Emergency Food and Medicine for Kolkata's Poorest

More than ever before, your donations have been essential over the last 9 months of the coronavirus pandemic.  Because of you, we at Tiljala SHED were able to mobilise instantly to bring much needed food parcels to thousands of destitute families who found themselves hungry.  

When India locked down in March 2020, millions of daily labourers found themselves immediately out of work. There was no work for rickshaw drivers, street vendors, domestic servants. Beggars and rag pickers weren't even allowed to go onto the streets to try to make enough money to eat.  So we found crowds of desperate people outside our offices asking for help.

A handful of Tiljala SHED's staff, who lived close by, were able to begin to take names, hand out coupons and arrange for individuals to return, masked and distanced, to collect food rations for their families.  We then purchased sacks of rice, lentils, potatoes, onions, oil and other basics. Our staff packed the goods through the night and then distributed the packages day after day. We took relief to different parts of Kolkata where the need was greatest and even mounted an expedition out to the Sundarbans to distribute food relief to families who had had suffered the double catastrophe of COVID lockdown and Cyclone Amphan which has swept away their homes.

In all you helped us to feed over 35,000 people in 2020.  And just when things seemed to be getting better, another disaster struck. On 10th November, fire swept through the Topsia Canalside Squatter community, leaving nearly 200 families homeless. Many lost all their possessions either through the fire or by throwing their belongings into the canal in the hope of saving them later.  Until today we continue our relief efforts for these families.

Your donations have enabled us to provide the necessary relief quickly and efficiently to many thousands of families. You have certainly saved lives and livelihoods. Please continue to help us as the crisis is by no means over - and even when life returns to normal, there are always families and individuals who need emergency relief.

Thank you

Links:

• Read more about how you have helped Tiljala SHED's work in 2020
• A fuller report on the Topsia fire

Ajibul is a daily wage earner. He lives in the Sundarbans, a rural area in the Ganges delta. At the best of times 50% of the population live below the poverty line. Since lockdown and Cyclone Amphan, it is far far worse. He has 3 children: his two daughters study in Class VIII and V respectively. His son studies in class III. His monthly income was just Rs.3000 (USD40 GBP30) before the crisis. Since lockdown started it has been the biggest challenge of his life to find work. All his savings are finished. His family survives on the relief provided by social organizations and sometimes by the government. The lockdown has taken away his livelihood. Ajibul has been searching for a regular work like before but to his surprise he could not find any except a few working days of the month.

He says, “Even if we don’t die of coronavirus, surely we will die of hunger and poverty.”

He was very happy with the food parcel though “We are very grateful to the people and the organization who took this initiative and came so far to help us out in this crisis situation.”

For Abijul and his family, COVID19, seems less of a threat than the lockdown itself. Families who depend on the wages of daily labourers found themselves with nothing to eat. Savings were quickly used up and families went hungry. Across India individuals, local government and philanthropic organisations have rallied to help the poorest members of society. Food parcel distributions are a common sight but the need is vast.

Tiljala SHED, as a grassroots organisation working closely with Kolkata’s very vulnerable urban communities, is ideally placed to deliver relief when and where it is most needed. Over the past months Tiljala SHED has been able to distribute food rations to over 6500 families.  We distributed rations to the communities where we normally work, bringing livelihood support and education to rag picker and ultra-poor families. But we also went further afield, delivering aid where it was most needed across the cityand in rural West Bengal.  

On 4^th August,with a special donation from GlobalGiving, collected by Facebook in the wake of Cyclone Amphan, our team of volunteers took food relief to Abijul’s community in the Sundarbans. Living on islands and very low-lying land in the Ganges delta and many surviving on crab fishing, this population, already living below the poverty line, were especially hard hit as the flooding form the Cyclone meant they couldn’t rebuild their homes. We purchased the rice, flour, dal, onions and other items in Kolkata and took a truck and boat out to Prathar Pratima to deliver emergency relief.

Your contribution to this Emergency Food and Medicine Project has been a lifesaver throughout the COVID19 pandemic.   As infection rates rise throughout India, the poor will continue to be the hardest hit, and your contributions will be more important than ever as the effects of the disease itself roll out in these vulnerable communities. It is easy to grow weary of this dreadful situation but please consider a special donation to boost funds. We have now spent every rupee so far donated to this project and desperately need contributions so that we can continue to help those most in need.

Links:

• Report on the expedition to the Sundarbans