31.1.2025. 10pm IST
FOOD BANK SANGOLDA GOA from 1.1.2025, has been providing A BIRTHDAY CAKE to any senior citizen with disabilities, right to the door step free of cost, only in GOA.
This project is from 1st Jan 25 to 31st Dec 25.
We have identified 2000 goans who are senior citizens, registered with the Government, having a disability Certificate/ UDID Card and suffering from disabilities and on their birthday, we are providing a Free cake or a basket of fruits or Vegetables.
We employed on a Salary basis , a middle aged goan girl who is herself totally physical challenged without hands and legs and yet able to use a phone and a laptop who does the tele calling for the project from her home.
We have confirmed data of these senior citizens with disabilities and their birthdays.
The girl calls these senior citizens, introduces herself and our NGO.
Then the girl inquires whether their birthday is on the day the data is showing & asks if they would like to receive a Free birthday cake.
Some say yes while others say no.
Then the girl inquires of they would like Fruits or vegetables.
Once the girl gets the details with address, Landmark and time of delivery , she posts on a WhatsApp group where our volunteers are present.
We have volunteers right from :
Tip of Goa ie Pernem to the last point of Goa ie Loliem in Canacona & from
Mormugao to Valpoi to Dharbandora & Sanguem
We are covering all 12 takukas in Goa.
Imagine the planning, coordination & implementation only through whatsapp messages.
All this took alot of time & effort.
Ultimately all the team members feel that joy and satisfaction when they visit a senior citizen with disabilities on their birthday.
You must be wondering who is footing the bills & why is a small NGO like us doing this ?
Reaching out for the full year, to over 2000 senior citizens with disabilities for their birthday is going to cost us Rs 10 lacs to Rs 12 lacs.
We @ Street Providence are doing this as no one understands ” disabilities ” better than us as we prefer to get the work done rather than see them just left alone and suffering.
In our shelter homes last 7 years, we celebrate each resident birthday with a nice cake and good food and that's when I decided to go beyond our homes.
We all including me celebrate our birthdays and our children / spouse / parents birthday where thousands if not lacs are spent.
Last one month we have seen really poor goans with disabilites who no one might or rather there is no one to celebrate their birthday.
Each birthday gift is between Rs 400 to Rs 600.
Depending on the location.
So next time you are celebrating your birthday or of a family members birthday, do think about our poor senior citizen Goans who through your donations also feel that joy and happiness as we reach them at their door step.
This is where and how we intend to raise the resources.
But 1st we decided to put in our funds, set up the project, sort out the likely issues, get the team members into the system and now after 1 month make this project public through our social media post.
Infact in the coming week there will be a press conference with all our team members connected to this project along with The Social Welfare Minister and The Social Welfare Director who has been very supportive of this innitative.
One of its kind across India.
Well this entire month of January 2025 I took a complete break from all platforms of social media to recharge my body and that's the reason you did not receive any whatsapp updates on our work at our NGO.
We ended the year 2024 on a very high note, thanks to our benefactors, staff and volunteers who have supported our mission of ” ending Hunger and homelessness “.
Beginning of 2025 right from 1st Jan we :
☆ 1. Blessed & innaugrated a small new office at Sangolda at the hands of Bishops Theodore Mascarenhas.
☆ 2. We also Blessed a brand new Morgue to be used by parishioners of St Diogo Church Guirim & those in need FREE of cost at the hands of Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas.
☆ 3. We did a complete soft launch / run for the full month of January 25 of reaching out to 60+ senior citizens suffering from disabilities on their birthday by providing them a free birthday cake or fruits and vegetables
☆ 4. Republic Day 2025 , Navtara sponsored 1000 meals for the poor which were distributed by our volunteers and other NGOs who are working along with us to the poor and needy.
☆ 5. In Jharkhand we donated & distrubuted 1000+ new blankets and 1500+ new monkey caps to children in the vicinity of our shelter home in Lather district.
We have planned another 4 projects which will be implemented in the month of February / March namely :
♧1. Sponsoring Sports for poor rural children.
♧ 2. Sponsoring musical instruments for poor rural children.
♧ 3. Feeding outside the biggest hospital meals daily for a year in the afternoon.
♧ 4. Livelihood project thru animal husbandry for 300 poor widows across Goa.
For those who missed my posts and wondered what happened, I apologize for not informing earlier that I was on a recharge break.
Our donations took a big dive as many assumptions arise in minds of benefactors when they did not receive any posts for over a month.
It's the 1st time in 7 years, that there was no posts about our work for a full month.
We are active , working and doing work as always so please do get in touch with me thru WhatsApp messages on 8380087564.
God bless you all
Donald Fernandes
8380097564 / 7020314848
