14 May Relief for the children and families of Sahayak…
HARYANA-DELHI, INDIA
The team at Sahayak work amongst migrant labourers’ community in Gurgaon, with a primary focus on children and women who constitute the most vulnerable groups. When the total lockdown was announced, there was a huge panic amongst many who wanted to go back to their native villages; some even decided to travel on foot as the factories shut down and housemaids were asked to stay at home by their employers. The reality that there was no cure for the virus only added more chaos to the panic. Many needed food provisions and the Sahayak kids were instrumental in identifying and helping the families to come to the Sahayak Centre one by one to pick up food packets.
The team distributed food packets in 3 phases to avoid crowd gathering and risk anyone of possible contamination and were able to bless families in two communities (Sarai village and Masjid Illaka). Most of the Sahayak kids reside in these two communities. Care packages consisting of 10 kg Atta/flour, 10 kg Rice, Dal/Lentil, Cooking oil, Salt and Antiseptic Soap were distributed through a team of Sahayak Staff; 2 local Community Leaders and the Sahayak Children’s Club Leaders – Anand (14 years old) and Sania (10 years old). The team ensured all the children’s families were provided for and took pictures to ensure nobody was left out. It was heartwarming to see everyone coming together as a team to reach out and help.
One of the kid’s mother shared that it was such a relief to get this care package; she shared how she, along with her three kids, had walked for days to reach the Uttar Pradesh border only to be threatened by the police with violence. She was worried about how to provide for her kids when Anand informed her of the food packages being available; she felt her prayers were answered.
With the lockdown extended and many more still needing relief, we hope to reach out again for the month of May as well. Sahayak is hoping to provide 100 families with emergency relief packages of dry rations and essential supplies for another month. These are dire times and they are doing all they can do to help families of daily wage labourers, who they have direct access to. This is not charity, but a basic human right – the right to food.