YSD – HELPING THE ULTRA POOR WITH FOOD BASKETS IN GANJAM DISTRICT

Bureau,Odishabarta

Daily wage earners, returning and stranded migrants should not burnt with severe lockdown due to Covid-19

BERHAMPUR:The severe lockdown due to Covid-19 has created a lot of hardship to the poorest people living in rural areas in Ganjam district. Among them the domestic workers, rickshaw pullers, construction workers, returning migrants, stranded migrants, baggers, leprosy patients, homeless etc. have lost their daily wage and livelihood.

To mitigate this hardship of the people, Youth for Social Development, a NGO working with the poor on humanitarian assistance has been identified such poor people in coordination with the District Rural Development Agency,Ganjam .With the support from Azim Pemji Philanthropic Initiative ,IRDF and PTF , YSD has targeted to feed 3000 families in Ganjam rural areas and started distribution of dry food for a month to a family. The food basket includes 5 kgs of rice, 1 kgs pulse,1 litre oil, 1 kg soya bean, spices and 1kg salt. Nearly 350 families have received the support and YSD has planned.

At the same time the volunteers have been created awareness among the community on preventive measures like social distancing, frequent hand washing, and request the slum dwellers to stay at home to mitigate the disaster Covid-19. The volunteers of YSD also shared the information on special services or scheme for COVID-19 to the community during food distribution.

YSD targeted to feed more than 3000 distress families across 3 blocks in Ganajm district of Odisha. The staffs” and the volunteers of YSD have been specially trained to keep them safe during the relief distribution and maintain all kinds of health and hygiene protocols. The organization has a long experience in humanitarian assistance and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and has been working since 2013 cyclone Phailin.