ON-THE-GROUND: IMPACT, RESPONSE & PERSPECTIVES COVID-19 RESPONSE FROM ASHA BY: PADMANAVA SEN, Where Did Asha for Education ASHA-WIDE PROJECTS COORDINATOR Primarily Focus Its Support? The COVID-19 pandemic and its Asha for Education provided dry associated lockdowns over the last year rations, especially in the form of rice, have caused great devastation amongst in rural communities in India. In underprivileged and underserved special cases, hygiene-related items populations across India. Many in these and emergency medical supplies were groups had their lives upended as they also provided. faced the loss of wages and food, supply shortages, the inability to access basic resources and much more. In 2020, with Asha project partners survival having become a paramount goal had to become more amongst many in rural and migrant communities, Asha for Education and its proactive in their project partners pivoted to focus their relief efforts since efforts on helping meet the most basic needs of its community members by there were ration providing dry food rations and medical supply shortages supplies. Padmanava Sen, director of the Asha Central Projects Team, provides an caused by a broken overview of Asha for Education’s COVID- supply chain. 19 relief efforts. from the Central Government food Our Liason With the storage facilities. Local Government Where is Help Needed Dry rations were provided to stranded in the Long Run? migrant communities who did not have local ration cards and could not obtain food supplies. They were also provided In the long run, depending on the in instances where the rations spread of COVID-19 across India, gaps provided by the Government were not in food distribution need to be taken sufficient. Asha project partners had up by governmental bodies. A ‘One to become more proactive in their Nation, One Ration Card’ principle relief efforts since there were ration should be effectively followed. The supply shortages caused by a broken supply chain should be reconstituted. supply chain (due to the public Awareness campaigns for hygiene and transport system no longer being social distancing, containing accurate operational during the pandemic). facts about COVID-19, should be used Asha partners worked to support the to reduce panic and discrimination Government as well as the local police against people infected with the virus. department while practicing adequate The migrant workers who have social distancing measures. In some returned to their homes must be cases, project partners even offered effectively integrated into the rural their own facilities for emergency economy. The reverse migration can preparedness. be utilized effectively to strengthen rural economies by using the existing skills of these migrant workers. How Were Project Areas With Migrant Worker Families Impacted? The migrant workers in many areas did not have savings, any stock of food or cooking facilities to survive the long lockdown periods. Additionally, their daily wages had stopped from day 1 of the lockdown. In rural communities, the breakdown of the supply chain caused shortages of food and, in some cases, the shortage of state funds hindered the procurement of supplies home. In rural and urban setups, Post-Relief school closures have very different Education Strategy outcomes. In an urban setup, the schools and after-school centers act as a safe haven for most students with whom we work. They do not have a For a year since the beginning of the conducive environment to concentrate COVID-19 pandemic, schools were on studies in their homes (urban closed. Most Asha projects work with slums). Also, at home, they can be students going to government schools. victims of domestic violence or forced Different project partners tackled the labour. In rural settings, schools issue of school closures differently. provide the nutrition needed in While some started mini schools struggling rural communities. School (locally), some resumed limited attendance also acts as a tool to stop operations and others focused on early marriage or girl trafficking. To components that could be managed summarize, without schools, students over the Internet. Maintaining hygiene not only miss their mid-day meals but and health safety awareness were key they also go without having a place to running limited operations. For where they can study and be happy. some projects, teachers had to extend Relevant observations from the Asha hours of operations to accommodate Chennai team is documented here. distancing measures. Where possible, communications were conducted over The after-school programs of Asha phone calls. All events and played a vital role here during the communications involving big groups pandemic and will continue to do so in were canceled. Post-October, some the days to come. We have to continue level of normalcy was reached for a to be very proactive to fill the gaps few projects. For an example, please created by a year of closure. The refer to the Mini Schools article in this digitization of education is not annual report. possible for all of the 300,000+ students with whom we work. However, classroom digital literacy may give the needed exposure to all Learnings from COVID-19 students for future preparedness. Offline content distribution can also go a long way for students whose families can afford a second-hand Most students with whom we work smartphone. Preparedness and the have no access to digital education or adoption of working models will be the Internet. They are also mostly first the way to go to deal with future generation learners with no support at waves of COVID-19. Chapters involved: Austin COVID-19: Bangalore Chennai BY THE Chicago Cornell NUMBERS Danbury Delaware Projects supported: Houston Asha Darshan Trust Kansas City Asha Mumbai Center London Asha Trust - COVID-19 Relief Ashray Akruti Mumbai Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha Purdue Bharathi Trust - COVID-19 Relief Bharathi Trust - Senchiamma School San Francisco Bhumi Seattle Borderless World Foundation Champa Mahila Society Stanford Chehak Trust Chhotanagpur Adivasi Harijan Uthan Samiti Silicon Valley Digambarpur Angikar Diksha Foundation - Khel Project Etasha Society - Prerna Ganjam District Orthopaedically Handicapped Our impact: Welfare Association Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti Gramya Sansthan 20,000+ Families Supported Human Uplift Trust - AIDS Orphans Edu Project India Sponsorship Committee Institute of Social Work Jagriti Bal Vikas Samiti Joint Operation for Social Help - COVID-19 Relief $213K Disbursed Kumarappa Institute of Gram Swaraj Mandra Lions Club Mukti Muskaan Parivaar Education Society 42 Projects Pneuma Trust - Home for Children Puvidham Rural Development Trust Rawa Academy of Art, Music and Dance - Adruta Children's Home Rural Development Trust 16 Chapters Sabuj Sangha Sankalp Ek Prayas Society Bhilai Sirisha Rehabilitation Center Sivasri Charitable Trust - Sikshana Did you know? Society fo th Education and Economic Development Society for Women in Rural Development In 2020, Asha for Education was ranked Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement on Charity Navigator as a 'Top 6' Vijay Foundation Trust - Aarti Home Nonprofit organization for COVID-19 Vikasana Org for Education and Social Development Voluntary Association for Rural Upliftment and 'Relief Supplies: Community Support & Networking - VARUN Services.' CHALLENGES FACED BY PROJECT JAMGHAT The women who were dependent on Ekjut could not earn any more. Prior to BY: JAVED USMANI & MANOJ BHATT, JAMGHAT TEAM the lockdown, they used to stitch cloth hand bags and we would sell them to our big corporate supporters When the Indian government since Delhi has a mandate against announced a nationwide lockdown using plastic shopping bags. During the lockdown, we tried to have them in March 2020, we had to close stitch masks from their homes, but we the Aangan Day Care Center and were unable to give them a stipend for Ekjut, an employment center for their work as we used to do. Also, women where they operate sewing women who didn’t have smartphones machines. All the children who were unable to take online training sessions on product manufacturing came to the daycare center for conducted by a master tailor. their meals and education, and also because it was a safe space, were unable to do so and were again forced to go out on to the streets and returned to begging, smoking, and indulging in substance abuse. A few children also got married off before the legal age of 18 years. NGOs always struggle because of a Funding support for shortage of funding. This was exacerbated by the lockdown since Ekjut was discontinued most of the money raised was directed by the primary donor, into Covid-19 relief work and this also and due to this we had caused us to lose some of our regular funding partners. We lost many to vacate our space. individual donors as well. Our regular Now we do not have a funders such as Brinell, Odhani, and PVR could not continue supporting us place for the 15 due to losses in their businesses. women whom we were supporting earlier. As a result, we fell Sports teacher, a Computer Literacy short of money to pay teacher, the Coordinator of Sadak - an the fees for our outreach program for street children, children at Aanchal an Educator, and a tutor). Jamghat tried to support their salaries for three and Aman - our homes months but we could not anymore for girls and boys. from July 2020 onwards. Many of these individuals are still struggling as they Many of our partners themselves rely have not been able to find new jobs. on fundraisers to support us. However such events could not take place in From January 1st, 2021, funding 2020, and even if they were able to support for Ekjut was discontinued by raise money, it was at a much smaller the primary donor, and due to this we level than in earlier years. As a result, had to vacate our space. Now we do we fell short of money to pay the fees not have a place for the 15 women for our children at Aanchal and Aman - whom we were supporting earlier.