28 May 2024: In the ongoing CSR program by Malabar Group, ‘Hunger Free World’ to provide nutritious meals daily to the needy, they will be expanding to cover more people and cities. At present, as many as 31,000 food packets are distributed under the ambitious program, which was initiated to support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2 and Zero Hunger. As part of scaling up to 51,000 packets, they will now be distributed.
The expansion of the plan was officially flagged off by Adv. P.S Sreedharan Pillai, Honorable Governor of Goa, at the World Hunger Day observance event held on May 28 at Malabar Headquarters (MHQ). M P Ahammed, Malabar Group chairman, presided over the function. P T A Rahim, MLA, unveiled the Hunger Free World donation gateway, and Thottathil Raveendran, MLA, launched the official newsletter. Dr. Basith Vadakkayil, Project Head of the IPRH Daya Rehabilitation Trust, briefed them about the program. P K Ahammed, P Group Chairman, and P V Chandran, Mathrubhumi Managing Editor, offered felicitations. K P Veeran Kutty, Executive Director, Malabar Group, graced the occasion with his presence. O Asher, Malabar Gold and Diamonds Managing Director (India Operations) welcomed the guests, and Nishad A. K, Malabar Group Executive Director, proposed the vote of thanks.
At present, the program is implemented in 37 cities spread across 16 states, including the Union Territories, apart from a few centers in the Gulf Countries. As a part of the expansion, the program will now cover 70 cities in 16 states. Besides, the Group also plans to launch the same program for school children in the African nation of Zambia, known for the largest level of gold mining in the world.
“There are still plenty of people around us who are struggling to secure at least one square meal a day. We launched this program as a small hand of help to those governments and agencies working hard to eliminate hunger from our world,” said M.P Ahammed.
The program ‘Hunger Free World’ is executed with the help of the highly recognized social welfare NGO “Thanal-Daya Rehabilitation Trust.’ Modern Kitchens have been set in various locations to prepare nutritious food in a hygienic environment by different skilled chefs. The volunteers of the Malabar Group and Thanal identify the needy people in the streets and urban suburbs and bring the food packets to their doorsteps.
The NGO volunteers are also surveying the beneficiaries to assess the social and economic causes of hunger. As part of this program, the Malabar Group, in association with Thanal, has already started the `Grandma Home’ project to identify poor and orphaned elderly women and provide them with free food, accommodation, and other health care. Two such `Grandma Homes’ have been set up in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Plans are afoot to set up similar homes in Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, and a few select cities in Kerala. This will provide an opportunity for neglected and orphaned women to live with dignity. The Group has also launched a micro-learning program to support the primary education of street children.
Apart from this, the Malabar Group is also active in other social welfare and charitable activities like financial assistance for medical care, education support to female students, and partial support for house construction. The Group earmarks five percent of the profits from its verticals, including Malabar Gold and Diamonds, as a CSR fund for social welfare activities. The Group has already spent Rs 246 crore on such social welfare programs.
