Project #MyPincode Impact Story 1: Dry Ration to Daily Wage Earners

CovidRelief: Meet Monu and his family

We run an education centre for underprivileged kids. Education goes beyond textual support and written guidance. Children need adults who believe in them and are willing to go that extra mile for their social-emotional well-being. Monu, our student, has a family of eight members. Their hometown is in Hardoi, a district in U.P, however they migrated to Noida for better opportunities. His parents are working – the mother works as a house-help and the father is a labourer.

COVID-19 lockdown came with stringent guidelines and protocols. It affected everyone – but not equally. Overnight, his family faced severe uncertainty – his parents were out of work, left without any reliable savings and mounting debt.

We have conducted various drives but this one was different. This was not for holistic development or access to opportunities. This was for survival – which had become so difficult for Monu and his family.

The greatest achievement of our NGO has been cultivation of strong bonds. We share a close relationship with his family and, his mother has particularly been a strong pillar and oftentimes singlehandedly raised the family of 8. We successively conducted several ration distribution drives, cognizant of the rules – we followed each and every guideline.

“aap log nahi hote toh 8 logo ka parivaar pata nahi kaise chalta”

- Rati ji

The lockdown was a bleak period of general insecurity, we didn’t have a lot of answers, just a resolve to help out our kids and their families. We reached out to Monu’s mother Rati ji almost 5 times and provided adequate ration for the family. Now, post relaxation of guidelines, she has resumed work and is following all the precautions to provide for her family. We salute her for her indomitable spirit during the crisis. We are thankful to our team and supporters who help us along the way. The impact of the pandemic was not equal – but at least our efforts at mitigation were.