Prakriti Foundation Steps Up To Support Migrant Workers

Prakriti Foundation has been a reliable resource for many in need. The foundation has facilitated food and transportation for people during pandemics, and will continue to do so in the future.

The Ground Realities Of Covid-19 Lock-down

During the Pandemic, we saw a difficult phase of working nature, where there was no communication medium through which Prakriti Foundation can reach out to the people and help them out with the issued faced, It was a kind of a life-changing experience for Prakriti Foundation. Our experience can be transformed to a thesis writing. Prakriti Foundation experience of living with the migrants for hours a day and sharing their pain, needs and wants, we began to solve their problems with the help of government. As we know more than a lakh worker are working in Bangalore in different work areas, such as constructions, daily worker, people came for medical helps from different villages and cities everyone got struck when lock-down was announced. Especially, when we take example of migrant workers, they were not having any food, shelter, work, etc., Due to lock-down situation they are not even able to move to their own places. Then they started walking in herds to reach out their stay place without basic necessities. The lock-down imposed on March 25 to check the spread of COVID-19 had a huge impact on migrant workers of the country who, with no means of livelihood and paltry savings exhausted, has no option but to go back to their hometown.

This was the time when Prakriti Foundation reached out to them, found the details and data took (MSR) management social responsibility and made availability of all basic needs for them like food, shelter, any medical help, and finally made help to reach out their own places.

The journey of back home of migrants (whether, it may be workers/patience/ other people who are in need to get back to their own living places), was very though with all huddles.

The main challenges that we faced were in the initial time we dint have any data to reach out to the needy. Then we made a management social responsibility strategy involving marketing strategies and gave ads on TV’s and News Papers and in all social media and requested to the public to pass the mentioned information such as phone no. etc, to be viral, so that we can reach out the needy easily. The second challenge was to how to help out with all the needs and wants of the needy people, as there were so many of workers, students who came from different places and were not able to pay house rents as there were no income, working professional like security guards and other professional who were lots their job and with no money they were on roads, patience’s came from different cities and were have no place to stay and due to Covid-19 hospitals are risky place to stay. Each and every individual have different needs and want but one of the same needs was food and getting back to their home safely.

Prakriti Foundation started collecting their data and worked with in Karnataka, took help of the government. Nodal officer who was taking care of all these kinds of issues we came in contact with him and sorted out the with a solution. All migrate workers have been sent to their respective areas/places through trains and other facilities. Regarding the professional workers we spoke to the house owners to stay calm and help them with the rent situations as they are left out with no money. Students we gave books, uniforms etc and helped them and their stay resumed to be saved and secured. Nodal office, by taking his help Prakriti Foundation dealt with all individuals state wise having direct communication sent around 6800+ individuals to their own residence. Prakriti Foundation’s heart is filled with joy and relief seeing the smiles on their faces, the tears of happiness in their eyes has been the most special experience of my life, and Prakriti Foundation pledged that it will keep on working to send them back to their homes until the last migrant reaches their own residential place.

Prakriti Foundation believe helping needy was its purpose.

The lock-down was having a devastating effect on the mental health of our society and Prakriti Foundation free helpline helped the distressed callers to unburden themselves in a confidential environment. The Lock-down and the inability to take calls at the center, left all our volunteers feeling helpless as this was the time when people needed us the most. Anxiety levels were high. People were sinking into Depression because of the distressful scenario all around. The Services provided by Prakriti Foundation seemed like a blessing in disguise, and we were all set to take calls. A big thank you to all volunteers and nodal officer for holding our hands through this Pandemic for running our services seamlessly. The researcher began analyzing a week before the lockdown. We found help from nodal officer for efficient resource allocation, effective collaboration with a strong systems and end-to-end transparency. Our combined effort has provided over 6800+ shelters and homes with medical supplies, prevention protocols, and provisions to last them anywhere from two weeks to one month. Over 3,000 daily-wage families have been given food and transportation initially.

Migrant workers situation

In response to such a crisis, the lock-down was one of the common strategies that many countries have adopted to control the further outbreak of Covid-19. India too adopted a nationwide lock-down strategy since 24th March 2020 which is continuing. However, the lock-down strategy was adopted without any preparation and without giving any time to stranded people to return at their homes. Soon after the announcement of the lock-down, India has witnessed a mass exodus of people – from migrant workers going back to villages, to various young people working or studying in various cities, trying hard to come back home. The migrant workers are the one among those bearing the brunt of the crisis most. Lacking jobs, money and with the public transportation shut down, thousands of the migrants were forced to walk hundreds of miles back to their home villages through the stony railway track and streets at a temperature of 40°C– with some dying during the journey. The images of horror and endless inhumane sufferings coming out from across the country show how hollow and merciless our system is, which couldn’t even provide basic minimum necessities required to live a healthy and respectable life. This was nothing but murder to the morality of humankind. What was more striking that no concrete measures are being taken by the ruling party for the migrant workers who have been serving this country with their sweat and blood for the years. Prakriti Foundation took a step to help the needy people. The very first step of the researcher was the data collection i.e., to whom the help is to be reached and how are the needy people and how to reach out to the needy. To identify these answers, we took help of nodal officer and collected the data. Then the researcher made up a management social responsibility strategy involving marketing strategies and gave ads on TV’s and News Papers and in all social media and requested to the public to pass the mentioned information such as phone no. etc., to be viral. This idea was adopted such that the researcher can reach out the needy easily. The next step was how to help out with all the needs and wants of the needy people, as there were so many of workers especially migrants who came from different places to work and satisfy their needs. Each and every individual have different needs and want but one of the same needs was food and getting back to their home safely. The researcher associated with Prakriti Foundation started collecting their data and worked with in Karnataka, took help of the government and nodal officer. Nodal officer who was taking care of all these kinds of issues we came in contact with him and sorted out the with a solution. Analyzing all the events out there, the researcher with prakriti foundation took a step to help out and identify needy people outside, where those people who are homeless and do not have a source of funding.

Facilities offered to migrant workers

100 million migrant workers in India – 20% of the workforce – who leave their villages for jobs in cities, where their skills are needed in manufacturing, construction, or the hospitality industry. Source: https://scroll.in/article/963251/i-will-never-come-back-many-indian-migrant-workers-refuse-to-return-to-cities-post-lock-down

Prakriti Foundation found few migrate workers have been sent to their respective areas/places through trains and other facilities. Around 20,000 people were provided with food and arranged transportation for 6000 people.

Prakriti Foundation has facilitated food and transportation for people during pandemics, and will continue to do so in the future. If you would like to help us in our mission, please join your hands with us or donate to our cause. Thank you for your time.

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