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PRABUDDH JEEVAN
JANUARY 2017
Bon Appetite !! A Trivial Gesture to a Deprivation
O Prachi Dhanwant Shah
I found myself work on the frontline of Human he cannot be returned with food to deprive his hunger. vulnerability up-close recently. On the same note, just This is a problem which needs to be taken care of right recently, working on places where people struggle to away as it is the most fundamental requirement of survive every minute, fighting with the worry to obtain every human being to survive. But for some, it could their next meal was like facing the dark cloud of reality. be a nightmare, with a thought, that such a big One fine morning when you wake up, does a thought population of billions of hungry people needs to be taken ever strike you, that a cup of tea or coffee what you care of in just a few decades? But because of this have could be one complete meal for someone? May nightmare, one cannot just give up and stop thinking be yes, may be No! The fact is every morning about a about it. The chain of serving hunger must go on and billion people on earth or say 1 out of seven wakes up why not dream of a day when that once hungry man and don't even know how to fill that one cup as a meal. wakes up in the morning not worrying about his cup of This is the bitter fact of this society where we belong. a meal? This dream might come true if not in this Today, in the nation, everybody has something or the decade then maybe next and next. With the same other to worry about. Some might worry about peace contemplation and ethics, Jain Vishwa Bharti of North and stability of the world. Some worry about daily needs America - New Jersey (JVBNJ) took up a project of of life, but of all I believe, if we talk about worrying of community service to serve hungry people in their hunger I am sure every one of us need not go far vicinity. enough in their history to experience the feeling of Allow me to put forth in front of you an imagistic Hunger. Your parents, or grandparents or great cinematic of a memorable event. On December 10th grandparents might have experienced the worry of 2016, young aspiring children of JVBNJ Gyanshala Hunger once in life. For instance, I can relate to this and Youth forum came up together for a noteworthy experience very closely because my father had a close and an unforgettable event. This imminent generation association with this worry. I have heard true stories of tomorrow, with the help of "Hunger Van" (an of his life when he did not know how would he feed organization that works against hunger) and with the himself next and many a times he slept hungry with no support of JVBNJ volunteers, prepared meals with their meals but just a glass of tap water. When this fact own hands. flashes in my memory, I experience jitters in every When the day arrived, i.e. 10th Dec 2016, in the nerve of mine. Every time I think about these real-life afternoon, children and youth met at JVBNJ center with episodes, my eyes get wet and my heart salutes my great excitement. When they gathered, these innocent father. But today not just my father but I salute every faces carried the expression of enthusiasm, human being who is deprived of satisfying their hunger inquisitiveness, contentment and much more for food.
altogether. They couldn't wait to indulge themselves in Mahatma Gandhi once said "There are people in the the challenging chore. They were all set, and finally, world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them, the task took a kick off! except in the form of bread" i.e., to a hungry man, a Several counters were set up with the help of JVBNJ piece of bread could be a face of god.
volunteers to bring this task a great success. Students There are several acts of civilization in action around were divided into the group as per their age and were the world, but one of the fundamental acts of civilization given responsibility to take care of their respective is to ensure that people get enough food. Every day counter. One of the counters prepared Vegan children are deprived of food and they die with hunger. sandwiches, one counter prepared snack bags that Nothing can be more haunting than a child's cry when carried dry fruits, sunflower seeds and dates, other
