HSR Community Support group
HSR Layout, Bangalore, India
The Need
Imagine
running a household on an income of less than Rs. 6000 a month, you are
barely trying to make two ends meet, when you face a new uncertainty – COVID
and your income has stopped. Employers don’t welcome you anymore, but landlords
continue to ask you for rents. You’ve got to pay electricity and water bills
and provide food for your family.
Lockdown
& COVID has been tough for many of us, relatively speaking many others
aren't as privileged as you and I. We have come across many families in and
around Somasandrapalya (extension of HSR Layout) who are out of work and are
struggling to take care of their families.
Adopting
local communities
The
youngest one of our community is less than a week old, while the oldest are two
silver-haired 80-year old women who have weathered many droughts and harsh
conditions. Our connect with them began when we pitched in to distribute cooked
meals to them during the first lockdown.
Their
occupations range from domestic workers, construction labourers, cooks to
carpenters, painters and auto drivers. We work with approximately
300 families from Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal. The numbers fluctuate a bit, as people pack
their bags and return to their hometown in disappointment, while few more come
with hope.
It’s
been a little over 4 months since we began this new journey.
Approach
We have identified at least 1 or 2 community members within each subgroup to ensure that we have access and understand the community’s needs. These local community members help us to identify the most vulnerable and needy besides helping us plan for the rest of the community. Besides directly engaging with our Community, in areas that we do not have the expertise, we have sought the help of other organisations.
Relief and Beyond Relief
Over
4 months, we have developed a basic understanding of the community and are
trying to fine-tune our approach constantly. We intend to continue
supporting the community with relief aid and ‘beyond relief aid’ too.
Some
of the areas that we have started supporting them are listed below
1.
Relief - Providing ration kits, medicines, house rent
2.
Access to entitlements – assistance to apply for labour cards
3.
Addressing the needs of women in distress – reducing domestic
violence, financial aid
How can you support? We need Rs. 2
lakhs/month to support these families:
- House rent & Utility bills for single women-led families: Rs 5000/-
- Help hire maids, cooks, carpenters & construction workers
- Support our community by contributing to ration kits
- Large ration kits for 10 families (> 4 people) : Rs 13500/-
- Medium ration kits for 10 families ( 3 people): Rs 8500/-
For ration kits: Paytm /Google Pay/UPI 9663771334 (mention ‘COVID relief’) to Sai Rice traders and let us know via WhatsApp or email.
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Contact us for more details for the above. You can reach us via e-mail or Whatsapp.
Email: communities.hsr@gmail.com
Whatsapp us at:
1.
Lalithamba : 9448063776
2. Ramya :9732062727
3. Shilpi Verma : 9901036990
4. Anil Misquith :9845055753
Background of the group
We are a team of 4 volunteers from HSR Layout with a passion for empowering the urban poor.
1) Lalithamba B.V.
Lalithamba is a corporate employee, inclined towards social and civic activities. She likes to work with people and environment-related activities and has been supporting a few children with education. She has been contributing to social causes for over a decade.
She co-founded Hasiru Mithra, a citizen’s forum which believes in Sustainable Living. She has been championing the cause of waste segregation and local bus transport. She has also worked on other initiatives like Tree Plantation Drives, Blackspot removal, Water conservation etc.
2) Shilpi Verma
Shilpi is a house maker, who has been working for social cause from last few years. She has been teaching street kids, worked for adult education and has helped few old age homes. Waste segregation programs is another of Shilpi's area of interest as well.
3) Ramya Ramakrishnan
Ramya has been working in the Corporate Sector in the IT field for 16 years and has been engaging in CSR activities. She passionately supports NGOs in initiatives across - Educating children and improving health and for the safety of underprivileged women and children.
4) Anil Misquith
A corporate veteran, Anil Misquith transitioned into the development sector and did a Masters in Development from Azim Premji University in 2019, with a special interest in Sustainable Livelihoods and Public Health.
Anil spends half his time in Gudalur, Nilgiris district, with ACCORD, an NGO that works with Adivasi communities. In Bengaluru during the lockdown, he began volunteering for COVID relief in South Bangalore.
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