With the world continuing to grapple with COVID-19, many humanitarian organisations and NGOs have come forward to extend their support to fight the pandemic. Some are especially reaching out to underprivileged families and children, providing basic health and hygiene necessities, food and other relief packages.
Here are the top 5 nonprofit organisations doing so:
1. Miracle Foundation India
Playing its part in the fight against coronavirus, Miracle Foundation India is actively taking measures across CCIs (Child Care Institutes) to ensure COVID-19 doesn’t spread. Children and staff who live in a properly sanitized environment are kept safe, in addition to supporting the financially challenged families.
Some of the measures being taken by the Foundation: Ensure families and children’s need for nutrition and health are met, providing cash transfers and relief packages to families (who are single mothers or daily wage workers) for basic necessities. Additionally, for the children who are currently staying at the CCIs, the centres are being managed via remote services, using technology to ensure continuity in services.
2. Swasthgram Foundation
Swasthgram team sprung into action and started organizing awareness campaigns in the NCR region on a regular basis since the coronavirus hit Indian shores. The Foundation has set up a screening centre at Ghitorni in South Delhi, to identify potential suspects by screening using Thermometer Guns, recording their body temperature. The team has 100 health volunteers who are visiting homes in close by localities creating awareness and distributing pamphlets, regarding do’s and don’ts for residents and essential service operators (grocery stores, banks, chemists etc.) Swasthgram has also undertaken thermal screening of over 2000 people from different strata of society in and around Ghitorni area.
3. Akshaya Patra Foundation
Akshaya Patra will be aiding the Government’s efforts by providing food relief in various locations across the country. Akshaya Patra is also the partner of the government’s flagship Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Programme providing wholesome meals to children.
4. Goonj
The non-profit organisation, Goonj, is also working towards long-term rehabilitation of daily wage earners, who are likely to be unemployed for an unforeseen period of time due to the pandemic.
Under the programme Rahat, the volunteers aim to prepare kits with essentials such as dry rations and personal care products, and transport them to over a million people in areas with huge pockets of migrant labour. They will also utilise donations to address the impact on family income, healthcare, debt and education.
5. Smile Foundation
Smile Foundation has developed a two-pronged strategy to mitigate this crisis. The organisation aims to reach 1,50,000 such families in phases by providing dry ration thus, securing them against goods scarcity in the wake of a possible virus outbreak and basic necessity kit as part of immediate relief for a month in the current times arising out of COVID-19. The kits include rice, dal, salt, oil, sugar, masks, sanitary pads, soap to name a few and other essentials.
