Greatest fielder of all time – Jonty Rhodes visits Sathya Sai Grama, 24th April 2024
Annapoorna Trust had the absolute pleasure of hosting the legendary ex-South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes at our headquarters on 24th April 2024. Considered the greatest fielder in the world, the one who pulled the crowd to the stadium based on his sheer fielding skills, he is a very considerate individual and took time off during his busy Indian Premier League India season, where he is coaching the Lucknow Super Giants, to know about our mission.
It all began a few months back when Mr. Vivek Kumar – National Manager, Marketing of Annapoorna Trust happened to meet Rhodes at one of the events in Bengaluru. Jonty had already shown keen interest in knowing more about the role of non-profits in the Nutrition arena in India.
On 24th April, he visited Sathya Sai Grama, headquarters of Annapoorna Trust, and had a campus tour of various facilities including the free medical college, hospital, Cricket stadium, SaiSure Nutritions factory. He also met Sri B N Narasimha Murthy – Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence, during his visit. He interacted with the students at the cricket stadium and provided valuable tips on fielding in cricket like how to practice taking a catch and sports in general. The students were very eager to meet him and were thrilled to receive tips on fielding from the great veteran himself.
He visited the SaiSure Nutraceutical facility which supplies SaiSure health supplements to Annapoorna Trust and also tasted the SaiSure Ragi Multi Nutrient Health Mix. Being in the sports field and an athlete all his life, he easily understood the need for proper nutrition for a growing child. He was impressed upon knowing that Annapoorna Trust is working in partnership with various state governments on the lines of the National Nutrition Mission. The Trust apprised him of the various benefits of the health mix on the children thus enabling building of a nourished nation.
He could relate to the situation in his home country, South Africa, where he said that many children go to school hungry and await a mid-day meal. Morning Nutrition is very important which is rightly imbibed by Annapoorna Trust by serving millions in India.
He expressed his happiness with the projects undertaken by Sri Madhusudan Sai Global Humanitarian Mission in various thematic areas including nutrition, education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability.
We are grateful for his time and presence and look forward to collaborating with him in more deeper terms to bring a positive impact on society.
