Champion for Hungry Strays: Making a Difference One Meal at a Time

Shutting down of restaurants, eateries, markets, and all the other public places have completely paused leftovers, which is the primary source of food for hungry strays. The helpless animals inhabiting our streets are on the verge of starvation owing to the nationwide lockdown.

10-year-old Adwitiya, a grade 5 student from Oakridge International School Bachupally, who has a strong affinity for animals from a very tender age, has been going out of her way to help these strays during these times.

It is exactly after a week into the lockdown, when her father went out for some groceries, saw a bunch of innocent skinny stray dogs including a starving puppy who was having a hard time finding food. The poor dogs were running around the streets and towards people in expectation of some food, and the visual was heart-wrenching. When Adwitiya and her family discussed the situation, they decided to do something for them. She and her parents with few other volunteers together decided to start a food distribution initiative and feed the hungry animals in their vicinity.

“When we were discussing the idea of giving the hungry dogs some food, Adwitya was ready to go out to give them food. However, keeping the conditions outside in mind, we agreed that she would help in pre and post food distribution activities and I would go out for feeding them. She also understands that during these difficult times, it’s important that everyone steps up and contributes to the larger society and the eco-system – doesn’t matter however miniscule the contribution is”, said her father Abhishek Roy Chowdhury.

As a valuable contributor, Adwitiya enthusiastically supported in preparing food which had a mix of Rice, Curd, boiled Eggs, and sometimes Bread and Roti, while her father and the other volunteers would go out for feeding the dogs. Not just that, to make this initiative bigger and spread the message to a larger extent, Adwitiya had created a few videos on YouTube. While in one of the videos, she is talking about the initiative “Hungry Kya’ and its importance, in another video, she has recorded the recipe of the food preparation that she makes for the stray dogs. She has also made an appeal in a video, where she is requesting children to join hands in contributing during these tough times.

“With the situation outside deteriorating day by day, I strongly feel that we need to do our bit to support the society in some way or the other – doesn’t matter however minuscule it is. We have started an initiative called “Hungry Kya”, where we prepare food for the stray dogs and go out for the distribution. With the shops, hotels, and restaurants getting closed, the stray animals are badly starving. We attempt to support the ones in our vicinity with some basic and hygienic food” says Adwitiya.

“It is so nice to see Adwitiya and several other Oakridgers stepping up to do their bit during these times. Through our Community Action Service initiatives and programs at school, we always develop values of empathy and responsibility in our students , so that they can be change-makers wherever it is needed” says Baljeet Oberoi, Principal, Oakridge International School Bachupally.