How one man’s cry led to feeding many with love

CHENNAI: After a hearty late night meal, Johnson Jeba Kumar and his wife Shareen Joshua, stopped by seeing Chinnappan thatha, an elderly homeless man, crying of hunger. They offered him the leftovers they had packed for themselves from the restaurant. The couple then fed the thatha every single day for three months, until his death. It was this man’s cry that led to the inception of Feed of Love.

“Eight years since the establishment of the initiative in April 2014, we now feed 87 homeless people everyday. My wife, who cooks food for them, ensures that she provides nutritious meals to these people, once a day,” explains Johnson, with a vision to eradicate homelessness and hunger in and around his community in Chennai.

Feed of Love, aims to help them beat the cold with their clothes and blanket drive, where they distribute winter kits, incorporating blankets, raincoats, a tarpaulin sheet and some eatables. Quench the thirst initiative is for the scorching summers, where the volunteers provide a litre of water along with a refreshing glass of watermelon juice everyday, for two months.

With a dedicated team of 15 volunteers for feeding, the initiative is not only about catering food to the homeless, but also rehabilitation.

“The poor also deserve to be loved and know how it feels to be cared for. Our volunteers spend quality time with every destitute, so that we are able to prepare by moving them from street to a shelter,” highlights the founder, who shifts them to the nearest Greater Chennai Corporation Centre, desiring to build a shelter of their own someday.

Noting how the young tender minds, who belong to the underprivileged communities, bury their childhood in rags and starvation, the team of Feed of Love initiative, caters to bringing back the spark in those little eyes, with dreams of a better future.

“There are about 325 children whom we work for, ensuring that they are provided with tools for school such as notebooks, stationary kit, backpack and lunch boxes. Our volunteers also take evening tuition for them,” elucidates Johnson, who completely sponsors the education of a handful of young minds.

The little joys in life when a kid gets a toy, is something which the team of Feed of Love tries to retain, by their outreach programme where they serve the underprivileged children to experience the little pleasures of owning them. The smiling faces beaming of joy holding a box of their Marvel character is something which Johnson and his wife try to capture.

“When action meets compassion, life changes. We all have the power in ourselves to make a difference. We will soon be setting up our own shelter for the homeless, and urge more people to come forward, helping the needy kids with a bright future,” hopes the founder.