The second wave of Covid-19 is hitting India with full force. The Indian health system is overburdened and not all patients are receiving medical assistance. To support families in this humanitarian crisis, Usthi is seeking emergency aid donations.

After the first wave of Covid-19 in late summer 2020, the situation in India seemed to have stabilised. Within a few weeks, however, there has been a rapid increase in the number of cases. In recent days, India has recorded more than 300,000 new infections per day. The Indian health system is overburdened and in many places it is no longer possible to treat new patients. There is a lack of oxygen, which is urgently needed for ventilation. Fortunately, the first oxygen supplies are currently arriving from abroad. But these will probably not be enough. News services around the world are showing shocking pictures of patients who have been turned away. Many of them die while waiting for a hospital bed.

Due to the current crisis, many day labourers are once again losing their livelihoods for themselves and their children. In addition, many families suddenly lose their income due to the death of the breadwinner. Without support, they can no longer feed themselves and their families. Indian newspapers report of parents who take their own lives and those of their children because they no longer see a way out. To support families in need, our partner organisation in Hyderabad started distributing food parcels again on 19th April 2021. The packages secure supplies for a family for about a week. With only CHF 14, a family can be provided with food. Usthi has set itself the goal of enabling the distribution of a further 2,000 food parcels.

Poverty-stricken families are also particularly exposed to the risk of becoming infected, as they cannot afford protective material or contacts are unavoidable at work. In addition, access to the vaccine is more difficult. People have to queue for several hours outside public hospitals to get vaccinated. This is not possible for physically fragile people. Day labourers who still have a job cannot allow themselves to be away from work for long periods of time, and single mothers cannot leave their young children alone. Poorer families cannot afford the more easily accessible vaccination in a private clinic. Our partner organisation, in cooperation with private clinics, now wants to make vaccination possible for 1,000 people. With only CHF 20, a person affected by poverty will have access to the potentially life-saving vaccination.

Usthi is asking for donations to help in the current crisis. Every contribution is of great importance to those affected. Thank you for your solidarity!

The Annual Report 2020 has been published. It offers an insight into the work of the Usthi Foundation and reports on the successes and challenges of the past year.

2020 will long be remembered as the “Covid Year”. The Usthi projects in India and Nepal were also affected by lockdowns and school closures. To address the most urgent need, Usthi distributed food parcels to severely affected families. Usthi schools quickly switched to distance learning so that all children could continue to access education.

There were also some changes in Switzerland. At the beginning of the year, a new Foundation Board was constituted, in the middle of the year Alessandra Grosse took over the management and in September Mirjam Hirzel joined the team as programme coordinator.

We are impressed by the great commitment and flexibility of our partners and overwhelmed by the great solidarity we experienced last year. Our thanks go to all those who make our work in India and Nepal possible year after year. Thank you for being a part of Usthi.

The Annual Report and the Financial Report 2020 can be downloaded here as a PDF. If you would like a printed copy, this can be ordered free of charge at hello@usthi.ch or +41 55 511 21 25.

A sharp rise of Covid-19 case numbers in Nepal leads to renewed discussions about school closures. The failure of new supplies of vaccine doses brings Nepal’s immunization campaign to a halt.

Only four weeks ago nothing pointed to a new wave of Corona. Schools and sports venues as well as bars have had returned to normal operations. Now, new mutations seem to have reached the country. Last Friday, Nepal reported four times more cases than in mid-March.

Especially concerning for Usthi is the fact that in comparison to last year significantly more children are contracting the virus and showing symptoms. Therefore, the Ministry of Health endorses the closure of schools, which would be a big challenge for school operators. The experience of the last year showed that neither the students nor the schools are adequately equipped. While the government has already postponed the end of the ongoing academic year by two months, another school closure could delay it once again.

An improvement of the situation is hardly in sight. Nepal is impatiently waiting for more vaccine doses to arrive. Against India’s promise not to ban the export of vaccines, the supply is now temporarily on hold, which leaves Nepal with the big uncertainty of when to be able to pick up their vaccination drive again.

While Usthi originally had planned to work on the improvement of the infrastructure, the foundation now focuses on supporting the schools in Janajagriti und Bagbhairab for their possible transition to distance learning. As in the previous year, this implies the provision of learning materials with which the children could continue learning from home in case that the schools are closed again.

Usthi hopes that new measures will be taken in time, to counteract the number of cases and hence allow the schools to stay open.

While first segments of the population are currently being vaccinated in India, the Corona case numbers have risen sharply again in just a few weeks. Schools could be completely closed again. In the Somagiri region the projects are continuing with slight restrictions and are making an important contribution.

At the beginning of the year, the Corona situation in India filled the Usthi team with optimism. The decreasing numbers gave hope for a normalisation in the projects and a broad vaccination campaign should contribute to a further improvement of the situation. In many places, the pandemic was hardly visible. The masks disappeared. But now India was also caught up in the second wave.

Only a few weeks ago, there were hopes for further opening steps for younger schoolchildren. At the beginning of April, these seem to be a long way off again. Now, in many places, even the higher classes will have to switch back to distance learning. In the state of West Bengal, where two of the Usthi schools are located, no decisions have been made yet. However, the Usthi partners believe that a national decision to close the schools may be taken soon.

In Telangana state, another closure is already a reality. Following a government decision, all schools had to switch completely back to distance education. This affects the children and young people supported by Usthi in Hyderabad, who now all have to work on their school material at home again. In March, they took their first online exams. Despite the special circumstances, the children once again did very well in the exams. Usthi is happy that the children have adapted well to the new situation and still achieved good learning results.

The second wave is also emerging in the Somagiri region around the Usthi tribal health centre. Although there are currently only a few cases, gatherings of people have already been banned again. The health centre staff is currently being vaccinated. As of this month, the public can also be vaccinated at jungle hospital. In comparison to the big cities, the people in the surrounding villages are more disciplined in dealing with Covid and adhere to the mask requirement and other measures. The health workers are able to work again without restrictions and carry out home visits in several villages. They play an important role in sensitising the population to follow hygiene measures to contain Covid-19. The high level of trust in the health network could also have a positive impact on the willingness to receive the vaccine.

The care centres of the early childhood project HEP have also reopened and are well attended. However, until the situation has stabilised, opening hours have been restricted. Several workshops for staff and children are being planned for 2021 as part of the early childhood project. Also, if the situation allows, a health camp will be held again in 2021 to sensitise the population on health issues and how to deal with Covid-19, and to offer health checks. If a large event is not possible, several smaller events on individual health topics will be held.