"Dear Peter", said the letter. "I am happy to be back home, though I still miss India after 25 years of teaching in the school. But I am happy to be here in England, looking after my mother in her old age and working with 'Meals on Wheels' is very satisfying." 'Meals on Wheels'? It sounded like a strange post-retirement occupation for a missionary teacher of 25 years standing, she obviously considered it too well known to need explanation and not having heard of it before, I mentally classified 'MoW' as a fast-food enterprise. Like 'Subway Sandwiches' and 'Chinese a la Cart' which dished up hot meals on a small cart decorated with dragons. (Inexpensive too, with no real overheads. Except buying off the cop on the beat! ) 'Meals on Wheels'? Was it something like bhelpuri on wheeled carts or, motorcycles with hot boxes at their rears, for delivering pizzas? 'Oven Fresh. Delivered to your home in 30 minutes flat or You Pay Nothing.' But 'Meals on Wheels' turned out to be a completely different proposition. It was a group of concerned people, working as a team to bring a hot meal to old people who lived alone. Hot meals served with a personal touch and friendly conversation while eating. The logistics of MoW were deceptively simple. Volunteers teamed up in pairs, one to cook and one to deliver and serve. The cooking partner would plan, cook the meal and pack it in a ready-to-serve kit, with cheerful table mats and crockery. The serving partner would come by to collect it at the appointed time, in her little car. There must be lessons for us in this initiative. Lesson 1 Be aware of the needs of people around us. Lesson 2 Be willing to commit time and effort for community service. Lesson 3 Replicate the synergy of the project, where the combined efforts of ordinary people become an extraordinary service. A person who can cook but cannot leave home makes the meals. A person with a small car and a big heart delivers the food and serves it with a smile and, invisibly behind the scenes, another group co-ordinates the effort. If it can work in Oxford, UK can it be made to work in Bangalore? The city has so many lonely old people in need and so many enthusiastic others who can make a little time to help!

"Dear Peter", said the letter. "I am happy to be back home, though I still miss India after 25 years of teaching in the school.

Meals on wheels what's that?

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Meals on wheels what's that?

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