For him, charity begins at home

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 22

He was only five years old when his father, a mason, got injured while working and was admitted to a government hospital in Ludhiana. The parents could not afford to buy food from outside and, hence, the child for over a week survived on donated and left over food ‘offered’ by fellow patients or NGOs.

This had made such an impact on Shiv Ram Saroay’s mind that a few years ago, he opened his own NGO, Ann Jal Sewa Trust, and is running community kitchens in over five districts. The recent one was opened at the Civil Hospital in Jalandhar under the ‘Sanjhi Rasoi’ project offering Rs 10 for a thali. The Saroay family has a tale depicting his struggle, passion and dedication towards society.

“While we are offering free langar at majority of the places, we have collaborated with the district administration here to run the project in association with the Red Cross Society. We are offering food at Rs 10 for a thali,” said Shiv Ram Saroay.

“We are running two community kitchens at the Civil Hospital in Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Hoshiarpur. Also, talks are on with the district administration of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Nawanshahr and Sangrur,” he said.

It is a matter of concern that with no consistent support from the government and the media, how is he running the show uninterruptedly.

“As far as the raw material is concerned, we are getting support from a few major corporate houses in the state and also many of our NGO members are donating Rs 500 a month. However, for the manpower inside the kitchen, we have tied up with the Jail Department to get help from inmates under the community service programme,” said Saroay.

Saroay said as per the policy, juveniles lodged in jails had to do a community service for 300 hours and the Trust has begun taking their services in Ludhiana. Also, talks are on at other places to get juveniles working in others kitchens also. At present, 35 juveniles are working in his community kitchen in Ludhiana.

Family is support system

What is the reaction of his family? Are they supportive? “Oh yes! They are not only supportive but also work 24x7 inside the kitchen. “My wife Usha and daughter Nancy also helps the kitchen staff in distributing the food among the needy. Also, they support me in getting extra food collected from various party halls and marriage palaces,” he said.

There are over 3,000 persons who are at present feeding themselves from various community kitchens being run by the Saroay family in various districts.

When asked how does he feel on seeing so many eyes filled with contentment after feeding their hunger, he said: “I see my father in each and every person who comes to my community kitchen. All I want is that no one should go back empty stomach from here. After all, god has given me this duty and I will do it with dedication,” Saroay said.

“Though we are managing our daily affairs with support of little donation we get from our NGO members but for the Jalandhar kitchen, we need a refrigerator and some kitchen appliances to run the kitchen smoothly,” he added.