[Monday Motivation] Meet Nagpur’s Khushroo Poacha, who is feeding underprivileged patients for free

Khushroo Poacha, a Superintendent with the Central Railway (CR) in Nagpur, has started a successful strategy to feed thousands of individuals without a registered NGO or even the opening of a bank account.

In 2014, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and was admitted to the Central India Institute of Medical Science (CIIMS) for surgery. While he brought his own food from home, he noticed that the relatives of other patients struggled in getting proper food to feed themselves.

Khushroo was deeply saddened when he saw the plight of underprivileged people near the hospital living on a few plain rotis that were being made on a temporary chullah at the corner of the ground. He shared this incident with his mother and she told him to do something about it and that the people of the world will help him.

Thus started the journey of Seva Kitchen.

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Setting up the initiative

Khushroo’s mother passed away within the next six months. But since it was her last wish to serve the relatives of the poor patients admitted to the hospital, he decided to work on it fully.

He and his wife Fermin Poacha started by preparing about 15 meals and going to the hospital every Sunday to distribute them. “Soon, we realised that we need to cook at least 200 meals. In a month or two, a lot of people come to know about them and started contributing,” Khushroo tells SocialStory.

From these contributors, he understood this is a global problem. Looking to help as many people as possible, Khushroo asked them if they could directly help the hospitals instead of connecting with him.

And on collective good, Seva Kitchen grew. From feeding tens to hundreds to thousands, at present, Seva Kitchen is driven by about 600 volunteers and vendors who cook and serve food directly to underprivileged people seeking medical care across hospitals.

Fridge of kindness

Along with Seva Kitchen, Khushroo also started Neki Ka Pitara (or Fridge of Kindness).

Supported by WhatsApp groups linked with donors, itensures a24x7 supply of ready consumables like milk, juices, fruits, dry fruits, etc., for relatives of cancer patients or kids who have undergone expensive procedures.

"It opens twice to thrice daily. People pick up whatever they need and when it empties, our local contact posts a picture of the fridge and within minutes, a donor chips in and magically, it gets refilled before the next opening time," he said.

The seven-year-old Seva Kitchen is present in around 20 cities across the country including Nagpur, Hyderabad, Thane, Bengaluru, Naya Raipur, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Palwal, and New Delhi.

He also started distributing ration kits during COVID-19 for people who are really marginalised, especially to widows and cancer patients.

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Stocking up

Khushroo says, "Not once have we faced a situation where we couldn’t replenish the stocks. Even with the Seva Kitchen initiative, every Sunday, we feed thousands of people. We have always had people who have pitched in, even though we do not run this initiative under a registered non-profit. That’s why I call these initiatives ‘movements’.”

Requests go through Donatekart and donors make their contributions thst are routed to his supplier from where he picks up the stuff required. There is no monetary involvement at any stage.

“For the meal distribution at hospitals, we have donors who cook simple meals and send them over. Volunteers chip in at every step — from distributing to coordinating relief efforts. Most of the coordination happens over WhatsApp groups, on our Facebook page, and via SMS,” he explains.

Without taking a rupee

While Khushroo says his initiative has impacted lakhs of people, he does not keep a record of his work. “We do not keep a count. You don't need to prove it to anyone when you feed people. We didn't have difficulties in getting food. The foundation is so genuine, passionate, and compassionate. Our organisation grows that way,” he says.

Khushroo says he does not accept money to run or manage any of the initiatives. Instead, he uses his personal and professional contacts through social media to help thousands across India.

“We have integrity in our work. Nobody knows, Most importantly, it remains anonymous both ways — we don't know who is a beneficiary and they don't know through whose benevolence. People trust us immensely," Khushroo added.

Going ahead, he is working on two concepts. One — a vending machine to install in hospitals, which will have fully-packed meals for those in need. This will lead to fewer volunteers and more of a system that is automated.

He is also developing an app, which will connect social workers and restaurants. Social workers can give coupons to people who need food in the hospital and those coupons can be redeemed in the hospital or restaurants.