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My name is Sudhir Kumar, Founder, Pure Heart Foundation and "I haven’t eaten in two days," were the words that changed everything. A small child had said them; he stood in front of me, his voice small but clear, his stomach empty. His parents had left for work, and there was nothing at home. No food, no money, just hunger. I handed him a plate, watching him eat with a desperation that no child should ever experience. That moment filled me with two emotions: relief that I could help him, and sorrow that there were so many more children like him, waiting for someone to notice.
For the past three years, I have been waking up at dawn, moving through the pain in my leg—polio has made every step harder—but I push through. My wife and sister-in-law prepare food in our small home kitchen. Rice, dal, vegetables... We stretch what little we have to make meals for as many children as possible. By 1 PM, I pack the food and leave for the slums, where I spend hours handing out meals to over 200 children.
This is their only chance to escape their life of poverty
Some of them take extra packets for their siblings, knowing there won’t be anything waiting for them at home. And once they’ve eaten, we gather them to teach; right there in the open, under a polythene sheet, with a blackboard propped up on the ground. There is no proper classroom. But for these children, this is school.
People often ask me what the hardest part of running Pure Heart Foundation is
Is it my physical struggles? The exhausting routine? No. To be blunt, it’s the money. Or rather, the lack of it. Some days, donations are too low to cover costs, and I have no choice but to take loans. I have borrowed money from banks, from loan apps, from anywhere that will give me something to keep these children from starving. I have skipped my own meals, knowing that if I eat, it means one less child will. And still, it’s not enough. There are days I wonder "What happens if I can’t do this anymore? What happens to them if I go bankrupt?"
We are trying to build something bigger
A shelter. A place where these children can eat, learn, and sleep safely. Right now, they live in makeshift tents made of plastic sheets. They shiver in the winter, they suffer in the heat, and they dream of a life where hunger isn’t the first thing they wake up to. But to make this shelter a reality, we need help. We need people who believe that no child should have to beg for a meal or study under a torn sheet of plastic.
I have given everything I have to keep this going
But I can’t do it alone anymore. If I fail, they lose everything. Please, if you’re reading this, help us. Every small donation means another meal, another day of safety, another child who doesn’t have to go to sleep hungry. Help us keep them fed, keep them safe. Help us give them a future.
