Duo from Powai distributes food on New Year’s eve

Insurance firm professionals collected dry food over a fortnight to distribute across the city

Duo from Powai distributes food on New Year's eve

Insurance firm professionals collected dry food over a fortnight to distribute across the city

While you were probably partying it up to bring in 2011, two city youngsters were busy distributing food to the needy living on the streets of Mumbai. Roney Rodrigues, 30 and Obaid Siraj, 29, both, residents of Powai and operations managers with an insurance firm had collected this food over the last fortnight.

Roney Rodrigues and Obaid Siraj sorting out food

Part of the OR project (so named after their first names), a social initiative, the food collection was made possible by a post on Facebook, appealing to friends and family to donate food items. The duo collected and packed dry foods like biscuits, glucose powder, water bottles and other essential food items like wheat flour, rice, Maggi, cereal and sugar into nearly 80 food packets.

A satisfied Siraj says, "The dal, rice, wheat, pulses and cereals can be used by the mothers to cook, while snacks like Maggi, wafers, khari, sandwiches, cream biscuits, chocolates and cakes serve as ready snacks for other family members." They distributed the food across the city, from Liberty Cinema at Churchgate to Worli, Bandra, Lokhandwala in Andheri, Powai, Marol and Saki Naka.

The OR Project has been involved in social welfare since last year, when it began operations by shuttling old and physically challenged people from their homes to polling booths during the assembly elections.

This year, they've ensured that Mumbai's street dwellers don't start the New Year hungry. Roney concludes, "What better way to start the New Year and a new decade than by paying-it-forward to this great city of ours?"