DON BOSCO RELIEF SERVICE

( DBRS)

COVID 19 – Response

INM Province

SURABI Chennai

Alphonse Arulanandam SDB

Phone & Whatsapp : 9884520684

Email: director@surabiinm.org

Weekly update 3

Glimpse of our intervention during week 3

The 21-day lockdown and loss of livelihood amidst social distancing rules is disproportionately

affecting migrant workers, daily wage-earners, the urban poor and other vulnerable groups. Hunger,

lack of sanitary kits and loss of income to buy basic essentials have left many helpless .

1. The Silenced Narikurvars of Tamil Nadu

2. Reaching the unreached – Tribals in Kotagiri

3. Elderly: Most vulnerable of the lot

4. They are everywhere but invisible

5. Coronavirus is a devastating blow to children in poverty

6. Coronavirus Lockdown Leaves Truck Drivers Stranded; Goods Rotting, Not Enough Food

7. COVID 19 lockdown puts poor at risk

8. Working in coordination with the Chennai City Corporation

9. Thermal Scanning of the Target Population

10. Distribution of Face Mask

1.The Silenced Narikurvars of Tamil

Nadu

Have you noticed the men and women selling

beads and trinkets on the roadside? Dressed

in colourful clothes, with fascinating pieces

of jewellery around their necks, their sun-

bleached hair often knotted up, they string

beads with a startling sense of colour-

coordination. In the eyes of the city-folk, the

Narikuravas or gypsies, are people who live

on the fringes of society, making a living out

of selling beads.

Going without work or mobility for almost a

month has put these families into dire situation and almost all of them do not have savings or

resources that they can use in this critical juncture. A majority of the Narikuravar families lie

outside of the social security net and many do not have clear identity documents. A lot of these

children suffer from chronic malnutrition and cultural marginalisation. So their immunity is

already low which is why it was important for us to ensure they got all their meals. During this

week DBRS distributed dry ration and hygiene kits to 130 Narikuravas families at Moorthy Nagar,

Villupuram District

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.

2.Reaching the unreached

Irulas are one among the six primitive tribal groups in Tamil Nadu. The name Irulas are derived

from the tamil word „Irul‟ meaning dark which refers to their skin tone. In Nilgris region, Irulas

are well spread in four taluks namely Ooty, Conoor, Kotagiri and Kundah. Irula people have

their own language which is again called as “Irula”. This language is a mix of Tamil and

Malayalam and it has its own dialect. Basically, Irula people are non-vegetarians. Also child

marriages are very common among them. In earlier days they were snake and rat hunters. But

now they involve in tea estate work and other kooli works and so lockdown period has affected

them a lot.

DBRS through Mount St. Don Bosco community at Kotagiri reached out to 25 tribal households

in Kunjapannai village which is about 12 kms away from kotagiri town with no bus facilities

and proper road facility. Dry ration was distributed to the families and 25 children were also

supported with note books, stationaries and t-Shirts.

Dry ration and special childrens kit was distributed to 45 families and 50 children in Karikur

village which is about 30 kms from Kotagiri.

Distribution at Kunjapannai village

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3.Elderly: Most vulnerable of the lot

DBRS is concerned about the cause of the elderly, since this section of the society is more

sensitive towards Coronavirus. Some of the reasons older people are greatly impacted by

COVID-19 include the physiological changes associated with ageing, decreased immune

function and multimorbidity which expose older adults to be more susceptible to the infection

itself and make them more likely to suffer severely from COVID-19 disease and more serious

complications. We continue to support the senior citizens with distribution of nutritious food

and during this entire week 385 elderly men and women from Vyasarapadi and Kannigapuram

were assisted with cooked meals thrice a day.

Distribution at Karikur village

Food Distribution at Vyasarpadi

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4.They are everywhere but invisible

Food security of our domestic staff is of

great concern to us. On 6th April, DBRS

distributed food packages to 28 domestic

staff. Fr. Xavier Packia – Economer INM -

Chennai Province distributed the package.

Fr. Dominic – Province Secretary and Fr.

Bernard – Administrator Citadel community

joined the distribution.

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5.Coronavirus is a devastating blow to children in poverty

People have been told to stay indoors, but for many daily-wage earners this is not an option as some

of them, especially children, are left without food. Covid-19 has affected all of our lives. But for kids

living in poverty, it’s made life impossible. Not only are they forced to stay home, they’re staying

home, hungry.

DBRS through volunteers organised awareness sessions for children on keeping them safe against

the virus and also distributed a special food kit to them (includes mask, oil, soap, biscuits etc). About

200 slum evicted children from Gudapakkam and pananthoppu benefited through this intervention.

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6. Coronavirus Lockdown Leaves Truck Drivers Stranded; Goods Rotting, Not Enough Food

Truck drivers across the country have been hit hard. Most of them were on their journeys when the

lockdown was announced and had no time to plan for any contingency when the lockdown was

announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There is no food to eat. All hotels are shut here. We

are finding it difficult to get food. It's a huge problem. If one truck driver cooks something, 100

people share that food. Sometimes we go hungry also," another stranded driver said. Most truck

drivers are sleeping in whatever accommodation is available where they are stranded. For most of

them, the day is spent by playing a game of cards to overcome boredom, as some supplies, especially

perishable items in some cases, have already rotten in their trucks. Most truck drivers have resigned

to their fate of spending more time on the road as they say any movement with trucks leads to

harassment and even a thrashing from the police.

DBRS distributed dry ration to 80 Lorry drivers stranded at Manjambakkam

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7. COVID 19 lockdown outs poor at risk

These are the most marginalized sections of the society who are dependent on daily wages for their

living, and in times of such distress need sympathy and understanding of the society.

DBRS continues to provide dry ration & Hygiene kits specifically among the most vulnerable sectors

of the society. 400 families working at the brick chambers in kosasthalai river, near Periyapalayam,

tiruvalluvar district and 80 families from Villupuram district were given food packages. Cooked

food is being served to 1800 migrant workers stranded in the community halls of Madavaram and

Kaverapettai.

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8.Working in collaboration with the Chennai City Corporation

DBRS has always strived to assist the government’s efforts and bring relief to people during crises.

Our efforts are driven by the earnest hope that the situation will improve soon and normalcy returns.

Until then, we will continue to work together and serve the people in need.

As part of this coordination, 388 dry ration packages were handed over to Zone 8 office - Corporation

of Chennai which was then distributed to the stranded migrant workers in Ayanavaram, Anna Nagar

etc. Ms. Sri Devi – Junior Officer, Division 98 / Zone 8 corporation of Chennai was involved in the

distribution.

9. Thermal Scanning of the Target Population

Even though a slightly increased temperature does not necessarily mean that a person has COVID-

19 and, indeed, not having a temperature is not an indication that someone does not have the illness,

it does provide a datapoint that could help the institution screen migrants for the virus and refer to

the hospitals. During the reporting period about 1800 migrant workers were screened with the thermal

scanner.

10.Distribution of Face Mask

During the reporting period about 2000 face masks have been distributed to the migrant workers.

Plan for Week four:

1.Special focus to the tribals living in Anadaman – Nicobar islands , Kotagiri, Talawadi, Kadambur

and Jawadi hills

2.DBRS is also exploring the possibility of unconditional cash transfer to the affected people.

3.Livelihood options for women stranded in the slums

Our Special Thanks to :

• Fr. Edwin Vasanth and his team

• Fr. Francis Bosco and his team

• Fr. Amalan Seraphin and his Team (Kotagiri)

• Egmore past Pupils association

• Mr. Anand and his Candles group

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HYGIENE SUPPORT

• 5000 face masks

• 2665 individuals scanned with thermal scanner

• Dignity kits 5000

• 3,666 family hyigene kits

• 3,305 individual hyigene kits

Counselling Support

Initiated

TARGET GROUP

1. Migrant workers 2. Construction labourers 3. Workers from Brick Klin

Chambers 4. Transgender 5. Senior citizens 6. Young released prisoners 7. Sri Lankan Refugees 8. Shoe Makers 9. Gypsies 10. Beedi Workers 11. Irular communities 12. Street Children 13. Lorry drivers

• Covid 19 response - REACH out so far …..

FOOD SUPPORT

• 4,096 families with Dry Ration

• 4,490 individuals with cooked food

• 200 families with special baby food

• 250 Families with Special Children kit

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LOCATIONS

1. Kaverapettai

2. Madhavaram

3. Vyasarpadi

4. Kannigapuram

5. Kunjapannani – Kotagiri

6. Karikur – Kotagiri

7. Manjambakkam

8. Red Hills

9. Manali

10. Pallavaram

11. Manali

12. Sri Perumbudur

13. Avadi

14. Gummudipoondi

15. Kosapur

16. Villiar colony

17. Muslim Nagar

18. Nedukundrum

19. Kilpauk

THANK YOU DEAR DONORS FOR YOUR

SUPPORT AND HELP

MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF US

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