We recently conducted a Covid Relief ration drive for the residents of Ishwar Nagar, who have been severely impacted by the ongoing pandemic. This was our 3rd drive in the area, as we continue to reach out to the needy and offer support as and when required. We got in touch with the Pradhan (head) of the village and he told us that a lot of the families are facing difficulty to buy essentials due to loss of work caused by the pandemic. We then decided to help them by distributing 100 ration kits. We always try to be equitable in our dealings and thus requested the Pradhan to identify the most affected families that could not be covered in the previous 2 drives.
We reached the area around 2 PM, and I was amazed to see that all the ladies had formed a proper queue and were at a distance of 1 metre from each other. We then transferred all the kits from the car onto a nearby cot. With the help of volunteers, we had made a list of people who were going to get the ration kits and had already provided them with the tokens for the same. We followed all safety protocols so that the drive could be conducted seamlessly. We asked the beneficiaries to come one by one, get their names verified in the list, sanitize their hands and finally handed over the ration kit to them.
We also live-streamed this drive on our Instagram handle, as an attempt to give more transparency to our operations. Under normal circumstances, the donors would come personally and distribute the ration kits themselves. However, due to safety concerns, we live-streamed the entire drive on our social media handles such that everyone can see our on-ground operations.
While things were moving smoothly, suddenly there was a lady that came in between the line which caused a commotion. On asking her why she did this, she claimed that she has always been left out of the drive(s). We then asked the Pradhan for the reason, to which he explained that the lady’s daughter in-law got the ration in the previous drive and that they live together. Thus she had to be excluded since the ration kits are for an entire family and not an individual, and her family had already been covered in the previous drive. Also, Shekhar and Barkha, my colleagues from Wishes and Blessings identified a few people who had got the ration kits in the previous drives and thus asked them to step aside. I was amazed to see how they (Shekhar and Barkha) remembered people from the previous 2 drives and thus helped us distribute the ration kits to those needy people who had not received assistance till now.
These instances made me think as to how a few individuals try to take advantage of a situation for their own personal benefit, rather than focus on the benefit for the society at large. In the first instance, the lady tried to obtain a ration kit, even though her family had received one in the previous drive and in the second, there was favouritism carried out by the Pradhan to help his people obtain ration kits multiple times. It is due to these instances that people stop believing in the legitimacy of social work. However, with proper due diligence and support staff such as Shekhar and Barkha, Wishes and Blessings always makes sure that such instances do not occur and if in case they do, then we take appropriate action for the same.
Another instance to highlight was when I was handing over a ration kit to an extremely weak elderly lady. She had become weak in the recent past due to the financial crisis caused by the pandemic. She barely had the strength to hold the ration kit, which is heavy, and thus we arranged for a volunteer to carry the kit for her and drop it at her residence. These instances highlight the huge ramifications of the pandemic and how we not only have to fight the disease but also have to fight the collateral damage caused by it.
For a majority of us, our only concern has been to stay indoors and avoid catching Covid-19. However, for the underprivileged, the pandemic has had other disastrous effects. Daily wage labourers are worst affected by this pandemic as their life runs on a hand to mouth situation (even under normal circumstances). They go to work each day, earn money for that day and on their way back, buy fruits and vegetables from that money, which is only sufficient for that day. So, if there is any day that they are unable to go to work, then on that particular day, they have to sleep hungry as they do not have any savings. Imagine the condition of these people during the lockdown. Additionally, the lockdown restrictions may have eased now, but there is still no work available for these individuals.
Thus, it is imperative for individuals of society to step up and help such people in these tough times. For a lot of us, our expenditures have significantly reduced during this period since we are not splurging on expensive dinners/coffees etc. So, it is important for us to help the needy during this period. We might not realise it, but a cup of coffee at say, Starbucks, costs the same amount as a ration kit that feeds a family of 5 for 1 week. Thus, I urge the readers to give this a serious thought and would feel accomplished even if one reader feels motivated to help the society after reading this post.
About the Author
Manik loves to spend time with his family, listening inquisitively to the stories his grandparents share. He has always been passionate about helping society and thus gave up his Investment Banking career to pursue his passion. Having majored in finance, he wishes to increase financial literacy and awareness in the country.