An intersectional response to support marginalized communities to minimize the impact of the Covid 19 crisis.

The second wave of Covid has magnified the impact on rural communities. Those who had barely started tying some threads are once again faced with a situation, more complex than before. With our experience of response in the first wave, our team has already initiated efforts with community leaders & institutions, health workers, Panchayats and Government.

• Building awareness and supporting communities in 160 villages using 525 banners, 21000 leaflets on vaccine preparedness and by word of mouth.
• Supported Covid response groups incl. Health workers, with 815 oximeters in 177 villages & 210 thermal guns, 3150 Covid medication kits, 10500 pairs of gloves, 1050 face shields, 5250 surgical masks and 2100 sanitizers across 105 villages
• Provided basic orientation on use of safety & medical instruments and covid appropriate behaviour to 1050 covid response leaders.
• Ration kit support to 392 families of 14 villages
• Kharif support to 280 families of 14 villages
• Kitchen garden kits to 364 families of 14 villages
• 4 oxygen concentrators at PHC & covid care institution level.

Our efforts are now focused in mobilizing support to respond to emerging needs for rations, Kharif sowing, livelihood and medical support to minimize impact and building awareness and capacities on Covid appropriate behabiour and preparedness.

Our Response in the first wave: Continuous interactions between the team, diverse community leaders, their institutions and local functionaries provided the strongest base to develop our strategy and response in the first wave. Key components:

• Collaboration with mass-based Community based Institutions and Community Leaders: key to the implementation of response to the crisis. The presence leadership and spirit of voluntarism of these individuals and Utthan incubated institutions made it possible to respond in the complex health crisis.
• Ekta Mahila Sangathan (Mahisagar & Panchmahals districts)
• Mahila Vikas Sangathan (Rajula, Amreli district)
• Mahila Vikas Sangathan (Mahuva, Bhavnagar district
• Samarthan Mahila Sangathan, Bhavnagar district
• Vanita Shakti Mahila Sangathan (Dhanpur block, Dahod district)
• Saathi Fellows in Bhavnagar, Amreli and Mahisagar districts
• Several types of Village level Committees
• Adoption of an intersectional approach to reduce vulnerability and risk in the short term and initiate resilience-building in the medium and long term, very much drawn from Utthan’s overall approach.

Our understanding of vulnerability was based on:

• Understanding critical risk factors shaped by interaction of different social locations (like age, sex/gender, religion, geography, disability, indigeneity, migration status, socio-economic status)
• Understanding intersecting factors which exacerbate risk/create disparate risks(power structures like law, policies, administrative machinery; further intersected on the bases of privilege and oppression)
• Conscious effort was made to ensure that gender roles, patriarchal norms and relations are not reinforced through this response.
• Consciousness of our strengths and networks. Collaboration with community leadership built by Utthan, good rapport of team with functionaries at village, block and district level, strong Networks/Alliances at State & National level and sensitive donor partners became our strength.

Intervention type:

• Immediate Humanitarian response: Food and rations were ensured for 380 families. Approx. 3 lakhs for food, masks and other essentials. 
• Community Awareness and Counsel across 250 villages through a pool of 15000 community leaders (men and women leaders/groups, youth leaders, teachers, Panchayat, Talati, ASHAs, anganwadi workers, other contacts). 5,00,000+ persons were influenced on their rights and entitlements. Digital dissemination, spiraling of information when people gather at Ration Shops.
• Emergency Relief to ensure basic needs and Intermediate support to Social Solidarity Enterprises to build resilience to 49253 marginalised families (table below)
• Village level strategy formulation & Support to Panchayats: Support in listing status of reverse migrants, ensuring check-up of those returning. Status of 309 migrants was listed along with Panchayats & ASHAs and referred for medical checkup. Authorities were contacted for the release of 50 quarantined fishermen from Mahuva after due process. In 60 villages across tribal and coastal areas, accompanied ANM, ASHAs, sanitary inspectors to build awareness and monitor the situation. 
• Facilitated access to announced Government reliefs and monitoring its implementation through information sharing and advocacy to strengthen the voices and needs of the marginalised affected by Covid at the Policy level:
• Monitoring the implementation of Central & State Government relief packages and Facilitating possible interventions: Detailed analysis of the access of food basket & Anna Brahma Yojna in 120 villages, Positive outcomes of district level advocacy. In regular touch with Block & District administration.
• Three rounds of intensive data collection for Multi state surveys to Monitor rural lives during the pandemic as part of a national network, Rapid Rural Community Response to Covid-19 (RCRC) to inform our work and various stakeholders

Successfully conceived and demonstrated a People-to-People Social Solidarity Enterprise Model in Relief efforts: Leveraged the crisis for the benefit and empowerment of local communities, supply chains and infusing resources back into the village economy.

• Rs.9,00,000 worth grains bought from 78 women farmers for Ration kits
• Rs. 5,11,835 earned by involving 67 women in masks production
• 7805 kitchen garden relief partners supported another 23000+ families through sharing of excess vegetable produce
• 2035 kharif support relief partners to return double the seeds provided for next round of community use. Decentralised Seed banks set up to store these seeds for next season

Partnerships & Collaborations which made Relief work possible: Anarde Foundation Ÿ Apcotex Industries Ltd. Ÿ Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives Ÿ Bharat Agro Dahod Ÿ Dream Foundation Ÿ EdelGive Foundation Ÿ Global Green Grants Fund Ÿ India Development Service Ÿ Rapid Rural Community Response to Covid 19 Ÿ Working Group for Women & Land Ownership Zubaan Foundation Ÿ Several individuals