Madurai: SBI General, one of India’s leading general insurance companies, has joined hands with Cuddles Foundation to support paediatric cancer patients. SBI General Insurance supports the FoodHeals Programme by Cuddles Foundation in Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre for paediatric patients in Madurai. The programme aims to provide counselling, diet planning, caregiver support, nutritional meals and supplements to 250 paediatric cancer patients for three months. On World Cancer Day, a team from SBI General along with Shefali Khalsa, Head of Brand, Corporate Communications & CSR, visited these kids on behalf of the Company and spent the day with them.
The programme focuses on providing counselling and diet planning where nutritionists assess a child’s grade of malnourishment, plan diets and monitor the progress. Basis this they are then aided with food and supplements like nutritional supplements, hot meals, and in-meal supplements. This programme also provides caregiver support to patient families with the knowledge to make healthier food choices by organising parent support group meetings, videos and educational talks and more. SBI General believes that every child deserves a balanced diet, without which battling cancer becomes difficult, and fully supports the cause of assisting children by providing approximately 4900 meal supplements, 270 boxes of nutritional supplements, and 116 ration baskets.
Speaking on the social cause, Shri Anand Pejawar, Whole-Time Director, SBI General Insurance said, “SBI General is committed to giving back to the society and maintains strategic partnerships with organisations that have a positive impact on the community. Those affected by cancer are already on an uphill climb, both on the emotional and financial front, and lack of nutrition can be an additional battle to fight. We have associated with Cuddles Foundation for the FoodHeals Programme which will focus on providing counselling, a diet plan, food and supplements aid and caregiver support. This will help them have the knowledge of the disease, its recovery mechanism and protocol for the same, and more importantly, access to quality food intake which helps the patient to become strong enough to endure the pain and probable side effects of radiation and chemotherapy.”
Through this initiative, SBI General recognises the importance of basic nutrition and understands that many children have limited economic resources to access quality healthcare and treatment. This association will equip the partnering organisation and cancer patient children with all possible nutrition-related supplies for themselves and their families.
