ONGOLE: After struggling through poverty his entire childhood, 45-year-old Chennupallii Kasaiah, a home guard in Prakasam’s Markapur, now tries to ensure that no destitute, orphan and persons with mental disabilities in the town sleep on empty stomach. Helping Hands, a voluntary organisation he has set up, provides food to such people. Kasaiah spends a fourth of his monthly earnings on his ‘daily free food supply’ mission.
Due to his profession, Kasaiah was deployed at various hospitals during Covid-19 where he closely witnessed how the poor struggled to manage even one meal a day even as their relatives battled the dreadful coronavirus.
It was at this moment that he decided to do all in his power to help the poor. He has been providing free lunch to dozens of beggars and orphans every day in Markapur. With the help of Helping Hands, he has fed over 1,000 people so far.
Kasaiah, with the help of his patrons, also extends financial aid to athletes from poor backgrounds. On Saturday, Kasaiah, local businessman Tatavarthi Gurunadham and others offered a pair of shoes and a tracksuit to Chinnam Adinarayana, who is set to take part in a State-level sports meet to be held in Bapatla soon.
Kasaiah and his friends have also cleared the electricity bills of a couple and provided them with essentials. The wife, Kondamma, is a cancer survivor, and her husband Audireddy is suffering from age-related ailments.“I come from a poor family and struggled a lot to arrive where I am today. My aim is to feed all, as I believe that no one should remain hungry,” Kasaiah said.