Jeevantirth Covid-19 Response
As per WHO, “The world is facing an unprecedented challenge with communities and economies everywhere affected by the growing COVID-19 pandemic. The world is coming together to combat the COVID-19 pandemic bringing governments, organizations from across industries and sectors and individuals together to help respond to this global outbreak. The outpouring of global solidarity and support sparked by this shared challenge has been phenomenal.”
We at Jeevantirth also took a call, first by spreading awareness among communities and then directly helping the most vulnerable sections of society affected badly by Covid-19 pandemic in our own limited reach. We give brief account of the activities done so far by Jeevantirth with whole humbleness.
1. Door to Door Mass Awareness Campaign in 18 Villages of Becharaji area, ‘RamaPirNo Tekro’ and nearby slums of Ahmadabad and few villages of Dediapada, district Narmada. We distributed leaflets, put posters at few places and make aware people to wear mask, keep social distancing and importance of hand washing.
2. Providing Dry Ration Kits to Migrant Labourers locked up in 30 Night Stay Homes of Ahmadabad. With the generous support of Nitinbhai Shah & his friends, Deepti Shah and her group Act of Kindness, Asopalav Group and others. 226 Kits of dry ration for 15 days were distributed to 225 families for 1642 Family Members. Special permission was given by director of UCD Centre of Ahmadabad for this purpose.
3. Distribution of about 1300 Dry Ration Kits to Rag Picker Women in ‘RamaPirNo Tekro’ and surrounding slums of Ahmadabad. Friends of Jeevantirth supported this initiative, special thanks to Brindaben, Giants Group – Lion’s Group and others. With the generous support from ‘Ramchandracharya Dharmanagar Group’ 2000 face masks and immunity booster medicine were distributed with the active participation of Jeevantirth volunteers in RamaPirNo Tekro as a part of Covid-19 awareness program.
4. Emergency Response in Central Gujarat, Nadiad, Tarapur and Vataman Chowkdi: Just two incidents for sample; Ration Kit distribution in Nadiad for Migrant Labourers. Pregnant Women with Kids and family was locked up in court premises desperately needing help. She was even taken to Hospital by our team to avoid complications; she was in final stage to deliver a baby. Another heart touching story is shared by Dilipbhai in which Himmatbhai lifted six hungry and exhausted labourers to Tarapur feed them and gave money to go by bus or train to Uttar Pradesh. Even in this odd situation they were caring pair of pat rabbit with them! We are serving cooked food or food packets to the labourers passing through Tarapur and Vataman Chowkdi.
5. Supporting Camp at Limkheda for Migrant Labourers going to MP and Rajasthan: Limkheda is between Dahod and Godhara where group of teachers and others initiated a camp to serve migrant labourer in systematic way. Jeevantirth actively engaged in and supported in a big way to provide Cooked Food, Food Packets, Water Facility and even Transportation Facility of 50-60 Kilometres to Rajasthan or Madhya Predesh border to the migrant labourers going to home state from Gujarat.
6. Work done by Jeevantirth Lok Sewa Kendra, Ahmadabad for Migrant Workers going their home state on foot or by whatever means they can go. Cooked food, Food Packet, Foot-wares and Mask distribution.
7. Food Packets to Migrant Labourers at Palanpur: Many Migrant Labourers are walking through Palanpur to Abu Road, Rajasthan and our team of Value Added Education are serving Food Packets to them on the way. Though small operation but on regular bases to needy migrant labourers.
Everyone can now support to the response coordinated by Jeevantirth. People and organizations who want to help fight the pandemic and support Jeevantirth can now donate for the Jeevantirth COVID-Response Fund. This is not our core work but we need to respond in crises.
8. COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has brought about a sense of fear and anxiety around the globe. This phenomenon has led to short term as well as long term psychosocial and mental health implications for children and adolescents. As per UNICEF data hub, because of Covid-19 pandemic, all children, of all ages, and in all countries, are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by mitigation measures that may inadvertently do more harm than good. This is a universal crisis and, for some children, the impact will be life-long. UNICEF with CHILDLINE has worked on developing a manual for emotional and psychosocial support to children across the country in distress. The Manual is intended to be open for use to all frontline workers and NGO partners to psycho-educate parents, caregivers and children themselves. Jeevantirth took responsibility to translate that manual “Psychosocial Support for Children during COVID-19 A Manual for Parents and Caregivers” into Gujarati.