Mumbai: In a bid to mitigate the pangs of hunger among a section of the poor, the ladies’ wing of World Memon Organisation (WMO) has started free food distribution in some poor pockets of the city and suburbs. At present, every afternoon, a ‘Food Bank Van‘ from WMO carries packets of veg pulao to Azad Nagar, a sprawling slum in Nalasopara, and distributes food among the poor.
“Abject poverty denies even a single meal to many people in a day. Without access to at least one proper meal daily, many do not get interested in studying or learning new skills which can enable them to get jobs,” said Razia Chasmawala, deputy chairperson, Global Ladies’ Wing of WMO.
Chasmawala, who is popular as ‘Mother Teresa of the Memons’, added that a similar initiative was carried out in some poor pockets in Malad (west). “We gave food to the poor for some time before they were persuaded to study and learn some skills which could get them jobs,” said Chasmawala, who often travels to far-off places, mostly impoverished ones.
Comprising around 500 people, mostly migrants from UP and Rajasthan, Azad Nagar is a locality with huts jostling for space. “We are choosing poor pockets according to the scale of deprivation they suffer from. Our volunteers have pointed out a few more poor pockets, and we will provide help there too,” said Chasmawala, who has visited many slums.
Saghir Dange, first deputy mayor of Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation and a Nalasopara resident, said the poor needed constant help and not just free food. “I have maintained that the poor need to be equipped with education and skills. For how long can you distribute food packets among them? Give them taleem (education),” said Dange.
Shah Mohammed Shah, an Azad Nagar resident and a rickshaw driver, said more than food, people of the locality need education and regular jobs. “This food distribution scheme is good, but this is not the final solution to poverty. Unless the youth here are educated and engaged in jobs, poverty will not vanish,” said Shah, who too depended on doles earlier but now earns his bread. To ensure that all the needy accept the food, it is kept vegetarian.
Mumbai: In a bid to mitigate the pangs of hunger among a section of the poor, the ladies’ wing of World Memon Organisation (WMO) has started free food distribution in some poor pockets of the city and suburbs. At present, every afternoon, a ‘Food Bank Van’ from WMO carries packets of veg pulao to Azad Nagar, a sprawling slum in Nalasopara, and distributes food among the poor.
“Abject poverty denies even a single meal to many people in a day. Without access to at least one proper meal daily, many do not get interested in studying or learning new skills which can enable them to get jobs,” said Razia Chasmawala, deputy chairperson, Global Ladies’ Wing of WMO.
Chasmawala, who is popular as ‘Mother Teresa of the Memons’, added that a similar initiative was carried out in some poor pockets in Malad (west). “We gave food to the poor for some time before they were persuaded to study and learn some skills which could get them jobs,” said Chasmawala, who often travels to far-off places, mostly impoverished ones.
Comprising around 500 people, mostly migrants from UP and Rajasthan, Azad Nagar is a locality with huts jostling for space. “We are choosing poor pockets according to the scale of deprivation they suffer from. Our volunteers have pointed out a few more poor pockets, and we will provide help there too,” said Chasmawala, who has visited many slums.
Saghir Dange, first deputy mayor of Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation and a Nalasopara resident, said the poor needed constant help and not just free food. “I have maintained that the poor need to be equipped with education and skills. For how long can you distribute food packets among them? Give them taleem (education),” said Dange.
Shah Mohammed Shah, an Azad Nagar resident and a rickshaw driver, said more than food, people of the locality need education and regular jobs. “This food distribution scheme is good, but this is not the final solution to poverty. Unless the youth here are educated and engaged in jobs, poverty will not vanish,” said Shah, who too depended on doles earlier but now earns his bread. To ensure that all the needy accept the food, it is kept vegetarian.