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“5 to 10 people live under a single tiny roof in slum areas. If even a single person in the family tests positive for Covid, the whole family suffers. They have no idea how to receive treatment for this disease, where to get help or what medicines to take. When they approach someone for help, they are chased away for being slum dwellers.”
- Dev Pratap, co founder, Voice Of Slum
The second wave of Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the nation, sparing no one in its path. Some are struggling to breathe, while many others are losing the battle against the disease. People are doing everything in their power to protect themselves and their loved ones.
There is a group of vulnerable people that have been left to fend for themselves amidst this chaos that has erupted. The poorer sections of society, especially those living in slum areas, have also been heavily affected by the deadly second wave, but they are clueless as to how to deal with it.
There is a group of vulnerable people that have been left to fend for themselves amidst this chaos that has erupted. The poorer sections of society, especially those living in slum areas, have also been heavily affected by the deadly second wave, but they are clueless as to how to deal with it.
Voice Of Slum, an NGO founded by Chandni Di and Dev Pratap, has been working to empower kids from slums for the past 7 years. Being close to the slum community and their activities, the team realized that these people were absolutely helpless during the pandemic. They had no jobs or income, neither did they have any savings. Most of them could not even manage 2 meals a day.
This spurred them on to redirect their resources and help slum dwellers during these troubled times. The Voice Of Slum team has been working tirelessly to ensure that every family has food to eat by distributing grocery kits. Since the first wave of Covid-19 in 2020, the team has served over 20 lakh meals to those in need.
But in 2021, they realized that Oxygen is the most critical necessity which is unavailable to these people. The team now procures and distributes oxygen cylinders and concentrators to homes of the people. They also provide basic medicine kits including devices like vaporizers. This is saving hundreds of lives in these poor communities.
"When normal citizens are not able to get oxygen, how will these poor people get it?"
Voice Of Slum aims to continue serving the slum community during the pandemic to make sure that every single person’s immediate needs are met. But they are running out of resources to keep their operations running, and are appealing to you for help.
Dev and Chandni were once slum dwellers themselves, who strived and worked hard to escape the difficult lives they had been leading. When they realised that the community needed them, they established Voice Of Slum and started working towards empowering kids from slums with education and training so that they can ease into mainstream life.
“I’ve spent my entire childhood ragpicking at railway stations. I am familiar with the feeling of helplessness when nobody cares to help. Today, we are working to help those that nobody would care to help.”
Voice Of Slum has helped over 8 lakh people, thus far. The team continues its work of providing meals and oxygen concentrators to those in need, as well as spreading awareness about crucial things like social distancing and washing hands frequently. But they are short on funds to keep their mission going, and need your help. Through your contribution, be it small or big, you can help them save the lives of the needy.
