Care in times of Covid-19: Self-driven crusaders extend a helping hand during lockdown

It is early morning and Harpreet Singh is busy preparing a list of people and places he and his community of volunteers called ‘Brothers For all’ have to visit during the day to deliver food kits containing flour, rice, pulses oil, salt, etc. Volunteers of Delhi Youth Welfare Association, a community organisation handing over cash -- Rs 3000-- to a daily wager in the Walled City “These are difficult times for the poor. We take all precautions to ensure social distancing so that we do not put our volunteers as well as those we are trying to help at risk.” Similarly, the Delhi Youth Welfare Association, a community organisation in the Walled City on Monday launched Covid- 19 Community Support Fund, to help daily wage workers across the city by providing them cash assistance of Rs 3,000 a month. “ We intend to help about 200 families over the next two months and, if need be, we will extend this help further.” Gurgaon–based Venkat Iyer, who runs an HR consultancy firm, says he realised early on that the corona crisis would be prolonged and hit people in the unorganised sector the most such as daily wagers, maids, house helps, construction site workers, plumbers and electricians. While distributing food, we will coordinate with authorities and also be checking the temperature of these daily wage workers for infection.” In the past few days, many corona-related fund-raising campaigns –Coronavirus Support Initiative for Food & Medical Aid to Daily Wagers, Support The Victims Of Coronavirus; Together WE Can, among others—have been initiated on online platforms such as Milaap, Ketto, Our Democracy.