By Shirley Bobby | Head of Fundraising
With your help, we were able to reach thousands of families with essential supplies and are eager to reach many more in desperate need during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Update on Food Distribution
From mid-March 2020, our field teams identified 4,894 vulnerable families in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal who are suffering without basic essentials during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown and distributed staple foods (rice, pulses, mustard oil, what flour, potatoes, salt and sugar (through joint funding sources).
COVID-19 Information
Along with staple foods, we also distributed health and hygiene supplies such as soap and hand-stitched face masks, which our teams made. While distributing these essential goods, we also made sure that we explained to the people what COVID-19 is, how to maintain health standards and the importance of doing so.
Anti-Trafficking Information
While we were distributing these essential goods which we have been able to purchase with your support, we also spread awareness information on the rise of trafficking. Many people were not aware that the severity of abuse against women and children increased once the lockdown was announced in mid-March 2020. The National Child Helpline received 92,000 calls in 11 days and The India Child Protection Fund reported a 95% increase in searches for “child pornography” on PornHub from India from 24 March 2020.
Mostly, children in these videos are trafficked and in such emergency situations, it is the poor and vulnerable communities who are prime targets for traffickers who exploit their need for income, shelter, food and water and lure them from their homes to be sold or exploited in other ways.
In some places, we were able to attach megaphones to our auto-rickshaws/vans and spread information about the rise in trafficking and women/child exploitation and what to do in case people witness any suspicious behavior or missing persons. We were sure to leave behind our toll free helpline number (1800 419 8588) with people in case they needed assistance with regard to child trafficking, child marriage, or even child labor.
India and COVID-19
India currently has 3.39 million COVID-19 cases and is the 3rd in the list of countries in the world with the highest number of COVID-19 cases just after the United States and Brazil. With the second highest population in the world and people living in such close proximity, there is constant fear that with the spread of the virus, the vulnerable (who are still cut off from earning money for their families) will be in even greater need and in danger of exploitation from traffickers and others who mean to do them harm.
With your support, we can step in and provide - where the need is greatest.
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