The covid relief work by Nalanda was conceived as a multi-pronged one. The intervention started in April 2020 with the start of first of wave of pandemic. However Nalanda started covid relief work more systematically in 4 districts of Uttar Pradesh - Bahraich, Balrampur, Shravasti and Gonda, with the resource support of DASRA.
Activities such as awareness generation events, distribution of preventive mechanizations such as masks, hand sanitizers, distribution of ration kit, training sessions with ANMs and linking masses to vaccination drives were planned in this intervention. It was decided that based on survey, a list of the poorest and most deprived families would be drawn up and linked to ration for food security. The entire work approach is systematic and data centric.
Main Activities
Baseline Survey and Data Collection –The baseline survey was conducted in the in the 3 districts Gonda, Shravasti, Balrampur, in 1 village in each district.
The baseline tried to collect information from the households on the way that covid – 19 has affected their lives. The findings of the baseline survey were relevant and guiding in planning and executing the current intervention with Dasra support. For example, 96% of the respondents who do not use hand sanitizer/soap and 74% of the respondents who do not wear mask mentioned that they are unable to afford these and simply do not have these products. Here, Nalanda’s support in providing them with hand sanitizers/soaps and masks can enable them better prevention.
Training on Covid – In order to ensure that the intervention team can put in a quality covid intervention, their knowledge on various aspects of covid was enhanced through an awareness and capacity building session. This enabled the team to increase various medical aspects associated with covid and made them further ready for the intervention.
Development of IEC Materials –To improve covid awareness of the community, the team felt it pertinent to develop certain IEC materials. Effort was made to keep the materials catchy and illustrative to carry forth their meaning. Pamphlets, posters and flip charts (the last, for community sensitization sessions) were developed by Nalanda. A large number of the pamphlets have already been distributed among the community.
Awareness Camps – Nalanda started conducting awareness camps soon after the intervention started. Realizing that there was both need and demand for such camps. Approximately 45 families and approx 100 people in all participated in these awareness camp. Masks were also distributed to the community members who participated in the awareness camp and they were also given sanitizers.
Families identified for distribution of Ration Kits – As of now Nalanda has identified 50 families from the 4 districts for distributing ration kits to them. The marginalized sections such as minorities, and families whose income has been most affected by covid have been identified.
Vaccination and Covid awareness activities – Since Nalanda is already working with children in pockets of the 4 districts of Bahraich, Balrampur, Gonda and Shravasti, it decided to reach out to the community through this initiative epicentre.
As of now, through this method it is reaching out to communities in 40 villages. Here Nalanda is:
- Creating awareness among the community on Covid 19 precaution and prevention measures
- Speaking to parents of children enrolled in Nalanda’s learning centres to make them proactive stakeholders in the vaccination drives.
In this way, close to 1500 members of the community have been reached and several of them have taken vaccination after being motivated by the staff of Nalanda.
Distribution of Dry Ration – Nalanda had already identified families that were facing food crisis and insecurity. Nalanda decided to distribute dry ration to these families to alleviate their food crisis situation. Nalanda also tries to help them with forms and formalities, where possible, to enable a linkage to PDS but where such linkage to entitlement realization is time taking or difficult, immediate measures have to be taken.
The kits were distributed to 50 families. Formation of Community Groups – Nalanda has formed more than 40 community groups in as many villages and tries to hold monthly meetings with them to continue to strengthen covid suitable behaviour in the community. These members are now playing a strong role in propagating covid appropriate behaviour in their community and also enabling Nalanda to seek out suitable target groups within the community for the intervention.
Linkage to schools and class appropriate learning levels – As already mentioned, at the beginning of the intervention, Nalanda had done a baseline to understand the covid specific needs. An important need that emerged through the baseline is the learning gap of children owing to school closure and also mainstreaming of children. In this direction, Nalanda has already identified and shortlisted families of migrants and other marginalized sections, whose children had dropped out of the education system during covid. The process of linking these children to learning centres being run by Nalanda has already started. After their learning gaps are bridged, Nalanda will mainstream them with peripheral government schools.
Setting up of local covid support resource hubs - In convergence with its existing program running in the four districts of Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich and Gonda, Nalanda has started running 50 covid help centres. The centre instructors in these centres have been oriented to aspects such as covid testing, checking body temperatures and other such facets of covid. Nalanda has also equipped these centres with covid test kits containing equipment and covid protection materials such as oxymeters, thermometers, masks, Sanitizer spray etc. which the centre instructors can put to good use, based on need and demand of the community.