* Distribution drive to cover nine cities, provide more than 1 crore meals
* 3.7 million meals distributed to nearly 12,300 families across five cities in phase 1
* 7 million meals to be distributed in phase 2, covering nine cities
* 6.7lakhs meals are being distributed in Marathahalli of Bengaluru supporting over 2000 families
SEEDS, a leading humanitarian organization, has partnered with Honeywell to distribute food kits that will provide 10.7 million meals across nine cities to people who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. These include daily wagers, contract workers, and migrant population who have been displaced because of the lockdown.
While phase-1 of the distribution drive provided around 3.7 million meals across five cities, in phase-2, this partnership aims to provide an additional 7 million meals across nine cities: Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Pune, Madurai, Haridwar, Dehradun, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Cumulatively, this multi-city outreach will cover 1.78 lakh people.
At the beginning of the countrywide lockdown, there was a huge outpouring of support for the displaced and marginalized. These efforts have come down significantly since the country began to restart and reopen. However, there are large swathes of population – especially among migrant workers – that continue to suffer from job losses and depleted savings.
Yezdani Rahman, Chief of Program, SEEDS said, “We at SEEDS are committed to reach out to those in need, in the face of covid-19 pandemic since the very beginning. With the crisis still looming large, the challenge to sustain lives continues to prevail and we remain strong with people fighting against it. Through our second phase of ration distribution with support from Honeywell, we aim to reach out to more number of families in respective regions than in the first phase.”
Each food kit comprises rice, wheat flour, sugar, pulses, cooking oil, and salt.
The distribution drive will be conducted in the presence of Mr. Ramakrishnan Parasuraman, Director Engineering, Aerospace, Honeywell Technology Solutions Limited (HTSL), Mr. Ram Ganapathy, Director Finance, HTSL in Marathahalli.
Anita K, Sub-Inspector, Marathahalli said, “Due to the nationwide lockdown, a large section of migrant population have lost their jobs. Although we have embarked on the unlocking process, these communities are still finding it difficult to make their ends meet with meager savings. Honeywell and their NGO partner, SEEDS, are doing commendable work by addressing some of their integral needs. We would like to urge more organizations to come forward at these dark hours to help the affected families return back to normalcy.”
Mr. Ramakrishnan Parasuraman, Director Engineering, Aerospace, Honeywell Technology Solutions Limited (HTSL) said, “As responsible corporate citizens, we are committed to reaching out to the most vulnerable with assistance during this critical time. We are taking all the necessary precautions and ensuring safe distancing while conducting the ration distribution. Through this initiative, we would like to extend our support to the communities impacted due to loss of livelihood owing to nationwide lockdown.”
Over the coming weeks, SEEDS will engage with social volunteers and government officials to undertake the distribution drive.
About SEEDS:
SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) is a not-for-profit organisation that enables community resilience through practical solutions in the areas of disaster readiness, response and rehabilitation. Since 1994, the organization has worked extensively on every major disaster in the Indian subcontinent – grafting innovative technology on to traditional wisdom. It has reached out to families affected by disasters and climate stresses; strengthened and rebuilt schools and homes; and has invariably put its faith in skill-building, planning and communications to foster long-term resilience. SEEDS is also India’s first agency to be certified for the global Core Humanitarian Standards – an international certification system for quality and accountability in humanitarian response. SEEDS completed 25 years of outstanding service to humanity in 2019 and is re-anchoring its approach to building resilience through innovation. It continues to empower the most vulnerable across Asia to build a better future.
