“This Corporate Professional Quits his Job to Ensure that Nobody in his City Goes Hungry or Homeless”

A former corporate employee, Goutham Kumar realized that his true calling lay in serving humanity. Meet the man who is changing lives in Hyderabad.”Nobody should have to go hungry” says Goutham who left behind a lucrative profession to serve the greater good.

Having worked for a number of companies across the country, including Expedia, Goutham switched to work with full-time NGOs in Hyderabad five years ago. “I started my NGO because I wanted to serve others,” he says. “But I wanted it to be my profession, not a passion to be followed just once or twice a week. I was sure that this would be my sole purpose.” Recruiting the help of family members and well-wishers, Goutham set up Serve Needy in 2014 to assist the impoverished and homeless in the city.

Recovering leftovers to feed the hungry, better known as the Anna Daatha programme, is just one of the 14 projects Goutham is presently involved in.

Goutham and his family members, as well as four employees, work with an ever-increasing team of volunteers to aid the poor and homeless. They offer aid for cancer patients—including alternative medicine and birthday parties—at Hyderabad’s MNJ Cancer Hospital and Basawatarakam Hospital.They aid government schools, fix pot holes, identify and rescue mentally challenged individuals and even pets from the streets. Serve Needy’s special birthday parties in schools, hospitals and old age homes have garnered such a fan following that Goutham even receives special requests from sponsors.

Meet ‘Uncle’ Shyam Bihari Prasad, a Retired Assistant General Manager from BSNL Patna who teaches kids on a pavement in Vasant Kunj, Delhi.It all started during the cold winter months of 2013 when he shifted to Vasant Kunj in New Delhi to live with his daughter.This elderly gentleman would visit the Hanuman temple near his home every morning, where he would often see several children standing outside, begging the devotees for prasad. One morning, ‘Uncle’ (as he is called by everyone), gave his share of prasad to a child. On another day, he bought biscuits from the shop near the temple gate for a few other children also.

“All these children have working parents who lock up their homes when they go to work. They have to leave their kids outside to fend for themselves. Classes in the local government school start only at 10 am, so these kids beg for food outside the temple before going to school,” says Prasad.

On interacting with the kids, Prasad learnt more about their school and different classes the children attended. He also asked them some basic questions and realized they had no grasp of simple concepts in science and maths, nor any knowledge of spelling and writing in English and Hindi. One morning, he asked some of the children if they would like to study. On receiving an overwhelmingly positive response, he promised to meet them on the pavement outside the temple the next day at 8 am.

“On rainy and cold days, when it is difficult to sit in the open, we move into the temple premises. Nothing stops Uncle from taking classes,” say Pavitra and Anjali, Class VI students at the local government school.

“These children did not know how to sit or talk properly earlier. They would use abusive language to communicate with each other. Today, they have changed and help each other with studies,” says a proud Prasad.

Shyam Bihari Prasad has turned the lives of many of these children around. They are doing well in their school exams and are spending happy and fruitful mornings instead of begging on the street.

Dhaval Khatri lost both his hands at the age of 14 and his school asked him to leave. But no such obstacle could stop him from continuing his education, writing all his exams by himself, playing guitar and finally – painting. Calling himself “An artist, not by choice but by chance”, Dhaval says that he has made 300 paintings till now. This is his story.

“It was the festival of Uttarayan and so I was flying kites at our relatives place. And somehow while flying the kite I held my hands on an electric wire instead of kite flying thread. I got a huge electric shock and fell down on the road from the terrace and as a result my heart stopped beating for few seconds so basically I was dead for those few seconds but then fortunately a doctor was passing by and he gave me a hands-only CPR and I was brought back to life.

I realized that life would continue to be difficult. But at the same time I was happy that I had received a new lease of life – something that a few lucky ones gain. In fact I was looking forward to make the best out of what I had been left with. Soon I was trained to do everything without hands. The school in which I was studying gave me a leaving certificate saying YOU ARE OF NO USE to us. You have no hands so obtaining education is just a dream for you.

Instead of motivating me, the principal of that school discouraged me. But I wanted to continue studying so I got myself enrolled in another school and later I even completed my graduation. But the part that will surprise you the most is that I have given exams all by myself. I used to complete my exams before three hours. I even play cricket and football. I’ve also begun playing guitar and trying to master a few pieces in it. When I was in the hospital, my mom practiced me to hold a pen or a pencil. Gradually, I turned into sketching and painting. For six full months, I dedicated myself towards it and got a grip on it. Now, I was able to draw sketches and make paintings fluently.

On one side, my schooling was going on and on the other side I was learning to paint all by myself. After my college I applied at different Universities for a course in painting but each and every university rejected me. So I started doing painting without any guidance. So far I have done around 300 paintings and also have been part of many Television shows. I get lot of orders from around the world. Recently I got an order from New Jersey for three paintings. I have also performed live painting shows all over Gujarat and also in Mumbai. I have made a painting of Salman Khan and wish to meet him and gift him his painting. So all I can say is I’M AN ARTIST NOT BY CHOICE BUT BY CHANCE.

Every morning without fail, a 24-year-old Mohd Sujathullah wakes up early and leaves his house around 7:30 AM to reach the Koti Maternity Hospital in Hyderabad, where 300+ poor patients will be waiting in line for their morning meal.

In fact, today he has completed 604 days of offering daily handout breakfast at Niloufer Hospital and also around 180 days of free breakfast at the Koti Maternity Hospital.

This one act of kindness, began a long journey of selfless service.

Pursuing a Pharma degree from the Sultan UL Uloom College of Pharmacy, Sujathullah started off by offering dinner, drinking water and blanket for the patients. He usually saves his pocket money for purchasing these items. After that, he heads to his classes. Sujathullah has set up a foundation named as “Humanity First”, in which he has helped the needy as well. Sujathullah has a mission to make sure that no one, irrespective of race, caste, or religion is striving hard for food. He wants to create an ecosystem of charity and generosity towards the needy.