"Mission Milk started as a way to give back to the community," says 23-year-old Shehzar, a resident of Bengaluru. Amid the lockdown, as several migrant workers and labourers lost their jobs, Shehzar and two of his cousins in Bengaluru made it their mission to make sure that the children of those in need get a regular supply of milk.
Shehzar Sheriff, Zeeshan Javid (27), and Zulfishan Pasha (23), were trying to find a way to help migrant workers in need and they decided that they would deliver milk, as it is a vital commodity for children. The pandemic’s arrival in India had affected the daily wages of thousands of people. The rations from the volunteers and the government fed the families, however, children who could not completely rely on these. The three brothers ensured that a regular supply of milk was made available to migrant workers.
"We started with funding it with our pocket money when we started reaching more people we asked our family and our immediate friends to contribute," Shehzar, who is an entrepreneur, tells TNM. While Zeeshan runs a chain of co-working spaces, Zulfishan works in the hospitality industry.
Shehzar shares that as they would pick up the milk from the vendors and the shops on a daily basis, they did not encounter any problem over storage.
"Our first attempt was distributing 50 litres. Once we started finding out where the migrant settlements were, we had to gradually increase our quantity from 50 to 500 liters. We almost reached supply of 3,000 to 4,000 liters of milk twice,” he added.
Due to the pandemic, the many litres of milk already produced by the farmers would have gone to waste if they hadn't been distributed on time. Shehzar says they struck deals with local Nandini milk booth owners and the local sweet shops, as they also would have been left with a huge amount of milk without customers to feed.
The fundraiser started by the brothers on Milaap crossed over Rs 7 lakh, he says, as donations from all over India and even the world started coming in. The brothers and those who volunteered for them managed to distribute a total of around 22,600 liters of milk by the end of the lockdown, says Shehzar.
Shehzar stresses that since the lockdown is over and people are resuming their normal lives, the volunteers have reduced but they still are left with a significant amount from their fundraisers. He says as long as there are funds, he'll keep going. He adds that anyone seeking help or wanting to volunteer can reach them on their Instagram page 'Mission Milk'.