Hyderabad: Lending a helping hand with missionary zeal

Hyderabad: Amidst the Covid crisis which is keeping people still behind doors, it is heart-warming to see groups of youth venturing out, putting themselves in risk's way, and serving the society.

R Raghu Vamsi, a student of BBA, started an NGO called Marpu Foundation in Secunderabad in 2018. He says his personal incidents and experiences made him to render services in an organised way to help the needy. Raghu soon roped in around 150 volunteers to obviate hunger pangs in society. So far, they have served over 16,000 meals and also distributed dry rations to more than 3,000 needy families.

Enlarging the gamut of their services, they also provided masks and sanitisers to around 5,000 people. They helped 15,000 migrants reach home by coordinating with officials. Noting the poor awareness among the marginalised sections about the infectious nature of Covid-19, they conducted roadshows in 12 major slums across the state.

Like Raghu, another youth on a mission to help the needy is P Vikhil, a a student of Psychology. With the help of his friends Nadeem and Ashish, he started 'Friends Being a Helping Hand' in 2015. Losing his father at a very young age and financial issues later on and a stay in a Warangal orphanage till Class X made him understand the pain of people in distress and motivated him to less the sufferings of others.

Vikhil along with a team of 40 volunteers from Hyderabad, Guntur, Warangal and Pune donated rice and groceries to 12,000 poor families including migrant workers. "We served meals to more than 2,000 families even before the lockdown. We've served meals to around 20,000 people in need and those who are quarantined during this lockdown. As an initiative of health and well-being, we conducted many menstrual hygiene campaigns sensitising people and donated more than 6,000 sanitary pads to the underprivileged girls," Vikhil said.

Both the NGOs are inspiring a number of youth about the nobility of reaching out to the needy and render whatever service or help they could. They raise funds from friends, families and crowdfunding.