Help Manavlok save elderly people from malnutrition and starvation

Dattu Sopan Bhandare, 80, lives alone in Mudegaon village of the Beed district in Maharashtra. Hit by drought, his children have moved to urban areas and after his wife died a few years back, he has to take care of himself. But life has been hard for Dattu, as he cannot work in the fields any longer to meet his basic needs. “I feel helpless and I have gone to bed hungry many times,” he says.

That was before Manavlok came to Dattu’s rescue. Through its Trupti Kitchen program, Manavlok provides 500 abandoned elderly people like Dattu with two nutritious meals a day.

The problem in the drought-hit Marathwada is huge and Manavlok would like to expand its kitchen facilities to many more villages. But Manavlok cannot do it without your support. Donate now.

Manavlok’s Mission 

“At present, we are providing meals in three drought-hit districts of Maharashtra. It’s our commitment that we will not allow these elderly people to live in hunger,” says Aniket Dwarkadas Lohiya, Secretary, Manavlok.

It was way back in the 1970s that a group of youths decided to seek solutions to the socio-economic problems of rural communities in Maharashtra and started working in the region. After years of understanding and working in the field, Marathwada Navnirman Lokayat (MANAVLOK), was born. While Manavlok has various interventions, its Trupti Kitchen has been life-changing for many elderly citizens.

Motinath Maruti Birgat is another example of this. Motinath, 75, used to beg on the streets to sustain himself after the younger members of the family left the village and his wife died. As he was unable to work due to old age or feed himself. But with the Trupti Kitchen Program in his village, Motinath no longer begs for food. Manavlok also provides medical and other forms of elderly care.

How Trupti works

The kitchen mainly supports elderly citizens above 65 years with no source of income, people with disabilities, the destitute, widows and elderly orphans. The programme already has a large impact in the areas where it is operating.

It first approaches Gram Panchayats to understand the needs and the number of people who will need help through the kitchen. After a detailed study, Manavlok opens a community kitchen and encourages the elderly to come and have meals or supply meals to them at their doorstep.

Manavlok needs help

There are thousands of elderly people in the drought-hit region who need help. But Manavlok cannot expand its operations without your help. The organisation needs urgent help to feed and take care of abandoned elderly citizens in more districts of Maharashtra.

“We are committed to supporting the elderly in their final years with nutritious meals and other forms of care. I come across many villages where elderly people are asking us for help by establishing community kitchens. We want your support to expand our operations,” says Lohiya.