Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday launched the extension of the “Meals on Wheels” programme with an ambitious aim for ensuring that no one sleeps hungry across the country, with the addition of service to three more cities.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said that the premier had announced the extension of the programme before the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan.
The prime minister’s programme was launched a month back by the PM in Islamabad and has now been extended to Lahore, Faisalabad and Peshawar. The programme is being run by Ehsaas, in collaboration with Saylani Welfare Trust and the donations of the philanthropists.
“Now you can see it has been started in Peshawar, Lahore and Faisalabad. And this is the beginning — our idea is that we want to spread a network of kitchens [and] meals on wheels across Pakistan and they will then cover all the areas where there is the most poverty and people sleep hungry,” said PM Imran while addressing a ceremony in the federal capital.
“Even though our situation is difficult— there is debt, little money is left to spend on the people — despite that, God’s order is to follow that path. This path is of rule of law and of humanity, that we take responsibility for our poor segment,” he added.
Calling on the public to partake in the project and donate to Meals on Wheels to aid the poor segments of society, he said it “perfect way to do so.”
“You will receive our numbers and website — participate in any way you can. When the government and people join hands, this network will spread in entire Pakistan.”
The event was attended virtually by Chief Ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Mahmood Khan and Punjab Usman Buzdar who inaugurated the free food service in their respective provinces.
Daily wage earners, particularly the labourers would be the main beneficiaries.
Currently, two custom-built Ehsaas food trucks are providing free cooked meals at different locations in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The meals are cooked, stored and distributed from trucks’ kitchen. Each food truck can feed around 2,000 people daily and the service is provided seven days a week, 365 days a year, twice daily.
