Home / Field work
Field work
What our volunteers do on the street, in homes and in villages
These pages describe the work as it appears in our own photographs: cooking, carrying, distributing, visiting and listening.
Nine ways we work
Real work, real places
Each page has photographs from the field and the details people ask about.
Outdoor food service
Hot meals cooked in large pans and handed to people who sleep outdoors.
Clothes, blankets and sandals
Warm blankets in winter, sandals in the heat, clean clothes all year.
Elders and old age homes
Gifts, meals and company for older people, including the Yanam old age home.
Children's homes
Fruit, meals and time with children, including children who use wheelchairs.
Family and disability support
Wheelchairs, ration kits and home visits for families in difficulty.
What the photographs show
Our photographs were taken by volunteers on their own phones. They are not posed. You will see people in the middle of a task: pouring rice, handing over a blanket, bending down to fit a sandal on a man’s foot, sitting on the floor with children.
Some pictures are blurred or crooked. We keep them because they are true. If a photograph shows your face and you want it removed, tell us and we will take it down.
Why we serve on the street
People who live outdoors rarely reach an office. They may have no phone, no papers and no way to travel. A volunteer who comes to them with a plate of food can see what else they need: a blanket, a doctor, a bed in a shelter.
Our food service photographs show motorbikes loaded with food, people gathered around a volunteer, and a man on the pavement being handed a plate. A newspaper clipping in our records, dated October 2021, reports a food distribution for homeless people led by the trust.
The seasons of the year
In summer our volunteers give sandals to people who walk barefoot on hot roads, and umbrellas against the sun and the rain. In winter they give blankets and warm clothes. During the monsoon they give plastic sheets and food that does not need a stove.
During the Covid lockdown the trust served food to people with no work and no home. Photographs from that time show volunteers in masks cooking in a very large pot and handing out meals on the roadside.
Food and shelter
The outdoor food service is the work that most people see. Volunteers cook in large pans, pack plates and carry them to pavements, bus stops and tents. The Covid lockdown relief page shows the same work during the lockdown, when many people had no work and no home.
Blankets, clothes and sandals are given at the same time. A volunteer who sees a man walking barefoot on a hot road will stop and fit a pair of sandals on his feet, as several of our photographs show.
Health and blood
Blood donation camps and an organ donation awareness talk appear in our records. Blood is the one gift that money cannot buy, and a single donation can help more than one patient.
Our health camps bring doctors to the neighbourhood. The camp poster in our records lists a blood pressure check, a sugar test, an ECG, a Pap smear, an eye test, a dental check and a doctor’s consultation.
Elders, widows and families
Our elder care photographs show volunteers carrying a sack of rice to an elder resting in a tent, and handing gifts to older men and women at the Yanam old age home. Widows are given groceries and eggs at a programme where women queue in a covered hall.
For families in difficulty, volunteers give ration kits, shop for groceries and, in one case shown in our photographs, hand over a wheelchair to a man at his home.
Children and tribal hamlets
Children’s homes receive fruit, meals, cakes and visits. Our photographs from Kondakarla show volunteers with children in wheelchairs and special seats. In tribal hamlets, volunteers serve hot lunches under large trees to families who live far from town.
These are some of the most remote places we visit. The food is cooked in town and carried by road, and served the same day.
Why we keep records
We keep photographs, newspaper clippings and posters from our work. They help us to remember what we did, they help donors to see how their gifts were used, and they help us to improve. A newspaper clipping in our records reports a blanket distribution for homeless people and a food distribution, both led by the trust.
We keep the records private where they name a person who has not agreed to be named. When we publish a photograph, we leave out names and personal details.
Working with other groups
No small trust can do everything. We work with doctors who give a day to a camp, with caretakers of homes who tell us what is needed, with shopkeepers who sell us rice at a fair price, and with other volunteers who join us for a day.
If you belong to a group that wants to do something together, such as a college club or a temple committee, write to us. We will plan a joint event.
How you can see the work yourself
The best way to learn about the work is to come. A food service is open to visitors. You will see how the food is cooked, how it is packed and how it is given. You will meet the volunteers and ask questions.
Please call ahead so that we can tell you when and where. Dress simply, bring a bottle of water, and be ready to stand for an hour or two.
What a volunteer carries
A volunteer on a food service carries a phone, a bottle of water, a cloth to wipe hands and a few spare plates. A volunteer at a blanket drive carries a list of the places to visit. A volunteer at a children’s home carries a small gift and a patient heart.
The trust’s t-shirt is the one thing every volunteer wears. It tells people who we are, and it reminds us to behave as the trust would want.
When the work is hard
Some days are hard. A person we meet is very sick. A family has nothing in the house. A child asks why his mother has not come. Volunteers talk to one another afterwards and to the founder, and they are encouraged to take a day off when they need it.
The people we serve are not statistics. We try never to forget that.
Thank you to the people who make it possible
The photographs show volunteers, but behind each volunteer are people who gave rice, oil, vegetables, blankets, sandals, money and time. Shopkeepers sold us goods at a fair price. Neighbours lent a hall. Doctors gave a day. Friends passed on a message.
To all of them, thank you. This page is for you as much as for the people in the pictures.
Come on a food service day
A volunteer will tell you the next date. Bring a friend if you like.
Write to us
Tell us about a person who needs help
If you know a person or a family in need in Visakhapatnam, write to us with the place and a few details. A volunteer will visit.
- +91 97036 30893 (call and PhonePe)
- +91 82972 92602 (second number)
- hnpcharitabletrust@gmail.com
- NPS Nilayam, Road No. 2, Gajuwaka S.O., Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 530026
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