foundation. Our primary objective is to fight malnutrition in the tribal villages of Maharashtra. We aim to raise funds and awareness about the struggling tribes of Jawhar and Mokhada in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, with the main focus on the malnourished children, who hardly get to eat a meal a day.
Our work involves creating interesting content to educate everyone around us about malnutrition as well as the tribes.
We have undertaken various projects to achieve our aim such as interviewing nutritionists and other professionals in the space of malnutrition and much more.
Our most recent and exciting project was – The Seminar. The Seminar was conducted by the four of us on Sunday, 6th June, 2021. During the course of this seminar, we provided accurate details and information regarding malnutrition and why it is affecting Indians in particular. We donated Rs 100 from our side for each person that attended our seminar. In addition, almost all the people who attended our seminar donated an additional desired amount to our fundraiser.
We also invited a renowned nutritionist- Ms Sonali Kocharekar, to give a speech at our seminar. She explained in detail, to all our attendees, the need to provide the correct food groups and nutrients to these malnourished children.
All in all our project has got off to a very promising start, and we sincerely hope that with your cooperation and support, we will be able to make a significant difference in the lives of these children.
“If you can’t feed a hundred children, feed just one” is the motto that inspires us to do what we do!