“I’ve always believed that even the smallest act of kindness can create a ripple effect. That belief led me to a choice many thought was risky: in 2015, I walked away from my stable job as a Junior IT Officer at Krishnapatnam Port. Life was comfortable, but my heart wasn’t in it. Walking through the streets of Machilipatnam, I didn’t just see the scenery; I saw children dropping out of school and families struggling for basics. I realized I couldn’t just look away anymore.
We started by focusing on a visible irony: food waste. Think about the weddings and functions we attend—so much surplus food goes straight to the bin. I thought, “Why not bridge the gap?” That idea grew into a logistical system where we now collect and redistribute two tons of excess food every month. But hunger was just a symptom; the root causes were a lack of education and healthcare. Today, through Helping Spot Organisation, we sponsor the education of 28 children and provide medical support to 25 families.
The real test came during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a family effort in the truest sense. My wife, who was seven months pregnant at the time, joined me in the kitchen to oversee 50,000 meal packs.
We focused on healthy, “spice-free” meals for senior citizens and isolated patients. Whether it was that or the 2024 floods, where 50 of our volunteers distributed 18,000 packets daily, the mission has remained the same: helping people thrive, not just survive.
This isn’t just my story; it’s the story of my wife, my family, and our volunteers.
Currently, I serve as the Director of TiE Hyderabad, but I have decided to resign from this role and shift to Vijayawada soon. My next mission is to launch food collection trucks and excess food distribution projects on a much larger scale. In just one year, we aim to collect 300 tonnes of excess food—enough to feed up to 15 lakh people. The road ahead won’t be easy, but as long as we keep showing up, we’ll keep making a difference, one life at a time.”
- Bhargav Ventrapragada, Founder, Helpingspot Organization