Life’s rude shocks can sometimes teach the biggest lessons. Rajjat K Barjatya’s successful battle with cancer gave him a chance to give back to the society

Second chances are rare and when you get it you don’t lose it. What you make of it forms the basis of your identity and makes you stand out among the rest. This is the story of Rajjat A Barjatya, MD and CEO of Rajshri Entertainment, who being a leukemia survivor wanted his second innings to be far more purposeful. He formed Rajshri Foundation, the non-profit arm of the 67-yearold Rajshri Group, India’s leading film, TV, music and digital entertainment studio to do just that.

Formed with a vision to live in a world where no one goes hungry, the organisation supports the underprivileged and empowers the youth to become self-reliant through its food programme.

The Foundation has fused its anna daan initiative (food donation) with education, which forms the basis of its Food With a Purpose programme. Presently, it serves nutritious snacks to 1,500 students of 13 night schools and colleges in Mumbai everyday throughout the academic year.

PLANTING THE SEED

But first, the beginning. The thought to form Rajshri Foundation came while Barjatya was undergoing chemotherapy in 2011. As he says it himself, “Being a cancer survivor, I didn’t want to start an organisation on cancer, since I felt it would not allow me to move on.” This urge to embrace life and work for a future where no one goes hungry led him to form Rajshri Foundation.

After establishing it in late-2012, the organisation came up with its first programme — Food with a Purpose.

“With our first programme, we have tried to connect food with a purpose and that purpose is education, which we believe is the only way for our nation to progress,” says Barjatya. Once the education factor was decided, it was schools that were to be targetted.

While the day-schools were covered through the Midday Meal Schemes by the government and various NGOs, it was the night schools and junior colleges that were neglected. Night schools give the opportunity of education to those who can’t attend school during the day. Coming from the weaker section of society, most of these children have to work for a livelihood or are school dropouts or migrants. The food programme encourages students who want to study and reduces school dropouts.

SEEING IT GROW

While exploring the options, the organisation also found that these night schools had major attendance and performance issues. Considering that most of the students came directly from their workplace, after having put eight-10 hours of work and sometimes after traveling long distances to school, they were too tired and hungry to attend classes. Also, there was a mix of students — ranging from teens to those studying after a gap of 20 years. There was an urge to study among all of them, but the circumstances were not conducive.

According to Barjatya, one of the major problems in India is the number of school dropouts. These children discontinue their education because of poverty and need to earn a livelihood to support themselves and their families. The major gap lies in secondary education, which plays a fundamental role in preparing young people for the job/ labour market in today’s growing economy.

“The purpose is to address this vicious cycle of poverty, hunger and lack of education through this programme. Rajshri Foundation focuses on the issue of completion of secondary education. If food, the most basic of all human needs, is taken care of, other endeavours become easier,” adds Bela Rathod, Manager, Rajshri Foundation. And this is what prompted the Foundation to start serving nutritious evening snacks to students.

REAPING THE CROP

The journey according to Barjatya has been an amazing one, with the satisfaction writ not only in the faces of students but the teachers and principals as well, who had to earlier deal with dismal examination results. The introduction of food programme has become one of the major motivating factors for the children. As a result, there’s higher attendance, higher level of concentration in class, better retention, lower dropouts and better academic performance.

“Before the introduction of this programme, we had poor examination results. It has changed since last year – in class 10, we had a pass percentage of 100 per cent, and class 12 commerce results were also 65 per cent,” says Ghodke, Principal, Social Service Night High School, Parel. He adds that the programme has reduced the dropouts considerably, increased concentration, along with a 100 per cent attendance in most of the classes.”

“The desire to come to school is something everyone is eager to talk about,” says Sonali Dalvi, a Class 12 night school student, who works in a garment factory during the day. Considering the snacks are served 15 minutes prior to starting of the class, the classroom seems to be brimming with students. “Earlier we had to go downstairs to eat vada-pav or something else when we were hungry. Invariably, we used to miss out on something in the class. But, with nutritious and tasty snacks, there is more energy and fulfillment,” says Shankar Vhatkar, a class 12 student in one such school.

Amol Nalawade, one of the teachers in a night school, is extremely happy with the change in his classroom. Not only are the classes full, the students are more attentive and ready to learn more. There is increased confidence among the students to realise their academic goals.

To maintain the excitement about food, the menu keeps changing through the week, with a variety of food items such as poha, upma, chana masala, sheera and so on. During examinations, as per the request of principals and teachers, more dry snacks are provided since it becomes easier to distribute and saves time. The Foundation also takes regular feedback from the teachers and the students on the quality and quantity of food. Changes in the menu or food items are done accordingly.

The Foundation currently operates from Rajshri Entertainment’s Worli office and is supported by the women who cook and assistants who deliver the food, and comprises drivers, office-boys and delivery personnel.

Through the programme, the Foundation also helps in providing jobs to underprivileged women. The snacks are prepared by these women in their household kitchens, who in turn are able to earn, become self-reliant and support their families with the income.

BROADENING HORIZONS

Taking into account the lives affected by this programme, the Foundation is planning to reach out to more schools and juniur colleges in Mumbai (there are around 150 of them in Mumbai) and the rest of Maharashtra. While the foundation is currently working through seed capital given by the Rajshri Group, it is open to donations and tie-ups to take this vision ahead. In the near future, Rajshri Foundation is looking at expanding its awareness and scaling the operations.

While the journey has been a learning lesson, it has also led to an enriching and satisfying experience for Barjatya, who feels it’s just the first step and the Foundation has miles to go.