Mumbaikars turn Santas for street kids

Christmas is the season to spread joy and those behind the 100 Santa’s Project have the same intention — to spread happiness amongst street kids, with many of them meeting Santa Claus for the first time! On Sunday, a group of Santas swarmed the streets of Juhu, Bandra Reclamation, Kalina, Mankhurd and Dharavi, armed with treats that they gifted underprivileged kids. Glimpses of children enjoying their gifts, singing Christmas carols and playing games made it evident how thoughtful the idea was to make this Christmas special.
Sumit Singh Gandhi, who helms Sounds of Silence — a group that empowers hearing impaired individuals to overcome the barriers of communication that they face — says that the intention to give back to society led to the inception of the project. It saw participation by differently abled individuals, who set aside their worries to turn Santas. Says Sumit, “This was initially just a thought which felt like a distant dream, but then, it slowly turned into a movement. It got like-minded individuals to come together with a purpose, which was to play Santa for a day.”
Volunteers across age groups
The best part of the initiative was that it was open to all those who wanted to participate and be Santa for a day. The participants included a varied lot, right from college students and graduates to working professionals as well as grandparents. Together, they distributed essentials and gifts to over 10,000 slum and street kids in and around Mumbai.
Anisha Mukhija, one of the coordinators for the hearing impaired, helped them connect with the rest, using hand gestures. Telling us about what they felt, she says, “They were all smiling and excited. They said, ‘Today, so many people said thank you to us’. They experienced the love and joy one receives being on the other side of charity and they wish to turn Santa every year for these kids.”
Sumit adds, “We started with 450 gifts, 15 days before the event and it grew to 10,000 gifts when we were joined by individuals who believed and entrusted us with their support in whichever way viable. This is what our vision was — to create a chain reaction for one and all, so that they can start doing their bit for others!”

Making the world a better place to live
Distributing gifts and goodies to kids who went wide-eyed with the surprise were working professional Aishwarya Pandey and student Aashi Thakkar. Said Aashi, “As we started meeting the kids, they were intrigued and curious to know what’s in their goodie bag. One little girl, Reena, was so excited to see Santa for the first time, that she exclaimed, ‘You look exactly like the Santa in books’. Within the next few moments, her excitement grew and she also sang carols with us, and flashed a smile that was contagious. This gave the desired motivation to our team to set the rhythm and ensure we make 10,000 kids smile.”
Excited kids appreciated the effort
The kids were happy and excited to get their first dolls, automatic toys, school bags and art and craft kits, which they opened and started playing with right away. Adds Aishwarya, “The smiling faces of the children have made our belief in this initiative stronger. The words that they said, ‘Thank you and Merry Christmas to my Santa’ have now been engraved in our heart as the first step towards being the change we want to see.”