Touchstone Charities (A unit of the Hare Krishna Movement) of Visakhapatnam started the Sobojanam Expansion Center, which provides Free Food Distribution for 300 patient attendants at Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Center (TMC) here on Tuesday at Aganampudi

Dr Niskinchana Bhaktha Dasa, President of Hare Krishna Movement said “We currently feed about 3200 patients and attendants serving daily at various government hospitals (KGH hospital, GGH Kakinada, Vijayawada and Guntur) in the state of Andhra Pradesh. We need more donors to participate in continuing this free meals program. 

Ramanamma, an attendant of the cancer patient, said today I am able to have a free meal which is very good with one curry, sambar, and curd, otherwise we normally go for 1 km afar to buy food from the hotels outside the hospital, which is not that much hygiene. 

“Just looking at all the patients and caregivers over here, in their whole day this will be a moment of joy when they get nice hot food which is very important. We just hope it prospers said Dr. Vidya Viswanath, Palliative Care specialist in the HBCH & RC.

Lauding the noble gesture of Touchstone Charities, director of HBCH & RC Umesh Mahantshetty said starting the Sobojanam Expansion center on the auspicious day of Jagannath Rath Yatra is indeed a much-needed initiative. Cancer patients’ comprehensive management is done by doctors, however, other aspects of logistics for the patients and relatives are equally important, and I think Sobojanam is one such program that helps them to overcome difficulties and hurdles which they encounter on a daily basis during cancer treatment. I think this is just the beginning and we should carry forward for the benefit of cancer patients.