Cuddalore Covid-19 Emergency Fund

The need for campaign:

Rural communities in poverty are faced with reverse migration and loss of livelihood. The Covid-19 situation compounds existing inequalities such as poor access to transportation, essential goods, credit and also irregular income. Hence, they need greater support to tide over the current Covid-19 crisis.
For the 100 families associated with ASSEFA and for the 1200+ children our schools serve, we propose a 2-phased solution, to support families and children to tide over the Covid-19 crisis.

Problem and proposed solution:

Phase 1: Support essentials for families

Normally, a typical family

• runs on credit
• has to travel at least 15 Km to get essentials (groceries, vegetables, sanitary products
• struggles to earn a steady monthly income

During Covid-19 times,

• They do not have enough cash to buy essentials in a go
• They’re having to travel to town as and when they get credit thereby having to travel multiple times
• Government schemes are taking time to reach them
• Livelihood opportunities are scarce and uncertain on when they’d be called back by their previous employer

The emergency fund will complement Government-led support schemes, which take time to trickle down and reach all families.

Phase 1
For a Rural family	Per month (in INR)	For 3 months (in INR)
Groceries (Oil, Chillies, Grains, Dals)	2000	6000
Vegetables	1500	4500
Amenities (EB, sanitary products)	200	600
Transportation	300	900
Total average cost for family of 5		12000

How can you support families?

At INR 500 you can sponsor amenities and transportation for 1 family
At INR 1500 you can sponsor amenities and transportation for three months for a rural family of 5
At INR 2000 you can sponsor groceries for a month for a rural family of 5
At INR 3000 you can sponsor vegetables for 2 families for a month for rural family of 5
At INR 4000 you can sponsor domestic expenses for a family of 5 for a month

Your contribution will help the family:

• have the access to over 2000 rupees cash to stock up for 10-15 days
• reduce their travel expense four fold
• reduce exposure to Covid-19 by reducing number of times they travel outside

Phase 2:  Support essentials for children

Once basic needs are met, children need support to come back to school. ASSEFA foundation serves 1251 students across 5 schools from 102 remotest villages – by supporting students with transport and learning materials, we ensure families send students back to school, once it is safe for them to be in schools.

Phase 2: ‘Back to school’ kit
Item	Amount (in INR)
Note books	150
Text books	200
Transportation	100
Stationary	50
Total	500

How can you support children?

At INR 500, you can support a child to get back to school.
At INR 15,000, you can support a classroom to be up and running.
At INR 1,00,000, you can support a school to be up and running.

Impact of ‘Back to School’ Kit:
A family recovering from months of no income in poorly connected villages, will struggle to afford a fee to send children back to school, once it is safe for children to come back to school. Supporting a child with a ‘Back to School’ kit (Sponsoring transport and learning materials for a term) helps them start school right away. This gives families the time to figure out livelihood and invest in the education of their children for the rest of the school year.

Who are we?

ASSEFA (Association of Sarva Seva Farms) was set up in 1980 to put to good use the lands collected during the Bhoodan movement led by Acharya Vinobha Bhave. ASSEFA started more than 100 schools in rural Tamil Nadu. In 2005, 5 schools were started in the tsunami - affected rural and coastal Cuddalore. These schools were set up to create a supportive environment to nurture children, disadvantaged by systemic, man-made and natural oppression.
Kanavu was started in 2017, with an aim to nurture these ASSEFA  schools and communities as spaces that support families and children to realize their dreams, irrespective of circumstance.

Know more about our work