Bengaluru: Every night, the city’s homeless people snuggle under their ragged jackets and try to squeeze under a shop’s awning to keep out the biting winter cold.
In keeping with the spirit of giving, citizens with a turn for philanthropy are collecting old clothes and blankets to hand out to the poorest of the poor.
Shilpa Johar is going on 22 and has found a novel way to celebrate her birthday. She decided to put her party plans on hold to reach out to those who need it most.
After a week-long collection drive across the city, Shilpa will visit the city’s leper colony to give them clothes and blankets.
The rest will be distributed among the homeless. Everyday this week, Shilpa and two of her friends - Sushant NS and Narain Kumar, are conducting collection drives across the city.
“We plan to do 13 spots in a week,” said Shilpa. They stand at busy junctions, armed with big colourful boxes, asking people to throw in their old clothes or blankets or anything they can spare.
“There have been occasions when I wait for an entire hour and only a couple of people turn up, but I’m thrilled to see them. I’m happy when even one person is willing to make the effort,”she said. Unlike the ‘Challenges’ that have been doing the rounds this past year, compelling people to contribute to a cause,
Shilpa says she wants people to donate only if they want to. “I don’t believe in forcing people or making them feel obligated. You can’t force someone into being kind,” she said.
Everything they collect is geared specifically for winter - woolens, jackets, sheets and blankets. She’s received a host of calls from different organisations, asking her to collaborate with them. She has also refused them all.
“I have had NGOs asking me to run their collection drives, because they reach out to a wide network of people,” Shilpa explained. “The thing is, I want to reach out to those who don’t have even the privilege of getting help from an NGO.”
Entrepreneur Maaz Dawood has started off the Warm Blanket Challenge, driven by social media. “I've been handing out clothes and blankets in winter for the last ten decades,” he said.
“But there’s very little you can do as an individual, I thought it was time to scale up.” His plan is to approach corporates and ask them to depute their employees. “Even if a company has 200 employees living in different parts of town, that’s quite a bit of ground covered,” he explained.
As for Shilpa, helping the poor is the only priority. If she or her friends spot a ragpicker or homeless person on the road during their drives, they will hand him clothes straight away.
“We’re not setting a specific target or regimenting ourselves in any way. We give to those in need.”
