A heartwarming act from a Liverpool Supporters’ Club in the heart of Mumbai has seen hundreds receive valuable resources in a time of great need.
The entire world is facing an unprecedented period with the coronavirus continuing to have both health and financial repercussions, but countless acts of kindness have helped ease the burden on many.
And after the LFC Foundation called for a “weekend of action” at the start of September, Liverpool supporters’ clubs across the world participated to raise valuable funds or provide relief for their local community.
In Japan, £2,550 was raised through an online auction for Japan’s Blind Football Association, in Delaware, they made a sizeable donation to a local food bank and in Mumbai, stationery, masks and over 1,200 kilograms of food were distributed.
Mumbai is the largest city in India and is densely populated with over 20 million people, an area which has been hit hard by coronavirus with over one million confirmed cases.
And This Is Anfield spoke to OLSC Mumbai’s branch secretary, Neil Chheda (@LFCMumbai) about their heartwarming gesture to help families in their community.
“LFC Foundation announced the ‘This Means More Challenge’ in late July and as soon as we heard about it we were very excited,” he explained.
“As an OLSC we were actively looking to do something to help those in need with Mumbai being one of the worst affected cities by COVID-19 in India, and probably the world.
“So this was an ideal opportunity for us to give back to those in need in our city, especially in these difficult times.
“We partnered with Robin Hood Army India for their help and guidance, a volunteer-based non-profit organisation who get surplus food from eateries and the community to serve those who struggle for their daily meals.
“Food security and hunger is a major problem not just in our city, but across the country and the crisis has become more pressing in the wake of the pandemic.
“We planned to raise funds from our fans, friends and family and we managed to raise twice the amount we initially aimed for in a span of just five days! We were overwhelmed by the response.
“After checking on the needs of the families, we realised that ration kits with key nutritious ingredients would help families sustain themselves for a longer period, instead of one ready meal or perishable food items.
“Keeping this in mind, we distributed 100 ration kits consisting of masks and 12 food items including wheat flour, rice, pulses, sugar, salt and more benefiting 100 families for a month.
“It was not just food as we also tried to help the little ones in these areas by giving them stationery that could be useful for their education at home, as schools are still shut.”
Here's a short video of our #ThisMeansMoreChallenge
Thank you @LFCFoundation, @Linda_Pizzuti and @LFC for empowering us to carry out this drive and helping those in need.
This is one of the most fulfilling things we've done as a Supporters Club & we intend to continue it. pic.twitter.com/R20C3QHPhg
— LFC Mumbai – OLSC (@LFCMumbai) September 7, 2020
And the selflessness on show from volunteers was something that proved to be empowering and inspirational for Neil in the midst of a pandemic.
“It was a feeling of immense gratitude. We felt grateful and blessed to be in a position where we could help the less fortunate in their time of need,” he added.
“Amidst the skyscrapers of the city, there are several pockets of those less fortunate that struggle to meet their daily needs.
“Despite facing a strong wave of coronavirus cases in the city, it was also heartening to see our members join us in our attempt to give back to our community while risking their health.
“The faith of our contributors and volunteers empowered us to carry out this drive and also instilled the feeling of oneness that we have in our LFC Mumbai community.
“We hope this sets a precedent for further participation from our fans in future community and outreach programs.
“In the future, we hope to continue to unite our community and strive to bridge some of the social, economic and political gaps in our society.”
Thanks again to Neil Chheda (@LFCMumbai) from OLSC Mumbai for sharing. You’ll Never Walk Alone!
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