We have partnered with Nitya who is supporting daily-wage earners in Mumbai who have lost their income as a result of the pandemic. With the help of your donations, Nitya has been able to support 60 families in Mumbai with nonperishable and nutritious emergency food kits that will last for a whole month. These kits include rice, flour, pulses, salt, spices, oil, sugar and tea.
Nitya said that "when the lockdown was announced in 2020, I realized that there were so many daily wage earners (such as taxi drivers, juice stand folks, tailors, carpenters etc.) who had lost their income, causing them to struggle to survive. We decided that providing them with food parcels would be the best way to support these families to sustain themselves during the lockdown".
In India, women struggle (disproportionately more than their male counterparts) to get jobs and when they do, they are usually also the first to be let go. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, there has been an increase in domestic violence as some of the men who have lost their jobs have taken their anger out on the women at home (their wives and daughters). By providing food aid, we hope to reduce the stress that struggling families face by ensuring that their basic needs are met. We hope that this, in turn, will reduce the amount of domestic violence experienced within households.
Nitya shared that the people who she has helped to support were filled with gratitude. One of the daily wage earners who received a food kit for his family said, "thank you, madam, you have helped [us] again! Without your help, we would not have food to survive."
Another beneficiary of the food aid parcels is a space for underprivileged children called Apun Ka Club. They expressed that the families who rely on support from this club were extremely relieved to know that they will be able to feed their children despite losing their income during the lockdown.
To support more families through our Emergency Aid response, please click here to donate.
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