BHAATBANK Let's End Hunger Together

"A few grains of rice can make all the difference"- such is the motto of BhaatBank, a registered non-profit organisation working to end hunger by providing free meals to the less fortunate. Where more than 32 percent of our population still live under the poverty line, we all arguably have a moral responsibility to try to mitigate the hunger that comes with poverty. The prevalence of child malnutrition in Bangladesh is 33 percent, one of the highest in the world.

BhaatBank was founded by Hasnain Syed and Ayesha Ahsan from USA, joined by Mohammad Hassan and Mohammed Wahiduzzaman from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Along the way, Nadia Sarker and other passionate members have joined together to end hunger for single mothers like Rehana, widowed, with three small children, struggling for meals. BhaatBank is for small girls like Rita, who no longer have to collect the thrown away rice from the floor of bazaar for a meal.

The organisation runs completely on donations, and is currently providing 1200 free and freshly cooked meals per month to the ones in need. "This is not a hand out, and nor are we doing this to earn any social 'brownie points'. We simply want to help those who are unable to provide for themselves and their family a proper square meal, even after toiling over a hard day of labour. BhaatBank services are not limited to just donating food from our donation centers in our city," says Nadia Sarker.

At the moment, the organisation operates in Mohammadpur and plans to expand to other areas soon. The philanthropic activities of the organisation is not limited to food, as during the recent flood crisis in North Bengal, BhaatBank and their volunteers reached out to the flood victims in Sirajganj and provided 250 families with care packages consisting of one week worth of food and medicine supplies. The ultimate goal, however, is that no one in the city should sleep hungry. As Mother Teresa once said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one."

If you want to donate to this noble cause or volunteer, you can log in at: www.bhaatbank.org