#PVCHR humanitarian approach to fight back COVID -19: JanMitra Nyas humanitarian work

Didi aaplogo ka bahut dhanyawad rashan pahuchane ke liye. Ham soch rahe the ki baccho ko aaj bhukha sulana padega (Thanks didi for providing ration. I was thinking today my children would have to sleep with empty stomach).

The communities with whom we are working are mostly belonging to the vulnerable communities such as Musahar, Nut, Noniya, ghaisa, chamar etc. These communities are mostly working as landless workers, begging and selling leaves plates. Only few families converted as farmer and doing agriculture on teesariya (one third of the grown crops). Due to the restriction of movement they are unable to go and work outside. They became from poor to poorest and living in the verge of survival. They are having place to stay but didnot have money to sustain their life.

Next day of lockdown whole team took responsibility to work from home to fight back COVID – 19. It was big responsibilities but it was challenging to reach out vulnerable groups and communities in a time of need that no one sleep with empty stomach following the guidelines of the lockdown. In this situation along with the field activists, Aguwas (Community leaders) and volunteer present in the field were helpful in brining the information and data for providing multi – layers and multi – dimensional supports.

On 24th March, 2020 we wrote letter to the Prime Minister of our country and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for URGENT CALL FOR ACTION ON THE PART OF Indian GOVERNMENT: IN THE FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL OF THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY FACED WITH THE DEADLY EPIDEMIC. It is based on our knowledge which inculcates from our work of child right protection under VOP (Voice of the People), one of the largest child right network of UP supported by #CRY, one of the most prestigious child right organization of India.

During the time of global pandemic JanMitra Nyas is working 24x 7 to provide humanitarian support in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra states of India as follows:

Frontline workers:

Direct support

Distributed 1000 high quality mask and 1200 gloves to community workers, health workers, doctors, safaikarmi (sanitation workers) in and police in Varanasi district with the United Nation Voluntary Trust Fund for Torture Victims (UNVFVT) and Helma Ritscher.
Distributed 17500 Mask with the support from CRY to the doctors in which 5000 mask was donated in Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhaya dedicated to COVID – 19 patients and 15 cartons (2,160 packets) of biscuits for the patients.
Provided dry ration to 2 safaikarmies
Distributed 1000 mask to Kashi Viswanath trust frontline worker who are distributing food in hotspot area.
The staffs and volunteer are preparing mask for distributing it to the frontline worker.

Advocacy

PVCHR also contacted Ms Claudia Roth, Vice President of German parliament for support to India in context of intensive investigation of coronavirus, and the office of Ms Roth wrote further to the Foreign Ministry of Germany to take necessary actions.
Intervened to concerned authorities for High level investigation in the attack on frontline worker and advocated with the Government for providing PPE Kit, Mask and gloves.

Migrant labours:

Direct support

1235 migrant workers received food and other support through our intervention and network in various states of India.
Supported two daily workers from Varanasi and Delhi by providing ₹2,000 for food grain and other essential commodities.
The hot, cooked food is routinely packed in protective foils and later served to 300 poor and deprived members of 70 families of non-formal sector, apart from 35 migrant labour families. The kitchen’s beneficiaries live at Dhelwariya and Chaukaghat area, which is inhabited by the city’s most poor and deprived sections of people.

Advocacy:

Government of India issues order to State/UTs to facilitate Inter-State movement of stranded people migrant labour, in the country. PVCHR staff as changemaker started petition at change.org "Provide Food and Safe Transport to Stranded Migrants during COVID-19 Lockdown" The petition was supported by more than 80,000 people.
Urgent: Additional Proposals for the Short-term Relief of Vulnerable Workers and Populations Deeply impacted by Strategies to Contain the Spread of the Corona Pandemic
Impact of regulations and restrictions issued to contain the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant workers.
re: suggestions about the female migrant workers stranded in other states in the make of COVID 19

Maternal and Neo Natal health:

Direct Support

Jan Mitra Nyas distributed 3000 packets of food and juice to children with the support of #CRY and #ITC
60 protein packs as nutritional supplement to pregnant and lactating mothers, 2,500 Calcium and vitamin D tablets, 100 multi-vitamin drops to children up to 3 years and 55 folic acid and iron syrup to women with the support of United Nation Voluntary Trust Fund for Torture Victims (UNVFVT).
We distributed 1,200 packs of biscuit to children too.

Advocacy:

To provide nutritious dry ration, mask and soap to the Pregnant and lactating mother to prevent further IMR, CMR and MMR.

Poor and Vulnerable communities:

Direct support:

Distributed sanitizers to 700 people
We provided a list of 15,000 families to the state government and the district administrations in ten districts, who then received food grains; two communities received drinking water facilities;
We distributed 12,00 soaps to members of the most marginalized communities and community workers.
05 vendors received the 1000 INR from Pandhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana.

Advocacy: Many interventions with the State Government and District Administration for providing ration to the people and demanded for the temporary ration card. Human Rights Violation Apart from providing humanitarian support we kept eyes on all news related to the Human Rights violation, death due to Lightning strikes and release of prisoners from Jail.

Direct Support

Providing telephonic psycho – social support using active listening and empathy to the survivors of human rights violation.

Advocacy:

re: request for providing support to the survivors of domestic violence, single women and divorce
Providing financial support to the weavers of Varanasi to prevent further hunger death and malnutrion.
Many interventions with National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Director General of Police and Chief Ministers in the cases of police torture, police inaction, child sexual abuse and killing.

Acknowledgment and Appreciation

Niti Ayog appreciated our effort and the National Commission for Women (NCW) appreciated our advice.
Even 26 April, 2020 was a day of immense satisfaction for all of us in the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR). Sri Narendra Modi, Honourable Prime Minister of India during his ‘Man Ki Baat’ programme talked about the slogan our organisation has coined to underline the need for physical distancing to fight COVID-19 virus. This is an acknowledgement of our advocacy work during the pandemic. The slogan created by our field workers to reach out to the rural population in their own colloquial language.
The life of Musahar changed after intervention was published in many news paper and channel.

Threat:

Mr Mangla Prasad Rajbhar, a social activist and human rights defender for the marginalised Musahar in Uttar Pradesh (UP) has been falsely implicated in criminal charges relating to who had first reported about their starvation ordeal on Facebook. The online petition was started on change.org and letter was sent to various concerned authorities. International Rehabilitation Council for torture Victims releases statement in support of him.

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