A group of like-minded people here, who are part of a collective named ‘Madurai Virundhu,’ has been ensuring that remnant food from marriage halls, functions at households and other places reached people who were in need.
S. Umar Sherif, a dentist and coordinator of the collective, said the idea to carry out such an initiative came when he received a call few months back from Agavizhi , a home for the visually challenged. As my friends had myself earlier offered assistance to the home, they called me one day to check if we could deliver some excess food to needy people. I was touched by their intent. The home itself is in dire need of support and they want to ensure that the little excess food they had did not go waste,” he said.
Dr. Umar said the incident also made him realise the need for an interfacing mechanism between those who have food and those who need them. “However, I was not sure how it could be done,” he said.
Later, a chance meeting with a team from Coimbatore, who were doing similar kind of work, gave Dr. Umar and his team the confidence and Madurai Virundhu was born within a couple of weeks.
On a typical day, the work starts for the Madurai Virundhu team, which has around 10 core members, in the afternoon when they start receiving calls, predominantly from marriage halls, about availability of food.
S. Senthilkumar, a key member of the group, said the team enquires about the quantity available and when it was prepared. “Just because we are distributing to those who cannot afford food, we cannot give them poor quality or spoiled food,” he said.
Generally, a member of Madurai Virundhu visits the place to check the quality of food and brings it to the clinic of Dr. Umar, which adds up as the office of Madurai Virundhu. The food is then packed and sent to different places.
“Earlier, we were sending it only to homes. Now, we are distributing to individual homeless people, often in public places like bus stands,” he said.
While the team has a list of around 50 homes, where food is normally delivered, Dr. Umar said the demand is more. Madurai Virundhu is now making efforts, to display their number in marriage halls, so that more donors could reach them. “We are not particular about quantity. Even if it is sufficient to feed 10 hungry people, we are happy to take the food,” he added.
V. Nithya, an event manager, who joined the team after seeing their work through social media, said the work gave her instant gratification compared to many other social activities. “For instance, if I plant a sapling, I need to wait for at least few months to see the outcome. On the other hand, we are able to satisfy the hunger of a starving person today.” she said.
Mr. Senthilkumar said their work had also made them realise certain harsh realities. “We always think that the homeless people are in need of food. But in many places, they ask us for water since majority of our public places do not have drinking water facilities and these people are not allowed by hotels or shops to use their cups,” he said.
To address this, the team has collected nearly 3,000 water bottles which they are planning to distribute to homeless people.
On future plans, Dr. Umar says that, as the number of calls they are receiving is on the rise, the team wants to identify volunteers in different localities. “Doing it in a centralised manner demands more money and manpower. So, we want to identify local volunteers who can collect and distribute food in their areas,” he said.
The team is also planning to launch a mobile application to connect the volunteers and also for public to inform about availability of excess food.
The team can be contacted at the number 96003 78786
We are not particular about quantity. Even if it is sufficient to feed 10 hungry people, we are happy to take the food
S. Umar Sherif
Dentist and coordinator of ‘Madurai Virundhu’
The work gives me instant gratification as we are able to satisfythe hunger of a
starving person
V. Nithya
Event manager and volunteer
