*WITHBENGALURU ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ*

CALL FOR ACTION

By now, you've seen the gut-wrenching pictures of migrant workers walking away from cities to their homes.   You can imagine what must be going through their minds to take that approach. All of us know that Bengaluru has lakhs of migrant population.

Lakhs work in the construction industry. As daily wage laborers. They build our city.  Day and night. Rain or shine. From metro to your mega apartment, they sweat it out.
We also have a huge number of people in the 'informal' 'unorganized' sector. Rag pickers, coolies, microenterprise owners that make a living selling panipuri to roasted peanuts. Transgender community. Sex workers. Auto drivers, Cobblers, pushcart vendors. Most of them do not have proper housing, running water, sanitation.  Some of them have no access to the kitchen and rely on roadside eateries.

What happens to them during a lockdown? Even if they have money, access is limited.

"WithBengaluru" is a citizen collective that is trying to address this situation. By connecting various volunteer organizations, NGOs, individuals that have already been working in our slums, with the needy and with those that can provide rations and those that can transport and donors, we hope to set up a supply chain that can support the most needy in a timely manner.

WithBengaluru is also collaborating with Government agencies to create food security, leverage Indira canteens, use the PDS system, ensuring prices are in check, etc; multiple efforts are needed as the scale of the problem is quite large.
This is an earnest appeal to whoever reading this, to make a contribution.
You know that many of our fellow citizens just do not have the privilege of working from home and paychecks coming into bank accounts.  WithBengaluru is an attempt to support them.

As a collective, we are trying to identify folks that need help using hyper-local community organizations, estimate needs, procure supplies,  raise funds, use technology for better planning and execution.

Three things you can do right now:

1. Make a  contribution here. No amount is too small.  Together, we can make a difference. https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-with-bengaluru#

2. Tell your friends and encourage them to make a contribution

3. If you know of any group of individuals that need help, tell us. WhatsApp/SMS to 98455 37269 (contact, location, count)


People associated “WithBengaluru”: Meera K,  Nalini Shekar (Hasiru Dala), Vinay Sreenivasa, Manohar Elavarthi, Aradhana Bhat, Kuldeep Dantewadia Seema VS,  Srinivas Alavilli, Gurumoorthy Mathrubhootam, Manaswini Bhalla, Smitha Kalyani, Gangadhar Sulkunte, Venkatraman Iyer, Gautam Prakash, Mohammed Ibrahim Akram, and  Dr Rifa Khan

More info : 

E-Mail: withbengaluru@hasirudala.in

Website: facebook.com/groups/withbengaluru