LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER’S DESK

Dear All,

A lot of you have been associated with Connecting Smiles Foundation since its inception
and have watched it grow from strength to strength. In fact, many of you have been
actively involved in our efforts even before we formed the foundation. I want to thank
and acknowledge each of your contributions throughout.

On looking back at this journey, I still remember that day in the local government school
where I was part of a breakfast service program. The contented smiles on the little faces
got me hooked to this weekly activity, where we would make and serve breakfast to
these kids from poor families. I was amazed at how little it took to bring a smile on a
face; I was also aware of what a heady feeling it was, to be the reason for those smiles. I
would say that that was the start of my obsession with feeding the needy.
But then came March of 2020, when schools across the country were shut due to the
raging pandemic. We were told that most students' families had moved to their
hometowns, and our breakfast program came to an abrupt halt.

In the chaos that ensued following lockdown, migrant labourers lost their livelihood and
were stuck in the city with no means to return to their hometowns. It was then that we
started the 'each one feed one campaign' where we provided cooked meals to the
needy migrant labourers. The situation was so grave that there was a time when we
were feeding over 4000 people a day. We have even provided meals on buses and
trains to those who were headed home. Once the lockdown situation eased, we figured
it was safer and more practical to distribute ration kits to families.

By now we were clear about our future path and goal - to do everything in our capacity
to ensure no one goes hungry. The Connecting Smiles Foundation was established with
this singular aim. We have a clear vision of what we want to achieve and how we want
to go about doing that. We want to reach out to as many likeminded individuals and
organisations to join us in this mission to empower the vulnerable sections to fend for
themselves regardless of what life throws at them.

I am ever so grateful for all that you have done to aid our initiatives in so many different
ways. And more than anything, I am confident of your continued, unflinching support
for all that we do to realize our vision.

With Gratitude,,

Sonia Sambhar
Founder