A couple who run a school in Mumbai's Malad have waived off fees and distributed food among people during the lockdown period.
Migza and Faiz who run a private educational set up titled Zeal English Medium School have fed nearly 1,800 people since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown in the city.
Faiz said, "I also work for a company. When demand for resources increased, we decided to use my provident fund savings. I've spent about Rs 4.5 lakh till now."
Residents of the Malw said the couple had started this small school 10 years ago and had more than 300 student from Classes 1 to 10. Most of the students are from the densely populated slum area of Ambojwadi.
Migza said during the next few days when the lockdown started, they started receiving calls for help from people.
"Most people who stay here are migrant and daily wage workers. Looking at their condition, we got in touch with some NGOs and started distributing Khichdi but soon felt that this was not enough. We came to know that the situation was worse than we thought. So we decided to help people," Migza said.
"We did not want to keep money in our bank and see people struggling for food so we started using our savings," she said.
She said, "Many parents of students approached me as I was the principal and expressed their inability to pay fees. So we waived off the school fees for three months for all students."
Husband Faiz Shaikh who works in a private company said, "My wife and I collected some money using our personal contacts and from my office colleagues and started distributing food grain packets. But the demand was continuously rising, so we started using our savings and provident fund amounts. We got support from NGO but their pockets too were limited. However as relaxation started during the lockdown, the many migrants went back to their native states and demand got reduced but still there were people in need."
"I had withdrawn Rs 5 lakh from our account and spent nearly Rs 4.5 lakh till now. We appeal to others to please come forward to help the needy in this crisis," said Shaikh.
( With inputs from ANI )