By Muslim Mirror
New Delhi : The long-drawn and ill-prepared lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic has not only put our lives but also our livelihoods at stake. The world is witnessing how the millions of people in India which boasts of the largest democracy, have been left on the mercy of nature. The lockdown has not only debilitating effects on people’s health but it also resulted in wrecking havoc with livelihoods of millions of people who were daily wagers working in unorganized and informal sectors.
The covid19 lockdown, which was imposed with just four hour notice, has increased the sufferings of poor sections of the society manifold while the migrant workers numbering more eight crores were left stranded in big cities and towns without access to food, shelter and work.
Barely 4 hours before the lockdown has left millions of people without choices to deal with it. In this backdrop, Each One Feed One, campaign was launched by a group of individuals, Azeem and Amreen, who floated this idea of feeding homeless people in streets. They share the idea with their friends who gave nod to it without giving any thought.
Each One Feed One is an initiative started with the aim to provide Dry Ration and Cooked meals to feed the families across Delhi.
It was targeted that during the times of chaos, vulnerable families of migrant workers, commercial sex workers, labourers and homeless community should not sleep hungry. Majorly the team has covered the remote areas of Sharm Vihar, Seelampur, Kardampuri, Okhla and many more. As time passed, there were many cases reported to the team where people didn’t have enough food for the day which makes them more vulnerable as it weakens the immunity and probability of getting ill surges.
Azeem (Founder of Each One Feed One) who was on ground from day one shared “There are people still fighting for a meal, they feel that before dying from corona they might die due to hunger. Government is still not able to reach the people and they are standing in lines since day one but not received until this date”.
People are not able to get e-coupons which government has started in few weeks of the lockdown, they are running to MLA offices and other places to get ration but they are not able to get it even after the extension of the lockdown.
Amreen (Co-Founder) shared that “Children who were enrolled in government schools and were benefitted by Mid-Day Meal schemes got affected the most as the lockdown doesn’t allow ones to leave their houses for safety but what about their hunger? On ground people are worried if they go out, they will be beaten and if they stay inside, they were dying each day by the guilt of not providing a plate of meal to their children”. Curbing the struggles and fighting the war against hunger till date the team has been able to reach more than 80,000 people by providing non-perishable items and meals to them in various parts of Delhi. The motto of the team is to provide food to more and more families who are in dire need of support in these trying times where the government has been running away from its duties.