Daily life in the Usthi programs has been heavily influenced by the pandemic since the end of February 2020. India and Nepal have been severely affected by Covid-19 and its impact. The dramatic increase in the number of cases in April 2021 strained the health systems. The vaccination campaign kept stalling in both countries due to lack of vaccine doses. In addition, the labor market has not recovered yet and many day laborers remain without work.
Living conditions are particularly difficult in this situation. From our partners in India, Usthi learns of many individual fates: children who are orphaned by the virus; single mothers who lose their jobs and thus their income as day laborers; and women who are now on their own without their husbands.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, our partner organizations in India and Nepal have been responding with great flexibility to the constantly changing demands and needs. Emergency relief has been provided jointly at several locations. Thanks to ample donations, distribution campaigns were able to take place several times over the last year. Students of the school projects and their families were provided with food and protective material. Over 5500 food packages have been distributed since the emergency relief began in March 2020.
In addition, our partner organisation in Hyderabad supported 90 young people who suffered great losses due to the pandemic. Women who lost their husbands and young women and men aged 14-20 who lost their parents during the pandemic were given access to professional skills training programmes. This is intended to give them a perspective for the future and at the same time saves them from human trafficking on the streets of the metropolis.
Especially in the school projects, the lack of technical equipment for distance learning is a major challenge. Many children do not have a cell phone and are therefore unable to participate fully in online lessons. In the schools around Kolkata, mobile phones were distributed to the school children.