The Silokhra Food Drive
A Lockdown Initiative
Lockdown
The first Covid-19 Lockdown, imposed suddenly on the 24th of March, 2020, had debilitating effect on daily wage and migrant workers who found themselves stranded far away from their homes as work ground to a halt and incomes evaporated.
Living in the urban settlements of Gurgaon can be expensive for the average worker. Without wages, many families could no longer afford essentials like food and medicine. Many NGOs stepped in to help.
Silokhra Village
Our Relief Measures
We identified around 375 families from 4 different areas in Silokhra village, Gurgaon. We needed to raise Rs. 2200 for each family to provide them with a month's supply of rations.
We reached out directly to residents of The World Spa, a nearby apartment complex, requesting donations for the struggling workers nearby. We asked donors to either transfer funds online or drop off cash in clearly labeled envelopes at Colonel Yadav's office. Online payments were eligible for receipts and tax deduction under 80G of the Income Tax Act.
Many members of the community were incredibly generous and we were able to raise funds for not one, but two rounds of deliveries for the families over a period of two months.
First Round of Distribution
Each food package cost Rs.2200 and included a month’s supply of ration and essentials. We catered to 375 families for 15 days in the first round, post which we collected a surplus of 2.54 lakhs, which allowed us to organize a second round of food distribution.
The Contents of Each Packet
The process for distribution was organized well before the day it began. We ensured police presence to maintain order and social distancing for the safety of the families and our own staff. We collated data to maintain transparency in the process and avoid duplication.
Volunteers from the Red Cross Civil Defence helped our team in the distribution process.
Second Round of Distribution
While fundraising for the first round of distribution, we raised a surplus of 2.54 lakhs, which allowed us to return the following month as well. This time, we reduced the package to just rations. Now each package is costs Rs.1200 to put together for a family. We used the surplus to cover half the cost and raised 2 lakhs more, thanks to our generous donors.
We followed the same distribution process we used for round 1 with help from the Red Cross volunteers once again.
Team Staff and Community support:
Divya Sood
Devang Bhandari
Gauri Rao
Jyoti Chabba
Manvi Bhardwaj
Payal Chopra
Puneeta Chadha Khanna
Radhika Sethi
Sidharth Gupta
Sonal Thakur
Urvashi Sarup
Special Thanks to:
Colonel Yadav
Ajay Singh
Ajay Sahu
for their tireless effort in identifying and reaching out to the families.
The Red Cross Civil Defense
Spencer's (supermarket)