Bhubaneswar: Odisha-based NGO ‘So Am I’ Foundation was honoured with the prestigious Nexus of Good Award 2024 at a ceremony in the PHD Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi.
‘Nexus of Good’ is founded by Former Union HRD Secretary and well known writer and motivational speaker Anil Swarup. The award, presented by Padma Shri Prakash Singh, IPS, was received by founder Pinaki Mohanty and Working Chairperson Sonali Mohanty.
The ‘Nexus of Good’ awards are presented to individuals and organisations in recognition of their exemplary and impactful initiatives in governance, education and sustainability and are usually replicable models of socio-economic progress. Recipients of this award were decided by a jury headed by the former UPSC Chairman Deepak Gupta and ‘So Am I’ along with 16 other organisations and 5 bureaucrats were chosen from amongst 120 nominations from all over India for their dedicated public service.
The function was graced by several eminent personalities. ‘So Am I’ Foundation, founded in 2019 has a vision of Hunger-Free Odisha and in this endeavour, its first step was opening of the Food Bank wherein excess food from parties and hotels were collected and distributed among the unfed and needy. It’s community kitchen community kitchen facilitated the cooking and subsequent distribution of nearly 2,00,000 cooked meals in lunch and dinner during the 1st and 2nd phase of Covid-19. Through its ‘Swa Aahar Initiative’, 200 adolescent girls and boys of various bastees of Bhubaneswar were trained in skills like mehendi application, beauty and wellness and cookery to make them financially empowered and self-reliant.
Thirty-two drug addicts have been engaged in the ‘Garma Garam’ initiative of ‘So Am I’ Foundation wherein vending carts, equipment, start-up kits have been provided to help them earn a decent living thereby bringing them into the mainstream. ‘So Am I’ Foundation has been providing cooked food to about 600 people daily in AIIMS Bhubaneswar since the last 2 years and around 250 people daily in SCB Medical College, Cuttack, since the last one year. Founded in 2019, ‘So Am I’ foundation, under the Hunger-Free Odisha Initiative has served more than 20 lakh meals during the last five years.
In the coming year, ‘So Am I’ Foundation plans to open a cloth bank, train boys and girls in new skills to help them earn a living. It also solicits volunteers who can be a part of ‘So Am I Yuva’ team.
