OUR LITTLE EFFORT TO HELP PEOPLE WHO NEED US NOW
A couple of us from different walks of life have been trying to reach people whose livelihoods have been affected because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We are development workers, bankers and businessmen, but in the end part of the same society that is torn between livelihoods and lives at this very moment. Day labourers like construction workers and rickshaw pullers are the tip of the iceberg that we get to hear. But the huge informal economy in our country is largely impacted. Needless to mention that lack of savings and minimum income opportunities have already brought a large section of the population to skip meals and divide a single loaf of bread between two meals.
A couple of us friends thought of distributing a couple of hundred packages to these people by raising donations/contributions from friends and family. But what we did not anticipate is the amount of generous response that we were showered with from friends, their friends, family of friends, colleagues and others. Going with the flow, we continued with the relief drive and by the end of next Friday (08 May 2020), we will have reached 2350+ families.
The Government, different NGOs and Development Partners are doing their drives in scale and in their own capacity. We are chipping in what we can from our pockets. We have covered areas like Mirpur 1, Nazimuddin road and four spots in Puran Dhaka, four spots in Keraniganj, Hajaribagh, Rayerbajar, beribandh, Kamrangirchor, Doyaganj, Kakrail, Khilgaon, Uttara, Bhatara and other areas. We have consciously tried to stick to low-income housing areas and avoid slums as we assumed they will be the ones who will be receiving the national or scale responses. We also have pin pointed people throughout subsequent weeks who need this support most by mobilising people in the community and getting lists beforehand.
This is a shoutout to all the Batmans Gotham needs at the moment. You who donated and who helped us distribute and reach the neediest – you are the real heroes. But the relief drive does not end here for us as we are getting to know about scores of people who have to spend their days in absolute dire states. For example in the week after next, we are ramping up our efforts to reach the disadvantaged. Also, the package that we are distributing is much more costlier than what it was when we started a month back. If you think you know someone who needs us to reach them, please give us a shout. If you think, you or someone who you know will like to donate, please give us a shout.
A couple of photos to show how we have tried to socially distance people while distributing relief. The donors are not important and neither are the beneficiaries in the pictures. We have made it a priority to be as discrete as we can.
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