Apeejay Panchsheel Park students distribute food grains in a Gurgaon slum

The Interact Club of Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, recently conducted a social initiative to help slum dwellers by providing them with food grains. As part of “Project Ann Daan”, students visited slum areas located around sector 49 in Gurgaon and distributed dry rations among the impoverished.

The project was organised in collaboration with an NGO called Heal The Globe Foundation. Nearly 300 kgs of wheat, rice, pulses, salt, and sugar were distributed among about 70-80 families. Children were given biscuits and juice packets.

Pranav Gaikwad, president of the Interact Club, helmed the project. “This is one of the most prestigious initiatives of the Interact club that is done every year. But we were unable to do it in the last two years due to the pandemic. But this year, I decided to make it happen. 

“We contacted Heal the Globe Foundation, which reached out to several slums in Gurgaon. We got to know there are people who are not able to afford a single meal in a day. So, we started a drive in our school whereby we started collecting food grains from students (nursery to 12) and teachers. The drive went on for a month and we successfully collected about 300 kgs of grains,” said the class 12 student.

Talking about the experience, he further added, “Some of the people we met did not even have a proper kutcha house and lived under tin sheets. We could have distributed the food through leading NGOs but that would not have given us the satisfaction of meeting the dwellers personally and helping them.”

Another member of the club, Saumya Bansal, a class 12 student, said the experience taught her to value her privileges. “I initially expected to visit a shelter in an NGO. But when I finally reached the area, I got to see that the people did not have homes; many of them did not have proper clothes to wear and were barefoot. The experience made me realise the privileges I have in life while these people struggled to even meet their basic needs. I realised we should be thankful for whatever we have.

The smile on the faces of the slum dwellers was a testimony to the success of the humane endeavour that the club embarked on. “I understood the need to keep helping the underprivileged. We took up similar initiatives earlier too and will definitely plan more in the future,” Bansal added.

Sharing is caring! The students of Apeejay Panchsheel Park showed their noble thoughts as they gave an overwhelming response to the Ann Daan project. My heart swells with pride to see their compassionate spirit and determination. Blessings upon them!

-Sandeep Kathuria, principal, Apeejay School Panchsheel Park