Hope in coronavirus times: Help pours in for those hit by lockdown

The devastating impact of coronavirus crisis was evident in the pictures hordes of homeless migrant workers on long marches back to their villages; many urban slum dwellers, living on the edges of the society in normal times, left destitute, clamouring for food. But it has not been all gloom and doom.

Amid the crisis has risen an outpouring of empathy from ordinary people across India led by the civil society, who have stepped up to help migrant labourers, domestic helps, construction workers, and small scale workers who were left jobless because of the nationwide lockdown.

From every part of the country, Indian are coming forward with donations, big and small, on crowdfunding sites, with online transfers, and even good old cash left in envelopes at their gates.

People have been incredibly generous, said Rohini Malur of Bengaluru-based NGO Hasiru Dala, which has raised a whopping Rs 38.27 lakh in just 17 days, surpassing its goal of Rs 36 lakh. Malur said the donors gave an average of Rs. 3000 each.

Hasiru Dala used crowdfunding to collect money for providing dry ration kits to ragpickers and daily wage labourers in six cities of Karnataka -- Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumakuru, Davanagere and the twins cities of Hubli-Dharwad.

The kits contain 25 kg rice, 5 kg lentils, 2 litres of cooking oil, salt, chilli powder, 500 grams of groundnuts, 500 grams jaggery and soaps. Worth Rs. 1600 each, the kits are expected to last for 21 days.

The families we have identified are the most vulnerable and need immediate support. They have no BPL/ration card, no public housing, and no predictable income, Malur told PTI. Hasiru Dala had identified 3,500 vulnerable families but has managed to help 4,661 families since March 24, the day the lockdown was announced.

Besides depending on a little funding from corporate houses, and seeking donations on their website, Hasiru Dala also tied up with the crowdfunding site KETTO, which has offered to waive off its service charges completely.

According to the International Labour Organisation, the COVID-19 crisis has the potential to push around 40 crore informal sector workers in India deeper into poverty, with the lockdown and other containment measures affecting jobs and earnings.

A similar drive is being conducted by Project Potential in Bihar, which is aiding daily wage workers who have returned from tea gardens, farms, and brick kilns by raising money on crowdfunding site Give India, which also has waived off its fee.

With the nationwide lockdown daily wage labourers are without a livelihood. Many of these families lack ration cards or bank accounts, and even for those who have them, ATMs are often inaccessible or lack money once people reach them, Abodh Kumar of Project Potential told PTI. To encourage the villagers, especially the children to stay indoors, Project Potential has also included a board game of Ludo in the aid packet