Empowering Women in India at Every Stage of Life

The Desai Foundation remains committed to serving the over 1,400 rural communities we serve in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. We are focused on both the current immediate need, preparing for a possible third wave, and on the long-term relief efforts that will be needed.

Through this work over the last several months, we continue to realize the burden that disproportionately placed on women in rural Indian as a result of COVID. We are in touch with the hundreds of thousands of women we serve trying to support them in any way we can. In order to combat the inequities faced by these women, we are providing relief to rural villages for COVID, specifically with a focus on uplifting women and girls throughout the pandemic, and setting them up for long-term success once this crisis has abated.

From March through August 2021, the COVID response of the Desai Foundation has reached more than 1.9 million people and has achieved the following outcomes:

• Guidance provided to more than 5,000 individuals regarding about Vaccine information, bereavement support, and other support, via our COVID Helpline to helping the women who are left to manage their homes and families after a loved one passes away;
• Dissemination of accurate COVID information to 140,000 individuals;
• Deployment of 500,000 COVID tests in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh;
• Distribution of more than 500,000 sanitary napkins for free to hospitals, COVID care centers, and directly to women in need;
• Successful distribution of the following supplies and equipment: 1,000,000+ Cotton Masks, 29 Oxygen Concentrators, 35 Bi-PAB Machines, 7,000 Surgical Masks (N95), 35,000 liters of Domex Cleaner (Industrial Sanitizer), 18 Ventilators, 10,000 Hygiene Kits, 11,000+ Food Rations (food for a month for a family), 22,166 Individual Meals
• Alleviation of the burden off of women in rural villages who are caring for their sick family members and whose families do not have the option of isolating elsewhere, through the implementation of 7 isolation and relief centers open with beds, food, medical supplies, rapid testing, sanitary napkins, medical screenings, and comfort for isolation and pre critical stage patients.

We are continually focused on empowering women and girls at every stage of their lives and supporting their holistic well-being and this work is now more important than ever, as the status and opportunities of women and girls in India is under threat of reverting back several decades’ worth of progress, to a time before their voices were heard, their potential was recognized, and their contributions to society were valued. They are facing a much less familiar road ahead, one we must and cannot let them face alone.

Links:

• Desai Foundation COVID Response