14
JULY 2018
BANDRA BUZZ
CAUSE
The Monsoon Relief Drive supported the Homeless in Mumbai It’s been a few years now, since I have begun building a network of those who love to give, help, support & be responsible citizens & humans of the society as part of The Happy Circle. Initially I began for over 3 years now doing yearly engagements to bring people together to support shelter homes & those in need. But as years have passes the need to help & support those in need has grown & a lot of people as part of this network have suggested that we must have multiple necessary drives and interventions during the year apart from just the yearly outreach, this majorly gave rise to The Monsoon Relief Drive 2018. The work towards the drive began in early June, where me along with others began having conversations with those who live on the streets or in tarpaulin homes to understand their needs and hardships during the monsoons. How mosquitoes, water logging, hunger and lack of hygiene effects their life drasti-
cally & makes them live by the day not knowing where their next meal would come from or hand of support. Post understanding the same I decided to have the drive on the 08th of July and decided to make a poster & reach out to people & asked them to reach out to people as well to donate items that could be used by them like sanitary pads, rain coats, food & medicines to name a few items. The response was quite heart warming as a lot of people across the neighbourhood decided to lend a hand of support & contribute to this wave of help to the unfortunate. This is when I realise time & time again, that we are not short of people that care or want to help, but it is necessary as a community to create that opportunity & outlet for people to reconnect with those in need. Then came 8th July, a Sunday morning where Mother Nature made us realise the hardship people go through showing us high levels of rains and water logging
across the city. This made it difficult for volunteers to come and further made the execution of the drive a challenge. However, at 6am there was a ring on my door and soon a team of 5 gathered, despite of the rains and roadblocks at my door. A drive where we stepped out, spent time with those in need gave them resources and support that really showed them that they are not alone. In one day over a few hours we touched over 4 to 5 different hot spots in Mumbai and reached out to more than 80-100 people and children of different age groups that welcomed us and blessed us for making their rainy day a little more bearable.
I would like to thank each & every one that was involved in this drive & helped impact our fellow brothers & sisters in their time & even to Bandra Buzz for helping spread the word. Thank you for making a difference & part taking in this movement of good, this would not have been possible without you. In case you do have any ideas or identify any need in your city or neighbourhood reach out to us on facebook.com/thehappycircle & stay connected to know more about drives & requirements in Mumbai and other cities as well and to be actively a part of the solution. Alvin Meledath