NGO celebrates Valentine’s Day with special meal for caregivers at KEM Hospital

Marking Valentinersquos Day with a difference a Mumbaibased nongovernmental organisation Akshaya Chaitanya had a special meal for caregivers looking after their family members at the civicrun KEM Hospital in Parel It may be a day of sweet nothings but late on Friday morning the NGO added a little sweet something in their free afternoon meal for these caregivers at the government hospital The caregivers got strawberryflavoured sheera as dessert with their meal for the special dayLove rulesA spokesperson said ldquoThis is our lsquoFeedingWithLoversquo campaign under the Swastha Ahara initiative We provide free breakfast lunch and dinner to caregivers of patients at the KEM Hospital daily Friday being a day to show love we decided to include a sweet treat with the meal to show our appreciation to caregivers they are the reasons for not just physical but psychological support to patientsrdquo Fridayrsquos lunch of dalricesabzi was rounded off with dessertDr Sangeeta Rawat right and her team serving caregivers at KEM Hospital on FridayThe thoughtSaid caregiver Ghulam Rasool who was standing in the queue for his meal ldquoI have come here from Uttar Pradesh and have been here for a month for my loved onersquos brain surgery He is doing well I have got by on these meals I am so grateful for thisrdquo Pratikant Mahadik from Jalgaon was in the hospital as a caregiver for his wife who he claimed is battling some adverse effects from radiation treatment ldquoI have been here for 11 days We are so happy somebody is thinking of caregivers todayrdquo Kunda Shahasne from Bhiwandi who was at the spot said ldquoHow can I carry my lunch from Bhiwandi daily We get food here this is so convenientrdquoSome reliefAs the caregivers spoke the lunch which was stored in insulated vessels started being served Madhukar Pawar a caregiver from Jogeshwari who was at the hospital because his wife was suffering from gastro problems was also waiting for lunch ldquoI have lost my feet in an accident I am handicapped myself These meals have been a literal lifesaver Where would I go scouting around for my footrdquo he asked as Sushila Sawant from Vasai concurred Neelam Solanki who was at the hospital as a caregiver is from Bhavnagar Gujarat She explained ldquoThese free meals at least give us some relief Anyway there is enough stress leaving family behind in the hometownrdquo Solankirsquos face like others broke out in a smile her worries vanishing momentarily when asked about the Valentine initiative ldquoMast greatrdquo she said in response as others cheered and agreedDean SpeakThe KEM Dean Dr Sangeeta Rawat who also joined in the initiative serving the caregivers for some time said ldquoAt least 60 per cent come in from outside the state These free meals help them save around R200 per daymdashmoney they can instead use for their loved onersquos medication It is important too that caregivers are healthy They need to have the energy to look after patientsrdquo Dr Rawat added with a laugh ldquoValentinersquos Day means boyfriend and girlfriend to most but love has different meanings here this is a heartwarming twistrdquoVikas Parchhanda CEO of Akshaya Chaitanya said ldquoMany of these caregivers skip meals or survive on inadequate nutrition which impacts their wellbeing leaving them physically exhausted and emotionally drained We look after them in this way making their caregiving journey just that little bit easierrdquo while spokesperson Pooja Patra added ldquoDo remember too that the caregiver is the liaison between doctor and patient They are such a vital part of the medical ecosystemrdquo