23rd March 2008 : Launch of Midday Meal Kitchen at ISKCON Juhu

The ripest fruit is usually found on the top of the tree but until that time we are able to reach our ripest fruit i.e. achieving our mission of feeding every underprivileged child in the primary section we will keep striving.

One step of the ladder that has taken us closure to our mission is the launch of our 5th Unit that is a new Midday Meal Kitchen in Maharashtra at none other than the Hare Krishna Land Juhu.

Most of the times the parking space of the Juhu temple is taken up a number of cars that belong to the devotees of the ISKCON temple but on 23rd March, the parking space was occupied with 40 vans that belong to the ISKCON Food Relief Foundation that delivers the Midday Meals to the schools. These 40 vans all dressed uniformly in white and red are responsible for delivering khichadi to the school children everyday on time; fresh and hot.  

Needless to say this would not have been possible without the inspiration and support from all our sponsors, people who believe in our project. To show them how far their support has taken us and to personally thank them, we had organised a festive event on Sunday 23rd March 2008.

The evening took off with Mr. Deshbandu Gupta, chairman of Sri Sri Rasbihari Committee, welcoming all the guests and giving a brief introduction of the Midday Meal Project. He then invited H. G. Radha Krishna Das on the dais to give the guests in the auditorium an insight on how everyone’s contribution has made this project a grand success so far.

H G Radha Krishna Das put up a magnificent presentation which started off with clipping’s of the kitchen where the mid day meal is prepared. It is common knowledge that all the kitchens of the Mid Day Meal are very clean and measure up to the best International GMP requirements and standards but seeing it in actual was a different feeling all together. One of the principals who had earlier visited the kitchen stated that it was cleaner than her kitchen at home. It is indeed, rare, to find a woman praising someone else’s kitchen.

But that is the special quality of the ISKCON Kitchen that leaves all its visitors enthralled. The presentation documented a few teachers who swore to the fact that the packets of khichadi when opened had such a beautiful aroma such that the children wished that there was school everyday, including Sunday’s. The teachers said that attendance has shown a marked improvement and one can no longer see any undernourished child in the schools where the khichadi is being served.

The chief guest for the evening was none other than Mr. Sajjan Jindal and his wife Mrs. Sangetta Jindal. Mr. Sajjan Jindal is the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Steel Limited. Born on December 05, 1959 in Kolkata, he completed his graduation from Bangalore University in 1982 and joined the Jindal organization. In 1983 he moved to Mumbai to look after the western region operations of O. P. Jindal Group.

Today JSW Steel Ltd is a fully integrated steel plant having units across Karnataka and Maharashtra producing from pellets to colour coated steel and has a turnover of $3.7 billion. JSW Steel has given the ISKCON project tremendous support and has very graciously sponsored our Palghar schools in Mumbai. Mr. Sajjan Jindal holds membership of various national committees and boards of academic, research, civil, professional and corporate institutions. To mention a few he is the President elect of ASSOCHAM (The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) a premiere body of chamber of commerce in India. ASSOCHAM represents the interests of trade and commerce in India.

He is also a member of Board of Directors of Indian Institute of Management, Indore and has been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the manufacturing category. Mr. Jindal is a young and dynamic entrepreneur who believes that India is a global destination for industry and trade. He is a strong supporter of team building and core competence. He believes that the key to success for any entrepreneur is to change his business model ahead of time.

As a token of appreciation Mr. Sajjan Jimdal and his wife were given mementoes by H.H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj and along with H.H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj, H.H. Radhanath Swami Maharaj, H.G. Devakinandan Prabhu, Sri Kailash Biyani, H.H Brajhari Prabhu, H.H. Surdas Prabhu, H.H Kapildev Prabhu proceeded to light the lamp thereby initiating the Juhu Midday Meal Project.

Mr. and Mrs. Jindal were then requested to speak a few words about the project. Both of them were unanimous about the fact that it is very crucial to have many more projects of this kind, especially in the villages. They have had many personal visits to the rural sectors and feel that it is most important to help feed the children of those areas also, as the conditions are very serious and they need all the help possible.

Sharing their opinion H.G. Devakinandan Prabhu also stressed on the importance of the success of the Midday Meal project. He was followed by H.H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj and H. H. Radhanath Swami Maharaj both giving a very inspiring speech on humanity and compassion.

Rotarian Bhansi Dhorandhar, Incoming District Governor of the Rotary Club Mumbai shared his experiences with the ISKCON Midday Meal Project after which Mr. Kailash Biyani, Coordinator of the Midday Meal Project; Juhu Committee delivered the vote of thanks and directed everyone to join him for a scrumptious meal prepared by the Govinda restaurant.

The evening came to end with the blessings of H. H. Radhanath Swami Maharaj who made it a point to visit every table in the restaurant so as to meet every in person.

28th February 2008: Visit to the Mira road Unit

The members of the ‘Schools Committee’  of North Mumbai along with the principals of 17 schools located in North Mumbai visited the Mira Road kitchen to look at the facility.

14th February 2008: Annual Audit of Mira Road Unit

Representatives from United Way and Accenture visited the Mira Road kitchen for the Annual Audit. In addition these members also visited some of the nearby schools, interacted with the children, teachers and the principals.

29th January 2008:  Midday Meal Branch Head Meeting

This day was earmarked as this month’s branch head meeting which was attended by the following:

Mr. Yashwant Shetty (Branch Manager, Tardeo unit),
Mr. Pandurang Prabhuji (Branch Manager, Palghar unit),
Mr. Pranvallabh Prabhuji (Branch Manager, Mira Road unit) and
Shri. Radha Krishan Das (Director Iskcon Food Relief Foundation Midday Meal Programme)

After the meeting was over everyone then proceeded for lunch at Govinda’s at the ISKCON temple at Chowpatty. It was here that Dr. Radha Krishan then briefed everyone on the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

He explained that the YPO is a group of young CEO’S from different countries who get together in Mumbai for a 4-5 day seminar. During their stay they make it a point to visit the ISKCON temple. This year they were in Mumbai from the 30th of January to 2nd February 2008. This year the ISKCON Midday Meal Programme was part of their agenda.

26th January 2008: Republic Day Celebrations

24th January 2008: Field visit to the Midday Meal Kitchen.

The sound of pitter patter is music to some, for our kitchen it was a welcome. Our Midday Meal kitchen was visited by the 4th standard students from Cathedral and John Connon School. We are sure it was an amazing experience to them as it was to us to see them in our kitchen.

January 23rd 2008: Bombay Times Article

Bombay Times also featured a similar write up under the heading “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend!.” A snippet of the article is given below:

“I am an ardent devotee of Radha-Krishna, so the design for this piece was inspired by my spiritual side. My design is unconventional because it uses motifs like the lotus flower, peacock feathers and flutes. Her undying love for him is seen as the highest form of devotion, and is often represented as the bond between a wife and her husband. My ring symbolizes this bond. Brilliantly cut baguettes and round diamonds surrounding a stunning FOREVERMARK all set in white gold, signifies the intense love between Radha-Krishna, which is probably the most memorable in history.”

To visit the link Click Here

20th January 2008: Standard Chartered Marathon Race

People say walking is good for health, whereas we strongly believe in association. So we decided to mix both. A small team comprising of 10 of our members participated in the Standard Chartered Marathon held on January 20th, 2008.

18th January 2008: DNA After Hrs Article

17th January 2008: NGO Project

15th January 2008: An Event by the Rotary Club of Mumbai

Once again we participated at the event organised by the Rotary Club of Mumbai at the Taj and this was attended by our Project Director Dr. Radha Krishan Das..

Rtan. Kalpana Munshi Chairman of Child Welfare Committee of Rotary Club had also organized a programme for feeding underprivileged children at a municipal school in Worli.

A donation of Rs. 20,000 was made towards the Iskcon Midday Meal Project.

10th January 2008: Midday Meal Presentation at a Rotary Club Meeting

5th January 2008: A Midday Meal Event expressing gratitude to our Sponsors

Iskcon gives back!! We have never missed out on an opportunity to thank all our sponsors & donors for their ongoing support towards the Mid-day Meal project. It is in this regards itself that on 5th January 2008 we organised an event at the Bhakti Vendanta Hall, Iskcon Chow patty. On that day every guest was our guest of honor and we were pleased to see so many of them accept our invitation and grace the occasion.

For those few who could not be part of our celebration, a synopsis of the event follows with the hope that the next time we can look forward to personally expressing our gratitude to them.

The evening took off with Dr. Narendra Desai, our trustee, welcoming all the guests. This was immediately followed by a detailed presentation on our Mid Day Meal Project by Radha Krishna Das our Director for the same.

His presentation threw light on a number of facts that are unknown about the project itself and about the people who have a hand in making it a success. For instance one of the special guests who had flown down from London specially to attend this function were the seven members from The Lion’s Club of Enfield, London. Led by Dr. Sunit Ghatak and Lion Dr Rashmi Shah, Lion Afzal Rai, Lion Jagdish Chaudhary, Lionette Indira Ghatak, Lionette Shashi Chaudhary and Lionette Nimi Chandharia all graced our evening and presented a cheque of £15000 towards our project.

Similarly, members of Lion’s Clubs of District 323 A3, led by their District Governor Lion Vishwanath, Past Dist. Governor Lion Sudharsanan Nair, District Chairman for Mid Day Meal Committee, Lion Venkatesh Bhandare, Coordinator for Mid Day Meal Project Lion Surendranath and Dis. Treasurer Lion Niraj Kothari had showed their warm gratitude and heartfelt appreciation towards our project by presenting a cheque of Rs.12,00,000.

The Lions Club Juhu had also participated and given us a cheque of Rs 2, 33, 450 for the sponsorship of Guru Nanak High School, Khar West, 3rd Road, 2nd Floor, Above Gurudwara, Mumbai and Lion Rajni Acharya made a personal commitment of
Rs. 5, 00,000.

Shri. Priyakant Dalal from the Bombay Stock Exchange blessed us with a Ceremonial cheque of Rs. 4,90,000.

Shri. Sunder Rajan of Glaxo Smith Kline said he would like to maintain a low profile and had to leave early but not without handing over a cheque of Rs 10, 00,000.

Shri. Nandkumar Sanglikar of Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd. told us during dinner that his Managing Director has sanctioned Rs 21, 00,000 for this project for the current year.

Shri. Rajesh Bansal had left a cheque for Rs 51,000 at the reception counter.

Shri. Radha Krishna Das went on to highlight the fact that where there is a will there are lots of different ways. He thanked many of our sponsors for the innovative way’s in which they had lent their support & help us raise funds.

He cited a few examples:

On Diwali, Smt. Bijal Meswani sponsored a child’s meal for a year instead of sending out sweet boxes to her friends!

Also, Smt. Radha Krishna Das Archana and Shri. Amit Chandra, every year participate in organizing the Standard Chartered Marathon race. They coordinate with a lot of corporates to pledge funds which are then diverted to NGO’s and other charitable organizations. She has also raised funds for our cause.

We all love the concept of buy one get one free, well Smt. Maya Shahani has a different version “Buy One Give One Free”. She has created a very generous platform for NGOs to amalgamate with like minded business organizations to raise funds. One such example is the foreign based company “Maple Muesli Australia” wherein a part of the money received from the sale of every food packet is forwarded towards sponsoring one child’s Mid Day Meal!

We have known Shri. Sunil Malapani since the time he joined hands with us to donate computers to the underprivileged students at Lady North Cote Orphanage. He has since then introduced us to the various Rotary Clubs in South Mumbai, which has helped us tremendously in raising funds for our project.

Shri. Ambrish Arora and his family have expressed their faith in our project by sponsoring many print advertisements in the newspapers.

Dr. Swati and Shri. Ajay Piramal celebrate the birthdays of their family members by making generous contributions towards the Mid Day Meal.

Another innovative idea is that of Ms. Shibani Sachdeva. She is the head of United Way Mumbai. United Way is a non-profit organization that works in coalition of charitable organizations to pool efforts in fundraising and support. The organization raises money in numerous ways; one way is by bringing together corporates to share their social responsibility programs, where employees can have automatic payroll deductions for United Way. United Way charges its fee from the Corporate Bodies that support the NGO’s.

After sharing with us the different ideas in which an individual can help us raise funds, Shri. Radha Krishna Das moved on to making the evening even more special. To achieve this Mrs. Naina Juvekar principal of Seva Sadan School was invited on stage, to share with us her hands-on experience of our project. Amongst all our prestigious sponsors and donors we had not forgotten to invite the very heartwarming students of the Mid Day Meal project along with their parents and respective school principals.

Mrs. Juvekar gave a very humble speech on how the Mid Day Meal Project has benefited the children of her school. She was very impressed with our product and said that she was amazed at how the khichadi remained piping hot until it reaches the school. She went on to say that the delicious taste and hygienic serving manner of the meal reflected our love and affection towards the children. Her speech closed on a very touching note when she asked the Lord to give us the strength to carry on with our devotional service of cooking sumptuous meals for the underprivileged children.

Minal Amle, from the same school followed her on stage and spoke on behalf of all her fellow members at her school. She said that they were all very grateful to the Iskcon Food Relief Foundation for their efforts extended towards the Mid Day Meal Project.

Alas all good things come to an end, but not without a grand finale. The eventful night was crowned with a moving speech by our spiritual guide under whose inspiration this project is being carried out, Shri. H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj. He spoke to all of us on how this project is not just about feeding children but it was about our duty towards serving humanity and being compassionate to one another.

The guests were then guided to the dinner area where in one of the dishes was the Mid Day Meal’s famous khichadi. It was during this time that we noticed a mother from the Tardeo School who choose to feed her child khichadi, instead of all the other courses that were being served.

What better way to be appreciated than watching something like that!!

Each person was given a copy of our Annual Report for the year 2006-2007 for their reference along with a copy of our updated leaflets and a magnificently designed box containing yummy cup cakes.

13th December 2007: Palghar Unit’s First Birthday