THE CONTEXT : 

Cancer in children is highly curable if diagnosed early and treated appropriately. A large portion of these children come from economically stressed homes. They face a lot of challenges when it comes to treatment, accommodation, food, etc. Saroj Gupta Cancer Center and Research Institute and Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata see hundreds of children visiting them for cancer treatment. Majority of these children are from low-income homes.

Among the biggest challenges faced by these children and one of the biggest unmet needs is the provision of good nutritional support during the aggressive treatment of cancer.  

THE SOLUTION AND THE INITIATIVE:

This campaign of mine is being done in partnership with the NGO -Cuddles Foundation and aims to fight hunger and malnutrition in children from low-income homes by giving them a MONTHLY RATION BASKET. This improves their chance of survival by 70% and ultimately saves lives. The baskets are given to children at the Saroj Gupta Cancer Center and Research Institute and Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

This costs just INR 4500 per month.

What goes into the Monthly Ration Basket?

The monthly ration basket feeds a family of four. Each basket contains 33-34 items, including cereals, pulses, millets, nuts and oilseeds, ghee, oil, spices, milk, condiments, and essential personal hygiene products like soaps etc.

Image: Shows the Ration Basket that is given to them. 

Ration baskets and consequently good food make the medicine work, keep families in treatment, keep parents home, ensure reduced risks to the child, and give better immunity to fight cancer. 

IMPACT STORIES OF HOPE:

All funding has 80G tax benefits. 

ABOUT ME AND THIS CAMPAIGN:

My name is Shreyan Naha. I am 17 years old and a Grade 12 student at Adamas International School, Kolkata.

I have undertaken this campaign to support children who are bravely battling cancer and to stand beside their families during this incredibly difficult time. Through this initiative, I aim to provide a monthly ration basket that ensures these children receive the nutrition they need to survive and recover.
While many generous individuals and organizations focus on funding the medical treatment of underprivileged children with cancer, there is one aspect that often goes overlooked — their daily nutrition. For children from low-income backgrounds, this can be the deciding factor between recovery and relapse.
Malnutrition is unfortunately very common in these families. And when a child is malnourished, their body cannot respond effectively to cancer treatments like chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery. This can lead to severe complications, frequent hospital interruptions, delayed treatments, and an overall poor response to therapy. In many cases, the stress of dealing with both illness and hunger causes families to abandon treatment altogether.
Nutrition is not just about food — it’s about giving these children a real chance at life. A monthly ration basket can provide them with the strength they need to continue fighting.

The cost to support one child with a monthly nutrition kit is only INR 4,500 — a small amount that can make a life-saving difference.

THE PARTNER HOSPITALS:

THE LOCATION MAP:

ABOUT THE NGO: 

Cuddles Foundation brings holistic food and nutrition to underprivileged children fighting cancer. They work through partnerships with government and charitable hospitals that treat underprivileged children for cancer. Their nutritionists, trained specifically for pediatric cancer nutrition, are placed in government hospitals and monitor the child’s progress, create diet plans and nutritional charts, counsel their parents, and educate them in home-based nutrition. They provide children undergoing treatment with food, hot meals, nutritional supplements, and ration baskets as per their requirements so that the kids have the strength to fight their cancer. To date, they have partnered with 35 hospitals in 20 cities. In 2017, with the help of individual donors, volunteers, and the Cuddles Advisory Board, they were able to develop an app that would standardize the delivery of nutritional support across all the hospitals where they work. The Cuddles FoodHeals app is the first-of-its-kind platform that helps automate mathematical functions for a nutritionist - like calculating the grade of malnourishment, BMI, calorie deficiency, etc. The app also aids her in counseling, diet planning, and mapping the progress of the child through the course of the treatment.

TAX BENEFITS:

Funding for this campaign is eligible for tax breaks as Cuddles Foundation is a registered trust and you can avail of benefits under section 80G of the IT Act. Cuddles Foundation will generate 10BE receipts which can be used to avail tax benefits. Foreign funding is NOT accepted.