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Nutritional Support

Milk and food for children

Our work with various schools and organizations taught us that many children do not receive basic levels of nutrition. Through further exploration we learnt that what they most require is milk and a nutritious breakfast.

As a result, volunteers of Udhavum Ullangal now supply…

  • Milk to:
    • Homes for mentally retarded children, spending Rs. 6000/- every month on homes like Sri Arunodayam, Samarpana, Anbu Karangalin Anbu Illam, and Adheeswarer, in and around Chennai.
    • The Nandanam government schoolfor Adi Dravidar children, where students below 10 years don’t get any milk whatsoever. We have paid local vendors to supply the 4.5 extra litres of milk every day.
  • Breakfast to 130 students of the Government Girls’ High School in T-Nagar, whose students often come to school on empty stomachs. When we realized that their parents aren’t able to prepare breakfast before going to work, we started organizing simple, nutritious food like dosai, idli, pongal, puri, etc., 5 days a week. We have also supplied the school with vessels for noon meals.

Provisions for families

For families in which breadwinners are affected by leprosy or are visually impaired, we supply provisions like rice, dhal, spices, oil, etc., totaling Rs. 400/- or Rs. 500/- per family, depending on its size.

We supply a total of 127 such families in places like Tuticorin, Shenkottai, Tirupattur, Vellore, and Tirunelveli, throughout Tamil Nadu.

Provisions for the terminally ill

We also provide for 300 AIDS patients in Tambaram’s T.B Hospital, enlisting the help of the students of Sri Sankara Vidhyashramam. Our volunteers and the students collect items like soap, dates, biscuits, fruits, and old clothes, distributing them amongst the patients four times a year.

These efforts started in 2000, when one of our volunteers visiting a sick relative noticed the hospital’s need for help: even basic resources - like gowns for patients - were not readily available. Now, around 25 of our volunteers take part in the quarterly hospital visits.