Twenty-two-year-old Bianca Sadhwani, a third-year marketing student at Baptist University come-September, doesn't spend her evenings like most juniors. On most nights, she rushes home by 5pm to a living room piled with cardboard boxes and forms an assembly line with her father Nick, elder sister Samiha and 86-year-old grandmother Radhika, or Biggie. Into every plastic bag, they set a freshly cooked meal box, fruit, biscuits and a beverage box.

These food packs and water bottles are then loaded onto trolleys and distributed, by hand, to homeless persons, cardboard grannies – the ones pushing trolleys stacked with mountains of unwanted boxes – and community cleaners in Tsim Sha Tsui, Nam Cheong or Fortress Hill in walks that can stretch beyond two hours each. Nick greets recipients by name in fluent Cantonese; though Bianca can only understand 60 percent of what's going on, their heartfelt gestures of appreciation are the fuel to her almost-nightly missions, even during excruciatingly hot summers and Typhoon 10s.

The Sadhwanis are a part of a charity called Hanuman, named after a Hindu deity known for his humility. Founded by Bianca and Nick during the height of COVID-19 in 2021, the organization and its volunteers feed hungry mouths on the street six nights a week alongside elderly home visits and seasonal drives. Though Nick has always taught his children to do good at a young age, Bianca says her values and her relationship with her father took a 180-degree turn when they co-founded Hanuman, for which she is also social media and communication at-charge.

"Since starting the charity, I think my dad has gone crazy: he doesn't sleep at all. His mind is working 24/7 to think of ways to help more people," she says.

The youngest in a family of five, Bianca was born and raised in Dubai until the age of eight before attending a boarding school in India, where her mother and brother remained while Nick lived in Hong Kong. Bianca's campus only allowed communication with family on the weekends; and as the only student with a parent overseas, she had to request the faculty staff to message Nick so he'd call back.

"He has a full-time job in Hong Kong, but he'd always call within seconds of receiving that message, without fail," Bianca recalls.

When Nick traveled to India over longer holidays, he made sure they'd visit orphanages or the homeless with offerings of food, clothes and toys before indulging in leisurely activities. Such regular charity work was something Nick has long practiced with his fellow Hindu devotees in Hong Kong: he was known to carry heavy bundles of rice and oil up 10 flights of stairs to those residing in subdivided homes.

In 2021 – in her final year of high school – Bianca moved to Hong Kong, almost diving straight into Zoom lessons at home as a result of pandemic-induced social distancing restrictions. Out of curiosity, Nick suggested they make and bring 20 food packs to a subway in Nam Cheong, where he's seen a few homeless persons in a previous visit.

That mere 20 packs were enough to turn their kitchen into a workshop. Bianca oversaw the production of fried rice; but with a rice cooker that can only fit three cups every turn, the counter was soon strewn with ingredients either waiting to be tossed together or to cool down and scooped into a meal box. The 20, of course, weren't enough to feed an increasing homeless population that ballooned from unemployment and declining support from charities over the pandemic. So rather than overloading their own kitchen, cooking was outsourced to helpful friends, nearby restaurants, and even Cathay Pacific crew members who were confined to the ground during COVID-19, all eager to lend a helping hand. Since then, Hanuman's 20 weekly meals have blossomed to more than 900, complete with options of fried rice, noodles, Gado Gado and sometimes includes freshly made pastries. The walks, too, grew from just the dad-daughter duo to include a steady roster of volunteers.

Aside from a benevolent network of helpers, persistence was key to Hanuman's growth. As foreigners, Bianca says they've been repeatedly turned away by the homeless, refusing their offers of help and food; but Nick would continue to ask at every walk until they accepted their service.

"Seeing them finally enjoying our meals really means a lot to us," says Bianca, explaining that the homeless' aloofness may stem from years of solitude and mental issues. "My dad used to say, 'the worst thing they can do is punch me, and I can take that.'"

Admittedly, Bianca hasn't always agreed with Nick's devotion and saw Hanuman as a threat to quality family time together. Moreover, Hong Kong, unlike India, didn't seem to suffer from issues of poverty and homelessness on the surface. But as she got more involved in the deed, the charity walks became invaluable bonding time.

"Instead of watching movies or going shopping together as a family, we help people. My dad and I have always been close, but I feel like after starting Hanuman, our relationship has further improved because we know our hard work is paid off by recipients who look forward to seeing us," she says.

Still, Nick is not a perfect role model; Bianca says he can get "too personal" with the benefactors. This not only affects his mental health but also Hanuman's dream of opening a charity center where benefactors can find respite, whether that means a warm shower, a meal or a place to stay. Aside from funds, Bianca said the biggest hurdle so far is her father's reluctance to take a back seat from nightly missions to work on the project. She understands his worries of potentially missing a benefactor on the walks, but "he's the one who has the final say in the center, so we can't move forward without him."

"But aside from that, I am inspired by everything that he does. My dad really is great."