India has experienced record-low temperatures in the last few years. It has caught many of its citizens off guard, especially those living on the streets.
According to Yahoo! Finance, there are an estimated 1.7 million homeless people in India. According to Wikipedia, there are 1.77 million homeless people in India. We can agree that the message is clear; a significant amount of people have no access to proper shelter, including access to food and medical care. At Hands 4 Zero Poverty, we have painfully witnessed this statistic as we support communities in India. We continuously encounter people strolling through the streets—including families with small children—trying to find means to survive. The winter season only brings more challenges, challenges such as battling hypothermia.
Thanks to our incredible supporters, H4ZP—along with gracious volunteers—decided to create and execute a project for these people. One-hundred blankets and 150 sandwiches were purchased and distributed throughout the streets of Faridabad, India. The H4ZP team strolled several hours through the night to find people living in the streets and offer them a hand of kindness. Offer these people a small gesture, a reminder that they are not forgotten.
After completing the project, we asked our volunteers what their most unexpected moment was, and the number one answer was: how hungry these people were, more food was needed. The second common response was: how shocking their living condition was. Helping people—and families—in these conditions is not difficult.
We hope that with projects like these, we can encourage people to help in any way they can. Help by volunteering, advocating, funding similar, or other projects, etc. Without people willing to help, organizations like H4ZP would not be able to extend this little gesture of hope to the people who need it.
If you would like to support or join us on a future camp, drop us a note at info@h4zp.org. We would be delighted to have you as part our team.
