In January of 1989 Pankaj Shah landed in Calcutta where he was, for 95 days, going to dedicate his time to working with Saint Teresa of Calcutta, better known as Mother Teresa. She had invited him to stay at her home during his visit which happened shortly after her own trip to Nairobi months before when the two first met.
The year before, Mother Teresa had just arrived in Nairobi and was on her way to Huruma from the airport when an unlikely accident between the vehicle she was in and Pankaj’s car led the two to meet. He recognized her even before she introduced herself and he offered to chauffeur her around as she in turn showed him the various charity Homes she was affiliated with in the city. He spent the next few days working with her, driving her around to the various homes she intended to visit, and all the while enamoured by her dedication to service.
As an Indian-Hindu boy, from an early age Pankaj’s parents taught him the art of giving and the art of sharing. Religion and culture advised that 20% of a person’s earnings should go to those in need or less fortunate. When in Calcutta, Pankaj was immersed into the world of philanthropy, working with 163 mentally disabled children between ages 6 and 13. It was here that the humbling experience of his life took root.
Three decades later, his time away would be more memorable than ever before. By then, Pankaj had started a travel business. Then on the 24th of February 2020, Pankaj was forced to close office because of the increasing CoVid-19 cases around the world that inevitably affected the tourism sector.
On the 21st of March, a week after the president of Kenya announced that all institutions were to be closed, Pankaj came up with an idea. Truthfully, it was an action that followed a conversation from earlier in the day. That morning, he had gone for prayers at Mother Teresa Children’s Home and when he had a moment with the Sisters, they informed him that many people had lost their jobs and as a result, were unable to feed themselves and their families. Pankaj’s idea was to put together food hampers for distribution to the less fortunate, an initiative that he called Save a Fellow Kenyan.
Distribution began in Kibera where Pankaj and an assistant were faced with the first dilemma. They had only budgeted to distribute 200 hampers (each with 20 packets of various dry foods) yet when they arrived, almost 2000 people were waiting for food. Thinking fast, the team decided to reorganize the hampers so that as many people could get the food. This experience challenged him to rethink his strategy which led him to establishing relationships with the community workers in various informal settlements. Additionally, he called for volunteers to help in the packing (which includes checking food for expiry dates). This bore fruit. Today, he has 50 volunteers assisting with packing and distribution. Between the 7th and the 9th of April, the team was able to deliver 4,200 food hampers. The first to receive were the most vulnerable: the elderly and the young children who live without guardians, and thereafter the team used the door to door delivery for organized distribution. With the help of the Kenya Police, the team was able to safely distribute the food – a process that had to be done during the curfew time when everybody is at home. To date, the team has distributed just under 18,000 hampers of food.
Additionally, to curb the issue of begging – a circumstance that has been brought about by loss of jobs – Pankaj has seen an opportunity to step in and employ the youth. Early this month, he started an initiative in Kosovo slum that has since employed thirty youth and provided them with spades, brooms, rakes, gumboots, gloves, wheelbarrows and brushes and tasked them to clean out the entire informal settlement for a small pay. The clean-up team began the work on Monday, 13th April and hopes to clean at least one and a half kilometers. Furthermore, these selected thirty have been educated on pollution and have been encouraged to spread the word to the community in Kosovo as they go about the cleaning. Pankaj has further tasked himself to setting up handwashing stations in this area so that the importance of hygiene can be the second part of this initiative.
The team hasn’t lost momentum; they have intentionally began packing at least 3,000 hampers each day for distribution. And now, as they continue in this Paukwa spirit, they are appealing to those that are still working, to spare Kshs. 4,000 that will provide a month’s supply of food – that includes a vegetable pack – for a less fortunate family.
For any donations, payments can be sent to:
https://changa.page.link/4KZGH
Pankaj Shah: 0727494555
