Sarees, sweet gifts by night for city’s conservancy workers

Sumita started this initiative in 2015. “This was an idea from a fellow Daan Utsav volunteer, who distributed sweets to a few women for Deepavali, around four years ago. In 2015, he thought of giving new sarees and hoped to get at least 10 from his friends. 

Since I run a handloom saree group, I offered to join and got over a hundred sarees. After I had collected and packed them, the two of us, along with other two volunteers, conducted the drive. Since last year they were unable to join due to work pressure, I did it with a couple of friends and my mother,” explained Sumita, who collects, packs and distributes a new saree to the women sanitation workers of the Greater Chennai Corporation who are on night shift. 

Each year, the initiative has only grown bigger, with the support of friends and members of her handloom group, Kai Thari. “We have been able to add more goodies, along with the saree. In the first year, we distributed 130 sarees and dhotis, in the second, we gifted 250 sarees, shirts, pants and snacks. 

On Monday night, we gave out sarees, shirts, pants, soaps, matchboxes, juice cartons, biscuits and bananas,” said Sumita.