An exemplary initiative by young volunteers

ROBIN HOOD ARMY

Islamabad

When we open our newspaper each morning – or whenever – bad news rules the roost, so to say and there is hardly ever a story that is inspiring or one that leaves you in a ‘feel good’ mood. So it was a nice to receive an email from a friend who sent a clipping from a newspaper that has stories under the title ‘Beyond Headlines,’ and get a pleasant surprise that it was about young Pakistanis doing a wonderful job feeding people in marginalised communities. That’s another ‘feel good’ plus point — that it is young people who are involved in the project because they are usually the most criticised!

Since I have not heard of these good Samaritans before this, I thought maybe our readers have not heard of them either and it would be a good idea to share the news with them. So thanks to the Internet and social media I learned that the Robin Hood Army (RHA slogan: ‘Serve the Hungry Citizen’) “is a volunteer based organisation that works to get surplus food from restaurants to the less fortunate sections of society in cities across Pakistan; India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. The volunteers are largely young working professionals from varied fields. The lesser fortunate sections who the organisation reaches out to include homeless families, orphanages, night shelters, homes for abandoned children, patients from public hospitals, etc. The food distributed to the needy is sourced from restaurants, which regularly provide surplus or freshly cooked food on a goodwill basis.

The RHA originated in New Delhi, India and then eventually spread its operations to other cities when young people showed interest in starting a similar campaign. On February 15, 2015, the Robin Hood Army commenced its activities in Karachi, Pakistan. The organisation functions on and propagates the basic ideology of self-sustained communities across the city i.e. each locality/community within the city will contribute towards providing food to the needy through its local volunteers and restaurants.

The organisation does not accept monetary donations and only distributes the food or donations in kind that it receives from its restaurant partners and donors. The Robin Hood Army, wearing green T-shirts, applies the following principles to further its cause: Spread awareness of its activities through social media to promote the idea of self-sustained communities; tie-ups and associations with restaurants to provide food in large numbers to the homeless/less fortunate communities; introduce new volunteers on a regular basis to the system, to create an impact amongst the less fortunate and in the process inspire a community to give time and help to those who need it most.

The RHA actively uses Facebook and Twitter to generate awareness and inspire new volunteers to join and routinely launches campaigns on special occasions or festivals. Hats off to these young volunteers who make this effort to help those who are less fortunate than themselves in a cheerful and friendly manner so that they do not go hungry.