Covid-19 no longer needs an introduction in our lives; it’s hit every corner of the globe, leaving no stone unturned. The aftermath that came with it was way beyond belief. We clearly understand that hunger was and will always be one of the many causes of death, especially in third-world countries. But COVID-19 made it a lot worse. The lockdown was imposed, and people feared the outside world. People with roofs over their heads still managed somehow, but the question is what about the hand-to-mouth layman? It’s things like these that draw the line among us humans, and this is when the humanity in us needs to step in and join hands in combating hunger more than the disease.
NEN, ever since its inception, has been trying its best to assist women in distress to uplift their social and economic status by conducting various awareness and outreach programmes. These activities are not only urban-centric but also deal with the rural population.
Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives’ contribution has helped NEN to perform better in combating COVID-19. It has enabled us to provide necessities like dry rations to people in need, particularly women in the weaker section of society. Throughout this pandemic, in the past three months, NEN has distributed dry rations to four districts in Meghalaya, namely, East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi and South West Khasi Hills.
A total of 282 Households with a total of 1438 individuals have benefitted from the APPI contributions. These rations were distributed to identify women who are survivors of Domestic violence, single mothers and widows and most of them are domestic workers, daily wage earners and farmers.
NENs engagement with ration distributions started from the month of June.
This pandemic has brought a lot of unexpected challenged and struggles. We are grateful to APPI for lending their support in times of need and we still hope to work in helping women in the society when times are tough.
