The Kindness of Strangers
A big thank you to all the donors who made our Daan Utsav campaign such a success last month. It’s a wonderful feeling to see complete strangers reach out to provide a helping hand to those who have no one else to turn to. We will always have hope when there are people like you around.
We saw the most interest in supporting food rations for cancer patients. This comes as no surprise to us. Battling cancer is indeed like battling a many headed beast. Imagine trying to survive the disease, undergoing a battery of tests, consuming debilitating medicine. Now imagine being a child fighting cancer far from home and all that’s dear.
The majority of cancer cases in India are treated in Mumbai. Most government hospitals across the country refer patients to Mumbai as they do not have adequately equipped oncology departments of their own. In Mumbai, most people are too poor to afford accommodation, so they end up sleeping on the pavement outside the hospital even as they are undergoing treatment. The cost of the medicines itself is so high that people don’t have money to spend on food.
Other causes which received donations included ISKCON’s Annamrita, the immensely successful midday meal program for children and the sponsorship of textbooks for Vidya Poshak’s meritorious high school students. Annamrita also ran a Khichadi Drive at our associate organisations – Quantum and Equitymaster. The Khichadi Drive aims at creating awareness about the program while raising funds for the children’s meals. We were glad to see them again after a successful (and delicious!) Khichdi Drive at our office last year!
The month ahead promises to be a busy one for us! We are co-hosting an NGO pop-up along with CCI Mumbai, on November 8th. The club's C.K. Nayudu Hall will see 20 NGOs (including Akanksha, Welfare of Stray Dogs, Om Creations, Trinayani) selling their products. We can’t wait to get our hands on cupcakes, lanterns, sarees and toys made by the NGOs. All proceeds will support the NGO’s work, so we’re happy to go home with heavy bags!
We’re sure many of you are gearing up to gorge on mithai, burst crackers and celebrate Diwali with friends and family. Would you like to spread some of your festive joy with those in need? A few hundred rupees could buy rations for an old couple for a month. Make Diwali extra-special for someone this year! After all, happiness comes from giving J
