“Unlike the first wave of covid, the second wave has left the migrants and daily wages completely helpless,” notes Journalist and Co-founder of the NGO Mantra Foundation, Swathi Chandrashekar. She said that in 2020 when the lockdown came, people had some money which they had saved up and used it to sustain themselves, together with the help of NGOs, and thus no one slept hungry. “This year the crisis has largely affected the underprivileged who had only started to recover from the initial troubles which caused last year,” she said.
Swathi expressed that this time along, there is a medical crisis in each family and they are not able to think of other amidst their own mental trauma. Realising that an action has to be taken to help the people in need, Mantra Foundation started a 30-day food drive beginning May 10. The team has identified the places in which there are people in dire need and provides them with food packets which can feed an entire family. “We provide 200 packets of food a day which can feed up to 400 people,” said Swathi.
Volunteers and contributors help with the cause to ensure that the underprivileged are provided with the food during this period of drive. The team is working together with Akshaya Patra Foundation and Sindhoora Gardenia, who provide food and packaging for this cause.
“People are realising it is the need of the hour and helping us with the initiative,” said Swathi. She said that many people have come forward to sponsor meals for these people. The team from Mantra Foundation is also planning on doing a grocery drive for the lower middleclass people who are not in a state to get food for themselves but are not able to voice out their problems. “There are many cultural and performing artiste who have been deprived of shows and are in need of help. And, through this grocery drive, we would like to reach out to them,” said Swathi. They are also planning on providing ready to eat food packets for covid patients who are in dire need of nutritious food.
Mantra Foundation was started by Psychologist Akshara Damle along with wife Swathi with the aim of providing skills to the people in India. Swathi said that the team believes that more than providing money or food, educating the people with certain skills will have serve them for life.
“Through this foundation we have come up come up with virtual lesson on mental illness which is especially important during this pandemic,” said Akshara. These sessions are provided free of cost to doctors, frontline workers, covid patients and any others in need of help.
