Before leaving his house at G.K.M. Colony in Kolathur in the morning, student-volunteer D. Asir Dinakar slips into a Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) suit. With his team of friends, all dressed similarly, they distribute food to the needy.
A 15-member team from Sugam Foundation Trust is among the various non-profit organisations helping Greater Chennai Corporation in its relief work across the city for the last one month. The team is divided into different groups and take up food distribution and procurement of grocery kit comprising cooking oil, daal, sugar and biscuits.
These youngsters hop into a car and stop whenever they see homeless people and offer them a packet of food and a 500 ml water bottle. “All of us pool our resources including money to make food every day for the needy. We planned to do it for a few days but seeing the plight of people we did not want to stop the initiative,” says Dinakar, a BBA student.
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Kamaraj Salai, Anna Salai, North Beach Road, NSC Bose Road, Poonamallee High Road, Konnur High Road, Jawarharlal Nehru Main Road and Nungambakkam Main Road are some areas they travel to. On an average, they distribute more than 500 food packets. The menu mostly contains rice varieties like sambar, lemon, tamarind with boiled egg.
The entire volunteering work is being guided by Reenukumar, who leads the Trust, which focuses on education and upliftment of women. “We plan to continue providing food until normality returns in the city,” says Dinakar.
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