Our Hospital Canteen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was developed as a community canteen prior to the recent floods in Pakistan. The facility acts as a hub to identify patients and families suffering from malnutrition & chronic hunger, offering them regular food packages and, for the 85 families/400+ registered with the canteen, cooked, nutritious meals every single day.
Lack of adequate nutrition contributes to the biggest killer of children globally and in Pakistan - pneumonia. Moreover, malnutrition and chronic hunger not only weaken patients and increase the likelihood of an individual experiencing other illnesses, but can also result in death. In response to these devastating facts, our canteen offers subsidised meals for hospital staff, visiting patients and their families, as well as food packs and hot meals to the surrounding community, acting as a hub to identify both patients and families suffering from chronic hunger and malnutrition. Recently, we also distributed a month’s worth of dry food packs for 30 families living between 3-5 kilometres of the hospital, due to experiencing difficulties related to time, weather, transport and finances in visiting the canteen on a regular basis.
The project is sustainably funded by donations from the public, as well as through funds raised by the canteen, and with a massive 1+ million Afghan refugee population in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the hospital being close to the borders of Afghanistan and Kashmir, the canteen is a lifeline for local Pakistanis and refugees. The environmental and sustainable approach to the development of the canteen also means that there is zero waste, zero plastic bags and reusable utensils and cutlery, thus contributing to the overall climate impact and the environment they live in.
When I reached the office early this morning, a woman was already waiting for me at the entrance. Tears streamed down her face as I asked about her wellbeing. Did she need any extra support? As a sole-breadwinner for her family, what could we do to help?
Emotionally, she revealed her heartbreak and pain, watching her children go through each day hungry. Whilst our welfare canteen attached to the Doctors Worldwide KPK Hospital provided enough ingredients and hot meals for a regular evening meal - meaning her children were able to go to bed full and content - they would still face every new day on an empty stomach, going to school with no breakfast, and returning home to nothing for lunch.
Hearing this mother's struggle due to her children’s suffering, we immediately went to purchase 30 kilograms of ingredients and delivered it to her doorstep. Whilst our goal is to ensure the local communities surrounding the hospital never go to sleep hungry, there is always more to give. The canteen has become a ray of hope to many vulnerable families living nearby, and with your support, we aim to provide enough food for every family to receive adequate nutrition all throughout their day.
DWW KPK Community Support Outreach Manager, Eyewitness Testimony
Whilst our hospital canteen was built prior to the current floods in Pakistan and is not situated in any of the flood affected districts, it still offers a critical and life-saving service for those in need, and continues to be one of our key services as part of our overall hospital development and activities.
Help us in continuing to save and change lives today, and support the regular provision of hot meals and food packs to vulnerable families in need this winter.
- £25 per/month = 50 people with one meal each
- £75 per/month = food for a family of 6 every month
- Custom donation
Find out more about our Pakistan Winter Appeal here.
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