Changing lives one meal at a time Kiran Verma

I burnt one body with plastic. We are going to become world's largest blood donor community by end of my walk. There are going to be possibly 5 or 6 Guinness World Records we are going to break. We don't even have ₹15 in our pocket. My own blood was sold to a family. There is a huge corruption going on because of the demand and supply gap. Every person who have been successful overnight that overnight comes after so many dark nights.

Hello and welcome everyone to another episode of Inspirational Interviews. Welcome everyone who is watching this live or offline. I'm so, so excited to have our next guest in this particular interview, and we also have a special announcement towards the interview— end of the interview, so stay tuned. Let me help welcome a person who's on a mission to end any kind of death in India due to lack of, due to lack of blood by 31st of December, 2025. A person who is a founder of organization called Simply Blood, Chief Serving Officer of Change with One Meal, one of the LinkedIn Power Profile of 2018. Help me welcome Kiran Varma. Kiran, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you so much, Haritosh Srivastav.

Yeah, I was going through your profile on LinkedIn. I'm a great fan of you doing all the stories, all the pictures, and I'm really, really amazed. So thank you so much. Thank you for joining us. I know it took a bit of time for us to get settled on the time and all. And I know you are, you are so much busy and you are helping so, so much of humanity. So thank you so much for taking out time, taking out time out of your busy schedule and being with me and with the audience today.

I'm all yours. I'm all yours, Haritosh Srivastav, and I'm really sorry for being late.

No worries. No worries. Thank you so much. So, uh, can you tell us a bit about yourself? What has been your journey? What are things you have done? And how it has been, and then we'll go on to a few more things.

Yeah, so journey has been very exciting. You know, it's wonderful to work on different causes like, you know, blood donation, feeding people. You know, there are people who actually, you know, need our help. Who deserve our help, you know, during this tough time. And I have been blessed that, you know, because of so many people's support, we could help such people, you know, during the pandemic and beyond. Not just with blood, but with food, with shelters, with, you know, clothing, with sanitary napkins, and so many other things. So, uh, I think, I think, uh, it's, it's, it's an honor and blessings both, uh, when you have so many people supporting you in your, uh, you know, mission. Especially when, when you are committing, uh, more than a billion people that, you know, you— one problem of yours is going to be solved by a particular date. It's not easy to carry that thing on, on your shoulders. And I have been very lucky that because of so many people, we could actually, we could actually, you know, reach up to the level where we are today.

That's amazing, amazing, Kiran. So, but let me take you a little bit in the past. And how did this idea came to mind? How did No, I believe you were somewhere working in the corporate and then you got this idea and moved to all this work of humanity and this NGO work. So how did it all start? What inspired you?

So inspiration came when I started donating blood on a regular basis. When I saw people in pain and, you know, because of their pain I could change many lives with my blood. So I thought that blood donation is a very amazing thing and we should do it till the time we are healthy and we are fine. Later, when I got to encounter one incident where my own blood was sold to a family, I realized that there is a huge corruption going on because of the demand and supply gap. And because of that, people are forced to, you know, do those things which we often don't consider to be human. So I thought that, you know, we are— I'm not going to, I'm not going to sit like an ideal person and, you know, do that. So I decided that I'm going to, you know, solve this problem by any means. And because of that, I, I, I left my job in 2016, December 2016, and I started Simply Bread after that.

That, that's incredible, and kudos to you for taking this step in the right direction. And I'm pretty sure when you have started, you— it must have not been an easy ride for you. You must have faced a few difficulties or some special experiences. So can you, you know, tell us any of those experiences that, that you can still remember of those, you know, starting times, or maybe something which is recent one also you can share with us?

So when I started, when I launched Simply Blood in 2017, January, so what happened, my wife, you know, used to go to her office And the day she was going to her office, she, you know, she realized that she is out of money in his MetroCard. And she's getting— she was getting late. So she ended up going into the queue for the Metro ticket. And there she realized that she don't even have ₹15 in her pocket. And, and, you know, she collected few old ₹1, ₹2, ₹5 notes. Since many years. And while crying, she paid her ticket, you know, on that day. And she borrowed ₹50 or ₹100 from her friend in her office coming back home. So that was a tough time. I realized that, you know, it happens when, when you start anything different, when you wanted to bring a positive change in our society, you have to go through ups and downs of, you know, it's a part of your journey, right? You cannot— every person who have been successful overnight, that overnight comes after so many dark nights. So you have to, uh, yeah, so only that person experiences that. People don't actually see that hurdle. So Today I am feel— I feel blessed that, you know, there are so many people who are supporting us in our endeavor. But also, you know, just because of that tough phase, I got to have more empathy towards different people. Now, now if you see that, you know, I don't, I don't have that luxury or you know, that sort of fancy lifestyle which I used to carry. I used to party a lot, I used to drink, I used to have, you know, it was a different Kiran Verma altogether with what you can see today. But now, you know, I have limited my needs very, very much. I don't have that lavish, you know, I— there is no want in me. There is— there are only needs with me in my life. And because of that, I am able to, you know, sustain myself in a better way, in a very controlled manner. So now I feel that, um, thankfully because of this cause, I actually got to realize true meaning of, uh, you know, things we need in life, not those things. Like, I've been using a 2007 Esteem till now, which is going to expire in September. So you can imagine that, you know, This is the shift I have seen, and I'm happy with that car and simple lifestyle and wearing the same t-shirt every day, so I don't have to carry a different attire at all.

Amazing, amazing. I'm really, really great, grateful that I'm doing this interview and learning about you more. Such a transforming story, if I may say. And absolutely, we need to distinguish between what is our need versus what is our desire or want. And I'm really, really glad that you're doing so much while still fulfilling your needs, so taking— going away from want and helping everyone. Now, 2016 to 2020 March, how did your life change when the pandemic hit the country? I know you have been doing a lot of work and that's one of the reason we couldn't connect earlier. What— how was the life when the pandemic was on the top of— on its peak, and you were doing a lot both in wave 1 and wave 2? I know. So how did it change your life and affected you?

So before pandemic, I was just focused on blood donation and nothing more than that. But since I had one nonprofit in place already. So the day when this pandemic, this lockdown one was announced way back in March 2020, so I thought that, you know, I'm going to help out people with food and provide food to the local, you know, slums just within our same sector. So I thought that, you know, let's help them out. And I started serving people during that time. And while serving them, I got to realize that there are many people who, you know, there are girls who need sanitary pads. While— and it was an orphanage, a girls' hostel, you would say. The area was a containment zone, so that is the reason people were not allowed to get inside. So they had no access to sanitary pad, and I was supposed to go in and deliver that. So I went there. While delivering it to them, you know, I also got to know that there is another set of people who need a hygienic facility. Like, they had— they were difficult, you know, open defecation was happening over there, and You know, they needed some hygienic, you know, hygiene over there. So I arranged for some portable toilets over there. It was a night shelter for poor people. While doing that, I got to also saw that, you know, the cleaning is not happening over there. So I distributed a few soaps, detergents, you know, gloves, mask, and these kind of things while while distributing that, somebody called me that, you know, since you are doing this, let's do a drive at one red light area where, you know, brothels are, you know, looking forward for help. And one red light area in Delhi, I got connected over there. So that time I was asked to help those people. We distributed, you know, dry ration over there to more than 800, you know, families, more than 2,000 people over there. And it was more than a month drive. I mean, we, you know, fed almost like one and a half months to them. Also a community of more than you know, 2,500 people in my local community. And we did so many things during last lockdown. Since, you know, after the lockdown, there was no extra work. I was just focused on blood donation. And in October 2020, I got to realize that, you know, there is a huge, you know, huge problem has been created for the poor people who, who are actually surviving on daily wages kind of thing. So, and, and right now they can either work, which is not so easy to get, or maybe, you know, I can, I can start, you know, feeding them. So while feeding them, I got to realize that, you know, feeding them free, of course, is not going to be a right way. Because one thing that, you know, this— it's not going to be a dignified way. Second thing, they are also not going to respect it. So for that, I started one outlet where we provide unlimited meal, complete meal for ₹10. And because of that We started serving 200 people initially in October 2020, and so far we have served more than 2 lakh people since now. And we haven't stopped serving at that outlet even for a single day. Not even a single day we missed out any meal. And because of that, we created a special pool of people who are very, very much emotionally and psychologically and financially supported by us and by our initiative. And I feel so empowered, so strong after going through all these things that this year when we went through this second wave of corona Uh, you know, I was getting more than 2,000-3,000 calls every day for plasma, for, uh, you know, vaccines, for different kind of medicines. And, uh, you know, I tried to answer most of the calls, but of course not every call was— you know, I was not able to attend or answer every call, but yet I tried, uh, my best to answer all possible calls. Uh, I used to sleep only 2 or 3 hours during this time, but for 2 months I saw worst of worst in my life till date. Um, I have buried so many, like, you know, bodies who were unattended. Um, I burnt one, uh, you know, body with plastic You can imagine, polythene we had to burn because there was no wood left in that area. And the, the cremation ground was asking for ₹30,000. I, you know, the family had no money and I was also not, uh, you know, cash rich to help that family. So I decided that, you know, I'm going to burn that, uh, at, um, the, you know, Yabana Bank, um, and there we, we were out of, uh, wood where we— so this was a very complete transformation. So I— we saw, you know, worst in, uh, you know, we saw worst so far, and also we, we saw a glimpse of hope as well among people where, uh, people were willing to help us, willing to support us. Just because we were standing by their side, they were also taking into consideration to help more people, uh, you know, within their network or maybe, you know, around them. So this is something, uh, we have created a ripple effect in our society and community, and this is something I, I feel proud of, that, you know, I, I, I am one of those mediums to, you know, do so.

That, that's so hard touching to say. I mean, I mean, burning bodies with plastic, I can't imagine. And I mean, just to let you know, my mother passed away on March 30th, just before the peak of the corona. And I fortunately, I was in India back then, but I can't imagine losing a loved one and then not, not being able to give them the proper closure. A proper ending. This is heartbreaking. But as you said, yeah, while a lot of people showed their true faces or their face of, you know, their cruel nature or something, there were people— and I'm glad to be connected to a few people including you— who really showed us the path of hope. And there is still humanity left. There is still a lot of good and great people out there who are there to serve the community, serve the nation. So thank you for your services on behalf of all the people that you helped and that you transformed their life, served in some other capacity. Thank you so much, we really, really appreciate that.

Thank you.

All right, thank you. Uh, so Kiran, I was going through your bio and I saw there's one interesting thing that you do to raise awareness for blood donation, and you have done it previously, uh, and it has potentially led to 25,000 lives saved, and you are planning to do that again very, very soon. So do you want to, uh, unlock the mystery for our audience today?

Yeah, so I'm going to walk all across India, uh, covering all states and union territory, uh, for the blood awareness so that we can, we can make a 1 million blood donors community all across India. To do so, why I'm walking? Because walk is healthy for your body, first of all. It's free of cost. Of course, you can walk free of cost to any extent, right? And third is it's cheaper than car, and, you know, carbon footprints are lower while you walk. And third thing, people also get to see the pain behind it, right? When you walk, people understand the sincerity behind the cause, right? When you walk, then people also can join you. Of course, in a car, if it's not possible to accommodate too many people, but yes, while you're walking, you, you have open road and an open sky to join as many people as possible. Right, so, uh, and, and you can shout out loud anywhere, uh, you don't have to wait for people, right? So, uh, and walking, I think, I think that is, uh, if you, if you see, you know, every great movement, whether it's, uh, you know, independence, uh, struggle of India, whether it's, uh, you know, some sort of, uh marathon or kind of thing. Whenever history was created, right, people have walked, um, you know, miles, you know, that every walk means a lot, even to— right, so even to reach to space, we have to walk to the, uh, you know, rocket, uh, you know, even to right? Even to dive down in inside, uh, the water, you have to walk till the submarine. So, right, so you, you, you have to walk every time, right? Uh, crawling is only meant for, for, for, you know, those who cannot do that. But yes, uh, if you walk, then that's a very strong statement. And, um, walking all across India, of course It's one of its kind, and certainly we are going to make world records during this thing. There are going to be possibly 5 or 6 Guinness World Records we are going to break or make during this walk, and hopefully we are going to become world's largest blood donor community by end of my walk— before end of my walk, of course. And that is also going to create, you know, masses about our mission, 31st December 2025. The whole mission is just to make sure that, you know, I spend 1.5 years here and rest 2.5 years remaining, you are going to continue, you know, connecting more people to the cause. So that is what we are aiming to. And let's see what best we can do while I walk.

That, that's so, so great of you, and I'm pretty sure you, you'll be smashing all the world records much before you complete your work. And more, more than that, I think you'll, you'll become successful in your larger vision, which is to, you know, take India away from the deprivation of blood donation and all. I think that is a more critical thing, and I'm pretty sure you, you'll do that. My best wishes. To you and your team. You do so many things, and I have, yeah, sort of a question that, no, you, you are so much involved in blood donation, you're involved in Change With One Foundation, Change With One Meal. Don't you get exhausted? And if you, then how do you recharge yourself?

Just to recharge, you know, you need to connect with people. People because they are the real energy around you. Uh, whenever, whenever you wanted to get motivated, whenever you feel down, you know, just, uh, hug your friends, uh, you know, kiss your kid, uh, you know, love your wife, and, you know, just go around for no reason, right? Just be yourself to recharge. We are not machines to, to get recharged. We are human and You know, we need human connections to get recharged, actually, right? So, so from here we, we of course get discharged sometimes, just because, you know, for two— but I love working under pressure. So whenever I have a task in my hands, I love to work during that time, and I focus more during that time because you know, I have to be more attentive to deliver one thing at a time. So, uh, right now I, I love this under-pressure phase where I have to prepare for my app, I have to, you know, work on my walk, I have to get permission from the different departments and different ministries, I have to make sure that, you know, I'm up and fit and fine. I am also losing my weight also, you know, my increasing my stamina because that is very much important during the walk. I, I, you know, my ankle was injured, uh, during my last walk. Um, I'm just getting one psychiatrist, you know, a physiotherapist where, you know, that person is looking after that. Psychiatrist is looking after my— one of my friends actually, uh, she's looking after my mental health, you can say.

Mindset, yeah.

Uh, so there are so many things happening right now, and I have to look after so many people who are being served every day. I have to look after, you know, blood requests which are coming in every day. So, uh, you know, doing so many things, uh, in 24 hours, I love this kind of pressure. And whenever I do, I, I make sure that, you know, I'm taking care of everything, um, in best of my possibilities. Of course, Just like I, I got delayed today, you know, but I love that, you know, I gave that half an hour to an old person, you know, just to give him some, you know, console him or, you know, some sort of support psychologically or mentally so that he can go through, you know, that tough, tough time he's going through. So, uh, it happens. I, I, I, I, I cannot say that, you know, it's very easy to do, but yes, uh, being under pressure and then managing so many tasks is, is challenging, and I love challenging myself every day.

Amazing, amazing. So what I, uh, two of the things— one is that, you know, when, when you, uh, love your work, it is no longer work, it is your passion and it drives you, it gives you the fuel that you need to. And then yeah, if you challenge yourself, you probably will achieve anything that you can imagine at this point of time. So amazing, guys. I will be putting the description of how you can get connected with Kiran, how you can donate to his cause. I'll be more than happy We'll be more than happy to have him again. Please invite him to your talks and other things. Now, as I said in the start, I'm going to do the announcement, and this is related to my book launch. In the start of launch of my book, I said that I'm going to be connected to one organization which really helps serve this. Change with One Meal is something that I really, really love about Kiran. It is also related to a lot of small town people coming to big cities and then having to struggle. So now this is me announcing that now for every book that is sold on Kindle, we will be sponsoring 2 meals of Change with One Meal. I know it takes about ₹15 to sponsor one person's meal over there. And no, uh, whatever, I, I do not care how many, uh, copies are sold. It's not for profit or money, uh, but it's, it's for the grand vision that Kiran has, and it's good for the noble cause that Kiran is doing. I am announcing this, and this is our collaboration henceforward. Uh, so anytime my book is, uh, one of my book is sold, it, it will be, uh, once the paperback version is, uh, version comes up, we'll probably be announcing few more collaboration. And also I request and humbly request that no, please support this guy. This guy is doing an amazing, amazing job. Uh, please help him. He has a vision. He is a visionary leader. I can see him changing lives. He has changed 25,000+ lives already and he's on a mission to change million lives. So please help and support him in the way, in the best way that you can. Thank you so much, Kiran, for joining me. I know you have so many things going on, but you still took time out of your busy schedule. I'm so, so grateful for that.

Thank you so much, Haritosh Srivastav. I'm really honored and humbled with your support. I'm really thankful to you.

Thank you so much. So as I say every time, until next time, keep learning, Keep growing and keep going out of your comfort zone. I'll be back with another guest, but please help Kiran Verma in his dream, in his vision. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful day ahead.