This Kolkata NGO will help celebrate your birthday by using Rs 3000 to feed 100 families for a day

The Kolkata Gives Foundation began the initiative on May 1 and they have already received over a dozen calls for donations on birthdays this month
Giving out ration to the needy | Photo: Kolkata Gives
Giving out ration to the needy | Photo: Kolkata Gives

Are you sad that you have your birthday amid the Coronavirus lockdown and cannot step out? Wait. What if we told you that a party is completely possible. This non-profit organisation in Kolkata has come up with a unique way to celebrate your birthdays or anniversaries — to make it the kind that you may remember for life. The Kolkata Gives Foundation's new initiative amid the COVID-19 crisis allows you to donate Rs 3000 that can feed up to 100 needy families for a single day in different rural areas of Bengal. The team will try and deliver the ration kits to the families on your birthday/anniversary and you might even get a 'Happy Birthday/anniversary' call from them!

On March 29, Kolkata Gives embarked on a project to mobilise donations to fund the food requirements of 10,000 livelihood-affected families in Bengal. The organisation estimated that an allocation of Rs 3000 worth of rations that would be enough for 100 families for a day. The trustees of the organisation were the first to contribute a cumulative 10 per cent of the total target before the organisation began mobilising donations. Their kit provides a mix of rations — rice, dal, cooking oil, soap, potatoes, onions, atta, masoor dal, salt, soya oil and mustard oil. "We sourced food rations from Metro Cash and Carry and Spencer's Retail. We partnered with 27 NGOs on the ground in order to reach the targetted families. We have started giving out masks to families and aim to provide them to 10 lakh families over time," says Satabdi Das, who works with the non-profit.

One of the workers, who benefitted from their ration kits said, "I am lucky to live in this neighbourhood. NGOs have been of great help. When one loses hope that one will even survive, here comes this NGO and provides food. I have never been excited by the sight of rice bags lying in the corner of the NGO's office waiting to be distributed, as I was a few days ago. It meant only one thing: Aamra baanchbo (we will live)," said Balai Karmakar (60), a resident of Kalighat Road.

She added that the birthday initiative idea was that of the trustees. "Because people can't get out of their houses amid the lockdown, they can be given an option to donate and celebrate their birthdays and anniversaries. We began from May 1, 15 people have already contacted us and donated for their birthdays, anniversaries this month," she said. Speaking about the initiative, Mudar Patherya, one of the trustees of the organisation, said, "We believe that this unique platform is scalable and can introduce a new element to the subject of donation and philanthropy. This is a way in which people can spread happiness in someone's life."

Kolkata Gives is a non-profit that was founded in 2014 and since then it has been bridging the gap between non-profits with funders and donors, optimising the impact of social initiatives in many critical areas such as education, health, livelihood and community development.

You can also donate on their website: http://kolkatagives.in/

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