On 24th March 2020, just a few hours before the lockdown was announced, ten pairs of hands in Vapi, Gujarat, prepared ration kits in quick urgency. “After the Sunday Janta Curfew, I instinctively knew that there will be a lockdown of a longer duration. So we quickly began making the kits in the afternoon. By 1 AM, we distributed ration kits to 300 industry and construction workers,” says one of the volunteers.
Another team of volunteers from Kolkata sprung into action just after the lockdown was announced. “We started distributing cold coffee and food to policemen and food delivery boys on the road who all of a sudden needed to be working for stretched hours,” says a volunteer from the city.
Inspired by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, hundreds of volunteers of The Art of Living have been reaching out to daily wage workers and others in distress during the lockdown. Efforts include distributing cooked food and ration kits . The volunteers are also running a free helpline for those undergoing anxiety during the lockdown.
“Gurudev has given a call to everyone to do what they can possibly do to help each other in this critical time. The Art of Living fraternity has been reaching out to the people in their neighborhood and helping them with both material and mental relief while following the social distancing rules completely,” said Darshak Hathi, President, IAHV International, International Director, The Art of Living.
Since the lockdown, The Art of Living with its partner organization, International Association for Human Values (IAHV) has provided 500 tons of relief material across the country. Every kit of the relief material contains wheat, rice, pulses, cooking oil, salt, spices, and soap. Volunteers in various villages, towns, and cities have been distributing these kits among daily wage workers while adhering to strict safety guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus. At many places, the volunteers are also providing cooked food.
Service in numbers
- Mumbai: 200,000 labor families supported with ration kits
- Gujarat: 14,173 kits distributed
- Rajkot, Gujarat: 4 tonnes of wheat flour and rice given to Rajkot Municipal Corporation
- Punjab: 9,000 families provided with ration
- Rajasthan: 38 ton of material distributed
- West Bengal: 150,000 people reached
- Himachal Pradesh: 300 families benefited
- Chattisgarh: More than 290 families benefited
- Jammu and Kashmir: 4,500 families
- Delhi: 2.13 lakh migrant laborers receive help
- Telangana: 3,000 ration kits distributed
- Assam: 2,441 families reached
- Bengaluru: 5,000 meals distributed every day by Bangalore Ashram kitchen
- Kerala: 12 tons of truckload material distributed
- Bihar: 1,275 families provided with cooked meals
- Odisha: 70 tons of relief material distributed
Bringing assurance
Three days after the lockdown was announced, thousands of migrant workers thronged Delhi’s Anand Vihar bus terminus in panic. However, everything was closed including the bus services. A few volunteers of The Art of Living in Delhi hurried to the bus terminus in masks and distributed snacks and masks to the workers. “We knew the bus stop could become a hotbed of infection with so many people coming together. Distributing masks was a bare necessity,” says a volunteer from the capital.
The volunteers also assured the workers that they will be provided with food and ration during the lockdown. “We tried convincing them to stay. Many did and many did not; venturing out to their hometowns on foot,” says a Delhi-based volunteer.
During the lockdown, the Delhi team of volunteers has distributed ration kits to more than 2.13 lakh migrant laborers, slum dwellers, and villagers in and around Delhi-NCR. The team has been serving 7,000 to 10,000 people with cooked food daily during the lockdown period.
In Chandigarh, volunteers have given their phone numbers to community leaders of daily wage workers, so that anybody can reach out to them in case of any need. “Many of them wanted to go home but could not because of the lockdown. We have been trying to reduce their anxiety in whatever means possible. More than the food, they need assurance that somebody has their back,” says a volunteer from the city.
Support from all quarters
The service initiative campaigned under #iStandWithHumanity, has seen support from corporate partners, the film fraternity, civil society, and government bodies. Corporate partners include Bosch, Gateway Distripark, Capgemini, Metro, Global Insurance, Screen Magic Service, Pfizer, BNY Mellon, Schaeffler India, Hikal Ltd., CRISIL, Incred Financial Services, Adani Foundation, LIC.
Popular actors from the film fraternity have also pledged their support to the initiative.
The government is supporting the initiative on the ground; helping reach ration kits and food to daily wage workers. Various municipal corporations and police departments of cities like Delhi, Vadodra, Mumbai to name a few have extended their support too.
Different NGOs are working together for the cause as well. As a volunteer from Raipur remarks, “ We are working along with other NGOs to reach out with food. This is the time when everyone – the government, NGOs and civil society are working as one big team to provide help.”
