Anti Hunger Squad Foundation was started by Zeeshan Majid.An Mba graduate from Kolkata.According to Zeeshan: “I was on my way to office one day, when I came across a man who was lying on the road. He was severely injured. I took him to the NRS Hospital and that is where the whole idea started.The food camp started on 20th May 2018 and Zeeshan has been doing this sincerely everyday. It is a completely self- fundled project. Food for around 350 people is prepared and is distributed to people in front of hospitals. Usually, delicious home-made food like vegetable pulao or khichdi is served. Zeeshan hires a separate cook at home who makes food for around 350 people in a day.He has covered almost all the government hospitals but usually targets Chittaranjan Hospital and NRS Hospital.“I feel a sense of relief when I see the satisfied faces of patients and their families. It gives me an inexpressible sense of gratification,” says Zeeshan.
WHO We Are?
After a hectic week, what do you generally do on weekends? Usually, we spend time partying or simply relaxing at home. Not many of us have the time or energy to step out of our own territory and indulge in needs of greater perspectives. Yet there still lies many amongst who are driven by an indomitable passion for serving the society. They submit themselves to a meaningful cause. Hunger is still a major problem in India, where more than 50 per cent of the population hardly get two square meals.Even plight of family members of patients admitted to government hospitals who come from far away districts and stay under the open sky till their patients are discharged is also known to us. Many of them go without proper food and sanitation, for they have no means to hire a place in the city, or even stay in a low budget hotel.
But thanks to one man from Kolkata, many such family members are getting to have at least two square healthy and warm meals every day outside city’s prime hospitals. He is Zeeshan Majeed, founder of the ‘Anti-Hunger Squad Foundation,’ who is helping in serving patients and their families of government hospitals with meals completely free of cost on weekends. Every Sunday, you get to see Majeed out with a car full of home-made food in front of various hospitals. You will also get to see long queues in front of his car waiting to lay hands upon the food he brings. Zeeshan makes it a point to serve them with home-made food individually with a lot of care, love and compassion without charging a penny.
He is a businessman himself, and what he is doing is purely from a sense of belonging to a city and a society he has been born and brought up in. His humanitarian face might be a source of inspiration for many. But what motivated him to come up with such a unique idea? According to Zeeshan: “I was on my way to office one day, when I came across a man who was lying on the road. He was severely injured. I took him to the NRS Hospital and that is where the whole idea started. Usually, whenever we want to donate something, we go to a slum. But once, I went to NRS, I realized the despair of people who come to the hospital from far and wide only in search of a proper treatment. Many of them come from affluent families but are forced to spend their days amidst the unhygienic environment. Some families of patients spend so much in the process of treatment that they are unable to spend on food from good eateries. Many of them spend their days in utmost despair. I was deeply disturbed by the very sight of their condition. Since then, I wanted to do something meaningful for them. This inspired me to come up with this idea. I started arranging food camps near and inside these hospitals.”
The food camp started on 20th May 2018 and Zeeshan has been doing this sincerely every day. It is a completely self- fundled project. Food for around 350 people is prepared from home and is distributed to people in front of hospitals. Usually, delicious home-made food like vegetable pulao or khichdi is served. Zeeshan hires a separate cook at home who makes food for around 350 people in a day. The families take the food for the patients.. He has covered almost all the government hospitals but usually targets Chittaranjan Hospital and NRS Hospital.“I feel a sense of relief when I see the satisfied faces of patients and their families. It gives me an inexpressible sense of gratification,” says Zeeshan.
People waiting to be served by Zeeshan
But was the journey easy? It was initially an uphill task. Zeeshan wanted to take permission from the hospital authorities but they seemed to be skeptical. Therefore, Zeeshan made it a point to park the cars outside the hospital gate and used to call people personally. “Initially, ego stopped people from coming forward to accept the food. Gradually, they started trusting me,”he said.
Zeeshan has plans of expanding the horizons of this thoughtful project further. In days to come, he has plans to increase the feeding capacity. “It feels bad when there is a long queue waiting and the food is over. I will try to do my level best. In this process, I also want to create awareness in the society so that more people come forward to support the people in need. It is my mission to keep hunger at bay. Everyone is welcome as hunger has no religion.”
Anti Hunger Squad Foundation was established in 2018 by Zeeshan Majeed an Mba graduate from kolkata, we have been continually working for social integration of underprivileged children & people, persons with special ability and women & girls of our community. We believe that a world without barriers is a right not luxury.
Our primary areas of interventions are: Healthcare, Education, Food Security, and Empowerment. We have holistic approach and our style is active participation rather than theory.
Our programs are designed to reach out to the most marginalized communities; we try and ensure that underprivileged children & people, persons with special ability and women & girls are nourished and healthy, get to learn, stay away from danger and are able to reach/realize their full potential. During disasters, we always provide life-saving humanitarian aid to the affected people.
VISION
Empower every person to drive a new era of development, growth and productivity to achieve more. Also supporting the overall development of the underprivileged.
MISSION
To be an equal opportunity provider for the upliftment of the underprivileged children & people, persons with special ability and women &girls by providing them timely education, shelter, food, medical support, care and confidence.
To empower the Underprivileged, persons with special ability and women by assisting them to lead a dignified, respectful& healthy life.
Anti Hunger Squad Foundation (AHSF). It was set up by footwear company owner Zeeshan Majeed, a resident of Topsia in the eastern part of Kolkata.
Zeeshan’s organisation is working for the last two years in feeding the hungry, focusing primarily on poor people coming for treatment at government hospitals. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic raging, he has turned his attention towards the destitute.
The Limca Book of Records achiever for setting up 50 food camps in hospitals in a swift time last year said, “There is a story behind my involvement in feeding the people in need. Last year, I was going to my office when I came across an accident. I took the victim to hospital and saw how patients and their family members struggle to get healthy food with the limited money they have. Then I decided to start this foundation to feed them. But now I have extended my service to the destitute also as there is no one to take care of them.”
Zeeshan said once a week, mostly on Sundays, he gets home-cooked healthy food, loads it in his car, and then goes to various government hospitals to feed the patients' family members. "I make sure that it reaches the right person.
