Response to the First COVID Wave

In April 2020, E&H Foundation became a member of the RCRC – Rapid Rural Community Response to COVID-19, which is a network of over 65 NGOs collectively addressing situations emerging from the pandemic. In July 2020, 11 of these partners incepted a ten-month long intervention in their respective districts in Odisha and UP to support vulnerable families during COVID-19 in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). As part of this project since August, E&H Foundation’s field teams have met with over 6000 families and carried out detailed interviews, filled questionnaires and communicated about COVID and relevant social protection schemes. Detailed profiles of villages have also been created to identify area-specific needs. During this period, teams built rapport with local authorities and stakeholders like Pradhans, Ex-Pradhans, ASHA-Aanganwadi workers, CMO, CDO, SM, CM, Agriculture Department Officers, Bank Managers, Doctors, Teachers, Religious Leaders and other Community Leaders to support in facilitating camps, building collective understand and mobilizing and accessing vulnerable groups and supporting them.

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Between July 2020 until April 2021, E&H Foundation undertook the following :

COVID Awareness Drives – ‘Jarukta Raths’

Teams conducted dedicated COVID awareness campaigns. E-rickshaw campaigns or ‘COVID Jagrukta Raths’ were carried out thrice in every village between November 2020 until March 2021. Awareness efforts about COVID, its precautions and mitigation reached over 4,500 households (~20,000 individuals) and 6,000 families. These drives also included pamphlet distribution via household visits, one-on-one meetings and focused group discussions with communities, attending Chaupal/Nukkad meetings, participating in local, village and block-level camps and collaborating with ASHA workers and Agriculture departments. Local talent was hired to paint motivating murals, conduct e-rickshaw announcements, loudspeaker announcements, one-on-one meetings, GDs, Nukkad Sabhas, camps, door-to-door or ‘Knock the Door’ campaigns engaging with various key stakeholders and community members. Awareness campaigns focused on sharing accurate information regarding COVID symptoms, adoption of new behaviours related to wearing masks, hand washing, physical distancing norms, quarantining norms, hand-washing and general sanitation along with annihilation of fear and stigma among all members of the community. Repeated household visits were conducted to reinforce behaviour change along with dispelling rumours regarding COVID. Such dedicated campaigns focusing on communications regarding precaution and preventive procedures have been carried out in a large number of villages.

Governance Program

Following a rights-based approach under its governance program, E&H Foundation enabled access of extremely vulnerable households to various social protection schemes, namely- PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), Jan Dhan Yojna, Rations under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Indira Gandhi Pension Yojana for Senior Citizens, Widows, and Persons with Disability (PWDs) and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) or Ayushman Bharat

Baseline surveys between July and September 2020 suggested that many marginalized households were not linked to a majority of social protection schemes; most marginalized families being deprived of even rations. Through its three-stage strategy of i) Mobilization, ii) Registration, iii) Enabling and Tracking Access and Entitlements, E&H Foundation teams of CRPs – Community Resource Persons – conducted detailed household surveys and analysis of each village to identify individuals deprived of major social protection schemes. They then facilitated linking such individuals with key government schemes, working with stakeholders and communities in a scheme-wise approach. Teams also facilitated information and entitlement awareness drives in villages collaborating with state agents, existing structures and, wherever possible, through groups of vulnerable communities (at scheme-wise level). Overall, about 2300 beneficiaries were linked with social protection and welfare schemes since the beginning of the project. This has been achieved through the direct intervention of filling forms in groups or assisting community members and vulnerable groups in accessing local networks and Common Service Points (CSPs) or participating in government camps. Following are the scheme-wise achievements under our governance program:

• 769 farmers linked with PMKSY (17.42% or 134 out of 769 females)

• 662 Jan Dhan Accounts opened (78.54% or 520 out of 662 are females)

• 88 MGNREGA Job cards created (20% for females)

• 128 extremely vulnerable households linked with Rations under NFSM (78.90% women-headed households)

• In total, 208 people linked with Indira Gandhi Pension Yojna. (151 Senior citizens, 59 widows and 8 for disabled) Furthermore, 182 Certificates in which 164 income certificates and 18 death certificates were generated to facilitate these pensions.

• 250 Golden cards generated for individuals under the Ayushman Bharat scheme – PMJAY. 

Nutritional Support Program

Prior to the second wave between March to April, E&H Foundation provided nutritional support in the form of dry rations/food kits to 1000 most vulnerable households in around 30 villages of Shamshabad and Nawabganj blocks of Farrukhabad in partnership with Give India. Teams developed detailed profiles of villages and built rapport with various stakeholders and identified most marginalized groups and households facing food insecurities and other forms of vulnerabilities. Criteria to identify these households was designed after in-depth research and analysis of the area and communities. These lists were then verified by the Pradhans & Ex-Pradhans/ Sarpanch, Ward Members, Aanganwadi and ASHA workers, teachers, supervisors of Gyan Shala field programs and other knowledgeable persons within these communities. Distribution The distribution drive was completed in two phases, tokens were handed out to the people identified one day before distribution to ease the process and follow COVID protocols. Venues for distribution were included Gram Chaupals, Aanganwadi Kendras, Panchayat Bhawan, Chauks, Govt schools and private schools including primary learning centres of Satya Bharti and Gyan Shala (our field partners since 2013). Overall around 70% of recipients were females; out of those 70% females, over 65% were widows, around 30 were differently-abled, ill or and had no support at home. Other beneficiaries included out-of-work Zari workers, labour workers, migrants, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Over 20% of the kits were distributed to the parent community of children enrolled under our primary education program in Shamsabad who belong to extremely low-income groups-where the parent communities are engaged in manual labour work like Zardozi, construction, hawking or rickshaw pulling.