Meet the bunch of people who feed the poor Robin Hood style

NEW DELHI: They take their inspiration from Robin Hood — one of the most famous outlaws in folklore — who robbed the rich to feed the poor. But the two-year-old Robin Hood Army by Neel Ghose and Anand Sinha, "does not rob the rich. Instead, it seeks their support to help the poor and hungry people". It all began when the two sat with a group of friends discussing this new project, "quite a few of us, by sheer chance, turned up in green – hence naming ourselves after the maverick Robin seemed an obvious choice”, says Sinha, 29, CEO of his tech startup, Press Play.
Every Sunday evening, dressed in Lincoln greens, members of RHA gather at different places across the city to first collect food from restaurants and then disperse in different areas to distribute it to the poor. "The idea is not to hand it to just about anyone — it’s not for beggars. What we do instead is to scout around for those who are starving, who really need to be fed,” says the 28-year-old Ghose talking about lost children, the sick or the elderly people who can barely move or have been left to fend for themselves.
Robinhoods at Jamia.
It was while he was stationed in Lisbon, a few years ago that Ghose came across Re-Food, a voluntary organisation that collects left-over food from hotels and restaurants and gives it to the hungry. “Seeing its work, I was very inspired, and doing something like this seemed like a very obvious thing to do here in India,” says the VP, international operations, at Zomato.
Back home, he got in touch with his former colleague Sinha. “Right from the time of our first job with a Hyderabad-based company, both of us would discuss about working for the needy,” says Sinha. That is why when the two, coincidentally, happened to resign from the company around the same time, a joint farewell was planned for them. “When asked what gifts we’d like, we told our colleagues there to just hand over the amount they’d contribute for our farewell to us,” informs Ghose. And with this money, they took some kids from an NGO out for a movie, Kung Fu Panda, followed by a meal at KFC. “Doing this was just a very spontaneous decision and the joy we got out of it was a hundred times more than what some random perfume or book would have given us,” he adds.
Syed, a microbiologist, from the South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal travels 120kms to attend every drive with the Kolkata Robins.
While their respective jobs keep them busy through the week, Sundays are left for philanthropic work. “Although RHA is still very young, we’ve been very fortunate with the response it's garnered — not just from people wanting to offer voluntary services but also from most of the restaurants we’ve tapped,” says Ghose. He laughs talking about how the owner of Kebab Express, when first contacted, had told them he wouldn’t give them any left-over food. "Seeing the disappointed look on our faces, he added, 'Instead of left-overs, I'll give you specially cooked food for your venture." When people contact them to inquire about how they can contribute, "we tell them that the only requisite we have is that the food shouldn’t be stale. Just plain dal, chawal and khichdi, or even plain bread — that we can make sandwiches of — would do”, he says. And in the winter months, they try to help the poor with blankets, clothes and footwear. And with an active facebook page that already has over 30,000 likes, RHA has spread its wings and has volunteers working in over seven countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Australia, feeding thousands every week. "The only mandate we have for people who want to get involved with us is, no monetary contributions. People can help us in kind — by giving us food, clothes, bedding, etc, for distribution," he adds.
The Robinhood army.
From the time it started with a handful of volunteers, RHA now has an army of over 6,700. "Earlier we used to meet in Anand's house and divide the work. Now our volunteers (worldwide) work independently in the various areas of their cities," he says. He remembers the response to their Diwali campaign wherein people were asked to go out, distribute food and crackers and then post their pictures on RHA’s home-page. "It was enough to show that there are many youngsters who’re more than willing to help,” he says. Priyanka Joshi was one of them. An assistant professor teaching at DU’s SRCC, Joshi and her mother had made 21 boxes and drove around distributing them. “The look of joy on the faces of those poor people made our effort so worthwhile,” she says. When she got married, Joshi ensured that a sizeable amount was prepared to be put in several boxes for distribution. “I wanted at least some people on the streets to partake of the goodies our guests had. For us it was maybe a small gesture but for someone who's hungry, it was a huge thing,” she says. Robin Hood must be nodding his head in approval.