HYDERABAD: Sneaking a day full of vibrance and delight from an otherwise dull and mundane school routine, Round Table India and Ladies Circle organised an event for the students of the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPED) where children not only had pizzas for lunch but also learned how pizzas are made from scratch. The pizzas were provided by Figaro’s, a 40-year-old US brand of pizzas opening their first venture in India.
Munching on the delicious pizzas being served fresh from the oven, the students of NIEPED were all smiles on Wednesday. “I liked it very much,” said Ajay, a student pointing at his plate of pizza slices.
Round Table India is a collective of men between the ages of 18 and 40, who are young business professionals and corporate executives and want to serve the needs of the underprivileged. They help in building educational infrastructure for children of financially weak backgrounds. Ladies Circle is the women’s wing of the organisation and organises social activities for children in schools and educational institutes.
As part of their year-round activities, the Round Table organised the event on Wednesday. Rheya Kapur, chairperson for 2022-23 for Ladies Circle, said that the main aim of the organisation is to help the ones that are in need, by providing not only life essentials but also a unique experience that makes a difference in their lives. “When we look at underprivileged children, the first thing that comes to mind is food, and education but these experiences are something that is missed. We try to give a different experience event, something new that they will remember and cherish. Throughout the year we keep doing activities such as these. For example, a month ago we did a runway show for the same kids. It was very different for them. We sponsored shoes and clothes for them.”
Going beyond education, the organisation identifies the spaces where intervention needs to be made, “For example, we also support them medically by providing resources for surgeries. We also see that if a student has the capacity for doing well in a field, let’s say, sports, we support them in getting the equipment, at times monetary aid is also given,” said Arya Sonthalia, whose husband, Ashis Sonthalia is a part of the Round Table.
“Besides, Ladies Circle also takes up the initiative of building toilets. We also noticed that several young girls drop out of school every year due to the lack of toilets in schools. We also make sanitary pads. We have an international tie-up where the equipment is provided to women from underprivileged backgrounds, they are hired and trained to make sanitary pads and then the same are distributed within the communities,” she added.
After having scrumptious pizzas, as students lined up for heading back to school, Rhea and other ladies from the organisation handed over water bottles and stationery items to each, which, they all accepted with a kind “thank you”.
Talking about Figaro’s Pizza, young entrepreneur Vamsi Kapilavai mentioned that the franchise seeks to expand to around 255 stores in India in the next five years. “The USP of Figaro’s is that the dough is freshly made here in the kitchen, as compared to the centralised or frozen doughs that we get to see in the market. Even the sauce is prepared here and we don’t just serve with tomato sauce as the base, we have seven extra sauces, including magnolia and ram, We serve 45 types of pizzas, available in small, medium and large sizes. We also have calzone pockets, and desserts which include chocolate pizza as well,” he said.