By Atul Lekhra | Programme Incharge
Namaste,
Trust you and your loved ones are keeping well in these challenging times of COVID-19. The pandemic of Covid-19 has presented significant challenges to rural farmers and has highlighted their vulnerability in times of crisis.
84% of the population Seva Mandir works with are subsistence farmers who struggle to make a living from their small landholdings. These farmers’ incomes had already been under pressure in recent years, due to low commodity prices, but a good monsoon season last year had given hope to the region that they could increase their production and sell more in the markets. Then Covid-19 arrived and the situation worsened exponentially. Farmers are not able to access markets easily, and a ban on transport restricts their movements to larger villages and towns.
Seva Mandir’s role during this time became very important for these farmers and their families.
Seva Mandir has experience of more than 50 years of working with communities to transform and improve their lives – and that is no different now. Even during this pandemic, we remain committed to working with communities and helping them escape poverty.
We are distributing food kits (consisting of onions, potatoes, grains, rice, oil, spices, and salt) and sanitation kits (comprising of soap and detergent), both enough to last a family of 5 for 2 weeks. Importantly, we are also providing farmers with grain-storage kits and tarpaulins to increase the amount of food they can store – essential as the harvesting season approaches.
Until now, we have reached 45,400 families- distributing 33,300 sanitation kits, 3,200 food kits, 4,200 grain-storage kits and 4,700 safety kits. Over INR 6 million (USD 80,000) has been spent in providing relief. We are also aiding the government in their relief efforts.
These food and hygiene kits are a lifeline to these farmers during this time of crisis.
Meera from one of our village area says- ‘My situation was already so bad but then the relief kits came from Seva Mandir, and suddenly I felt like my own family is here to help.’
Another farmer from Kotra block says- ‘We are getting useful information from Seva Mandir on how to use this time for learning better farming practices.’
We deeply thank you for your valuable contribution. That has aided the families and communities to survive through this period of crisis till here.
We all know that the challenge is yet to be over, and the difficult times are ahead of us. Seva Mandir is unabated in its determination to continue working with its communities to find solutions for dignified lives and livelihoods. You can be part of this effort whether it is by donating directly to Seva Mandir, by spreading the word of Seva Mandir to people you know, or just by sending us your messages of support.
You can give your support to our Covid-19 project by clicking here. You can keep up to date with our efforts on our dedicated Covid-19 page on our website click here to access it.
Once again, thank you for your unwavering support. Please stay healthy and keep social distancing.
Regards
Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team
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By Atul Lekhra | Programme Incharge
By Atul Lekhra | Manager- Resource Mobilization
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