“Alone we can do so little, but together we can do a lot”: RHA

The Robin Hood Army is a zero-fund based voluntary organization that works to get surplus food from restaurants and the community to serve less fortunate people. The main aim of our army is to overcome the problem of scarcity and wastage of food which is increasing rapidly.

“Hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria, and terrorism combined. It’s sad but true that one third of food produced in the world is never consumed. Roughly one in every eight person sleeps with an empty stomach. A lot of surplus food is simply thrown away”, says Nishchay Shende, a lad, who along with three-four friends took an initiative to launch the Robin Hood Army(RHA) movement in Nagpur.

The RHA programme was conceptualized and launched by Neel Ghose and Anand Sinha in the year 2014.Since then the organization has been increasing as more people are realizing the that hunger is just not an expression but a very serious problem in our society.

Robin Hood was the legendary bandit of England who stole from the rich to help the poor. This is what inspires the founders and hence the organization was named as Robin Hood Army. The dress code of the organization is of green color with a logo of bow and an arrow, which depicts the legendary figure. The volunteers of RHA are called as Robins.

The organisation is spread in almost every city of the India, along with 14 other countries. And our fellow Robins come up with their own innovative ideas to help the less fortunate in our society. RHA is an organisation which works with the ethics of *Zero Monetary Gains* and does not involve any exchange of money. The food distributed is collected from restaurants free of cost.

The organization operates on weekdays, but for new volunteers weekend drives are scheduled, wherein the new ones are given an induction programme. The volunteers can contribute in different ways like serving food, teaching and various activities for the children in slums.  The major problem that they are facing is that the people are not ready to eat what they have been offered to them, says Nishchay.

The only condition RHA has for the needy people while serving the food is that the food should be consumed then and there only.  In the past few months, RHA has become really very progressive and impactful in the country, especially in Maharashtra where the organization is spreading smiles in 8 cities, including Nagpur.

There are 150 volunteers at present in Nagpur city, in the age group of 15-65 years, informs Nishchay. The members of RHA are mostly students and professionals who, in their free time become a part of this noble cause.  Robins of many cities have even started with academic drives wherein every weekend, they teach, guide and spend their time with slum children.

In this era, where global problems are on hype, there is a need of us, as youth to join hands and give what best we have and can, to the ones who aren’t fortunate enough to afford even a square of meal, Nishchay mentioned.

For joining RHA one can visit the website, register and can become a part of or RHA family. The smiles on the faces of the people they have helped is the true reward for any robin.

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