Christened Neki Ka Pitaara, the fridge was stocked with soy milk, biscuits, groundnut chikki and an assortment of fruits by Tonde.
Hasmukh Bavishi, Chief Accountant at a petrol pump in Akola, recently brought in his most emotional birthday celebrations ever. To mark her father 74th birthday, Nagpur-based school teacher Trupti Tonde volunteered to refill the refrigerator at Nagpur's Central India Institute of Medical Sciences (CIIMS) with food that patients and their relatives at the institute can avail for free.
Christened Neki Ka Pitaara, the fridge was stocked with soy milk, biscuits, groundnut chikki and an assortment of fruits by Tonde. "After filling the fridge with the items when I turned there were 25 people waiting. My father was so happy with the gift that he had tears in his eyes," Tonde said.
With her contribution, Tonde joins an initiative to crowd-source food started by Nagpur-based Central Railway employee Khushroo Poacha, 49. The initiative titled Seva Kitchen sees volunteers across seven cities in India visiting their nearest hospital and feed around 2,500 patients and their relatives in hospitals every Sunday. "Some volunteers carry out Seva throughout the week in some hospitals. This latest initiative is an extension of that," Poacha said.
To be part of the Seva Kitchen, volunteers are asked to refill the fridge at CIIMS the by coming there. Or they can bring in packaged food and fruits, or order online and get it delivered to the institute. The management is also involved in the project; the hospital's medical social worker Madhuri Bhoskar is the admin of the WhatsApp group created for the purpose.
"I take a picture of the fridge when the contents are about to get over. Whoever wishes to stock it goes ahead and does it. The food normally lasts for around two days," Bhoskar said.
The fridge is outside the general ward of the hospital and is accessible for one hour in the morning and again in the evening. "The first day we kept it open for 24 hours but realised that many who don't need the food were walking away with it. Now we make announcements in the general ward when the fridge is unlocked, so those in need can avail its benefits," Bhoskar said.
Tonde, who has been a part of the Seva initiative for 10 months now, also oversees food distribution in two hospitals in Nagpur every Sunday. "It's also a way of impart life lessons to mt daughters. My younger daughter is in class 12. I brought her along to show her how lucky is and that there are so many people in need of help," Tonde said.
The fridge at CMIIS was donated by a couple visiting Nagpur from the US. "We plan to install one each at two more hospitals in Nagpur. We hope to replicate this model in hospitals across several cities," Poacha said.
Through these initiatives, Poacha hopes to ease the stress on family members of patients admitted in the hospital by providing them with food. Khushroo Poacha can be contacted on 9561011264.
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