Who says Santa Claus has to be dressed in a red ensemble to spread happiness! These city Santas are spreading joy, happiness and love among under-privileged children in their own way this Christmas. So if you spot cars filled with goodie bags and volunteers distributing joy on December 25, there is a good chance they may be from Rasta.
Rasta-journey of smiles is an initiative started by Neha Lohia and her three friends Rehmat Abdul, Nikkita Lohia and Karan Yajnik two years ago. “Initially it was just four of us, but in just two years, we have grown magically,” says Neha.
The idea of Rasta struck Neha when she was traveling. “I was very hungry and I was desperately looking for food. When I ordered food, I was very happy. The thought of those who aren’t as privileged as us struck me then. That is when I decided to do something, even if it was small,” she said.
“We initially felt that it would be easier to reach out to children in orphanages or organisations working for the under-privileged, since they are more structured and organized. However, we later felt kids on the street are always left to their own and there isn’t much help for them really. So we decided to start from scratch and hit the streets. That’s when Rasta was born,” added Nikita
“The Rasta group has collected over Rs 70,000 among themselves, and have managed a huge haul of gifts through sponsors and donors. We have collected gifts for 200 under-privileged children who live by the roads. The first year, we managed to spread smiles on 100 little faces with smaller goodie bags,” said Rehmat.
This year, each goodie bag will have three kilograms of grains, cream biscuits, chocolates, chikkis, frooti, milk bottles, chips, Maggi packs, candy sweets, socks, crayons, colouring books, soft toys, blanket, bag, t-shirt, tooth-brush, tooth-paste, masks, muffins, water bottles, fruits and hair clips, among other items.
“We wanted to do something about dental hygiene and water containers in addition to the basics such as food and toys. We have managed to include both and will be speaking to the kids about it,” added Karan.
About the way forward, Neha said, “We would like to start a chain reaction where more and more people feel like giving back and doing something larger for the community.”
