Melghat is a tribal area in Maharashtra in central India where starvation and malnutrition have been common for decades.  A 2014 survey of the Melghat area found that 54% of children ages 1 to 5 were moderately to severely malnourished. At least 306 children died in the area in 2014 due to malnutrition.

If you google “Melghat India”, you will find the first ten or so results are about the Melghat Tiger Reserve which was set up by the government in 1973 to help conserve the Bengal tiger and the forest in this area which is the tiger’s habitat.  Based on these results, it might seem there is more concern for taking care of tigers than with taking care of starving people…

The causes of malnutrition in Melghat are numerous and complicated, but for now the goal of our Melghat Feeding Project is to feed tribal children who are underweight due to not getting proper nutrition.  Through this feeding project, our partners are letting the tribal people know that the outside world has not forgotten them or their children.