Dear Friends,
Please donate to our Covid Crisis Relief Fund !

My name is Joanna Savitha.
Many of you know that I started working with Adivasis and other poor rural families in 2010, after giving up a lucrative career in Microsoft (IT industry).
We work in villages around 30 kilometres from Coimbatore city close to the Reserve forest in Tamilnadu in Southern India.

The impact of the deadly Covid-19 second wave in India has been disastrous.
On 5th March 2021,

• India recorded 4,12,784 cases, by far the highest single day count reported in any country so far.
• The death toll climbed close to the 4,000 mark.

These numbers are continually increasing by the day. This alarming increase has put India’s hospitals, frontline workers etc. at extreme stress. The daily death of people due to oxygen scarcity, unavailability of hospital beds and mass cremations has left India reeling.

Since the lock-down began in India on March 23rd, 2020 we have been doing Corona relief work.
In the past year:

• We have distributed numerous Corona Essential kits (grocery + essential items) to suffering migrant / daily wage workers.
• We have given away Stationery supplies and uniform to poor students, when the schools reopened for a brief period.
• We helped many Adivasi / rural children to continue their studies using low-cost tabs and innovative methods of teaching (in small groups) until the schools reopened.
• We cooked food and served to numerous poor migrant / daily wage workers.
• We distributed sanitary napkins to poor girls and ladies during the pandemic.
• The lockdown was not only the reason for the loss of livelihood for numerous people but also the reason for mental distress. We have been extending counselling as well as emotional support for many.

Currently in our area, over 2,000 fresh cases of Covid infections are being added daily. The entire health system is under great stress.
Our goal is to try and reduce the number of fresh cases adding every day.

• We are a group of volunteers doing relief work in about 20 villages now.
• We have organized ourselves into groups. 2 volunteers are responsible for average 20 families in that area.
• We have around 940 families in 20 villages to reach out to.

What are we currently doing?

• We are distributing medical kits to the poorest of the poor to help increase their immunity.
• We are helping families in home quarantine with medical supplies, essential items etc.
• We are following up with them on the progress they are making.
• We are not only offering them physical and nutritional help but also counselling, education and emotional support as panic is claiming more lives than the Corona Virus.
• We are encouraging everyone to get vaccinated.

These are some of the relief activities we are carrying out in these 20 villages.

To aid our relief work we have setup a Covid Crisis Relief Fund. Please donate generously to this fund to enable us to help the suffering families here.

We would like to thank Milaap for helping us for over a year during this ongoing Pandemic to raise funds for our various activities.

P.S. While doing our relief work, all Social Distancing Norms & Government COVID-19 Regulations are being followed.

Please share on social media using # Covidcrisisrelieffund, #Medicalkits, #Coronareliefwork, #ThiruOli