Life was always a hand to mouth struggle for our poor Dalit families and then COVID19 cruelly struck, making life even more difficult. In the last couple of weeks, to further make their lives impossibly hard, tragedy has effected two of our Nandri families, already struggling to survive the economic disaster caused by COVID19. A devastating fire and a horrible accident changed the lives of two families for ever. Luckily Nandri and our mothers groups have stepped up and supported these families and given them hope for a brighter future.
Amidst the fight to survive the pandemic, one of our mothers house burnt to the ground after an electrical fault. She and her family were left with only the clothes they were wearing. They were totally destitute, having lost all they had built and saved for in their lives. The Nandri community stepped in and the mothers in her Nandri group took her and her family in and provided them with accommodation. Nandri has given them new clothes and the necessities to set up home again and also we are supporting them financially until they rebuild their lives and once more become independent.
Sadly sometimes in India very young children have to grow up far too soon. Their childhood cut short by extraordinary burdens. Princy, a mere baby herself, is the sole carer of her mother who is a paraplegic. Her mum, Bernadeth Mary, broke her spine in a tragic accident. She can no longer walk and has no one to care for her apart from her baby girl. This little one is responsible for feeding and washing her mother and seeing to her every need. Thankfully one of the Nandri Mothers Groups heard of her plight and they are now supporting this little family with financial aid and practical day to day help. Nandri has also brought little Princy into our sponsorship programme and are supporting the family with Rs 1000 a month. With the help of Nandri, Princy can regain her childhood and will have the opportunity to go to school and be just a little girl again.
Presently in India there are 1.58 million cases and 34,968 deaths from COVID19. Almost 50,000 people are testing positive every day and in fact India has nearly 20 times the number of cases as China, a country of similar size and population. Worryingly for Nandri, a charity based in the isolated area of Tamil Nadu, the infection rate in rural provinces is rising extremely sharply.
Nandri to date has managed to mostly escape the devastating health impact of the COVID19 outbreak, although the financial consequences of the lockdown has crippled the community. Our food packages are vital to the survival of our families and the local villages in Tamil Nadu. We continue to educate and inform our families how to protect themselves from the virus while supporting them financially to enable them to survive this pandemic.
No matter what, our families know that Nandri and our mothers groups are there for them and will support them through whatever life throws at them. Nandri has built a huge community of supportive groups of wonderful caring mothers who with our help, guidance and financial aid will lift and help those amongst them who are greatest in need. If you would like to help Nandri and children like Princy, please donate. We cannot do our work without your generosity.
