On a mission to serve the needy
City NGO serve needy helps the homeless
By : neha jha
Update: 2015-04-18 23:13 GMT
Hyderabad: In times when we see people struggling for a better paycheck, there are people like Gautham Kumar who quit his high-paying job to serve the poor and homeless. He started the NGO, Serve Needy, to make lives of the poor and needy better. They have so far made a difference to 15 people by providing them with basic needs.
“There are several projects that we take care of. Firstly, we try to save the life of a homeless. We interact with homeless persons to know more about their past, what brought them to the streets etc. We also do background checks where we talk to people around the street they live in, we check with the cops if the homeless person has any criminal records, or if there is a mention in the ‘missing list’. We then look for a home and post about the same on our Facebook page. Those interested then come ahead to sponsor the homeless person. Hence, we give a permanent solution by giving him/her food, shelter and clothes,” says Gautham, who started the NGO in the city a year back.
The NGO also works towards educating slum children. Besides textbook knowledge, the kids are also taught morals and values. “Our third project is to feed the hungry on streets. We try to make sure that in the areas we cover, we give them at least one meal a day. We sometimes have sponsors who take care of the expenses. In that case, we try to bring more varieties to the plate, otherwise it is just rice and a curry,” says Gautham, adding, “We also go around the city asking people for a ‘fist of rice’. We tell them about the NGO and the cause and ask them to donate a fist of rice. But people have been very generous, they end up giving more than what we ask for. We also donate rice to orphanages and old age homes.”
The group also helps those physically fit to get employment. Gautham has a team of five, which include G. Indu (who quit her job as a lecturer to join the team), Anvesh Gupta (who is pursuing his CA and is actively a part of the NGO), G. Milind (a business development manager who dedicates every weekend to the NGO) and Pranay (who has completed his Masters in Social Work).
Their only source of raising funds for now is their Facebook page (where donors get in touch with them) and the donation boxes across various hostels in the city. “We raise at least Rs 50-60,000 per month through our 15 sponsors. Due to lack of funds, we have to restrict our activities in the city and can’t go all out to help the needy,” says Gautham.