Rotary clubs feed migrant families, boost their morale

Moved by the plight of a woman labourer carrying her six-month-old child in her arms and walking  towards her village near Mathura from Delhi, President Rajit Gupta, RC Faridabad Sanskar, RID 3011, and his team set up a community kitchen to feed migrant workers in transit during the lockdown. “All necessary precautions were taken to prepare and pack the food hygienically. About ₹7 lakh were spent on the facility. Besides, club members loaded their cars with food and water packets and distributed them to migrant workers,” said Gupta.

He and a few other Rotarians drove to Agra to buy 800 bread packets and distributed them to the migrating families. “The food packets and bread distribution went on for four days until the migrant workers had all moved out of Faridabad.”

Receiving the food, a grateful beneficiary said: “Marna hai to ghar pe jakar marenge, rone waley to honge (If we have to die we will die at our homes, at least there will be someone to cry for us).” The club is now distributing refreshments to policemen on lockdown duty.

RC Delhi Heritage, RID 3011, in association with the Press Information Bureau, provided 50,000 reusable face masks for distribution to health and sanitary workers, policemen and others vulnerable groups through the Health Ministry and other government agencies.

Focus on mental health

In Madhya Pradesh, RC Jabalpur South, RID 3261, is giving lunch packets to policemen and healthcare workers. Other NGOs such as the Jain International Trading ­Organisation, Jain Youth Association and ­Motherhood, joined the club in the food distribution.

Rotarians also distributed safety kits to health workers and paramedics at the government hospital in Jabalpur. “As there is shortage of food, masks, sanitisers and gloves at the hospital, we are distributing hygiene kits to hospital staff, oldage homes and the police,” says Club President Akhil Mishra.  More than 500 such kits were distributed and 50 more would be distributed with the help of Red Cross Society.

Club members loaded their cars with food and water packets and distributed them to migrant workers.

Another initiative of the club, Ek phone manavtha ke liye (one call for humanity) is addressing mental health issues by engaging people staying indoors and spreading awareness on the pandemic in the communities and maintaining hygiene and social distancing. “Eleven of our members have scripted a short conversation on mental health and the need to stay at home. We called every contact in our phonebook and did counselling and requested them to become our safety ambassadors, call their contacts and share the same conversation.”

Thus, waves of phone calls started making rounds in Jabalpur. One of the club members received a call back from a man who thanked the club for having spoken to him. “He said he hadn’t spoken to his son for months because of a dispute. But after our call, he sorted out their misunderstanding and advised his son not to leave the house.”

Food grain bank

Families living in slums were given dry rations from the grain bank created by RC Raigad Steel City, RID 3261. “We collected rice, wheat, dal, dry masala mix and vegetables and distributed 400 dry ration kits to poor families. We will continue this until the lockdown is lifted,” says Om Prakash Modi, past president of the club.

RC Amritsar North, RID 3070, distributed ration kits and food packets to 1,200 underprivileged and migrant families after organising an awareness programme about COVID-19 for them at the Government Hospital.