The COVID19 pandemic came as a challenge to all those who work in the social sector. The humanitarian crisis caused by not just the virus but also the imposition of lockdown was of gigantic proportion. This required that all civil society organisations put up their hands to help governments and agencies deliver relief to the affected populations. Konkan Development Society (KDS) was quick to the task. With immediate support from the Don Bosco network we could begin relief operations from end of March itself.
The most important task at hand was to provide food supplies to the most disadvantaged sections of society. With borders locked and supply chains closed, procuring rations was not an easy task. Fr Lawrence, who heads KDS, soon found a way. He begins all initiatives, big or small, with a short prayer. The gist of these prayers is to call upon the Lord to provide inspiration and guidance and invariably a path is shown for us to act upon. While Goa faced food scarcity, we were able to procure rice from sources in Maharashtra and other rations from Big Bazaar to start operations. Then Magsons, a local supplier, became a regular source. To receive these truck loads of supplies, to store it, sort it and repackage them into food kits with right proportion of all essentials was quite a task. Given that there was no availability of labour, it was the office staff of KDS who had to unload truck-full of supplies on their backs. Back breaking work indeed! These supplies were then packaged into kits and distributed in smaller vehicles to the slums and less privileged areas across Goa.
The two pillars of these operations for KDS were Walter and Yasin. They made a number of delivery trips, covered areas ranging from Pernem to Quepem and Ponda to Zuari Nagar, thus covering the entire state from north to south and east to west. KDS used its local networks to deliver the kits to every needy household. They managed to distribute thousands of kits working tirelessly over months. Moreover, they have maintained precise records of their efforts and coordinated the activities flawlessly. They are ably supported by Jose from the backend who has been compiling immaculate reports of their operations that go to all the donors and benefactors informing them about all the progress. To seek funds for these operations Dominic and Fr Lawrence have been working tirelessly. Generous souls have ensured that we never fall short in helping the people in need.
As the crisis loomed, a new dimension was added to it – the exodus of migrant workers back to their villages. To help them, camps were set up for them to stay, while special trains were operated to take them back to their villages in batches. Supplying cooked food to these migrants for their stay in the camps and their onward journey was the urgent need. KDS took to this task and was able to supply 5,500 food packets over 11 days. Don Bosco CHILD LINE South Goa pitched in by distributing biscuits and water at the railway station.
We continue to supply food and sanitary kits to people who are now dealing with loss of employment or those unable to move out of containment zones. Today we have crossed the 50,000 mark in terms of people reached. The work continues… We have now extended our operations to regions in Karnataka and Maharashtra. With the onslaught of the virus not showing any sign of receding yet, we have to buckle up and continue with relief operations.
Thanks to the numerous donors, volunteers, agencies and companies for lending us a helping hand. But most of all we thank the benevolence of God that we have been able to continue our operations unceasingly and without any sickness befalling our staff.
Networking with other NGO’s helped us increase our reach across Goa. For this we thank Life Line Foundation, Bethesda Life Centre, Legal Aid Cell and Women Empowerment Taleigao. Goa Humanitarian Help in particular helped in identifying the needy families and at the same time avoid duplication of distribution. We would also like to thank all the Don Bosco Institutions across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa for their help and cooperation. May the good work continue!
