CHENNAI: With the city still grappling with the second wave of the pandemic, there’s no dearth of people in need be it of medical care, financial aid, everyday help or even the occasional word of reassurance. While many NGOs, enterprising individuals and their communities have stepped up and offered what they can, here’s Aranya Foundation adding to the pool.
The organisation has started free distribution of provisions for senior citizens living alone, possibly separated from their facility due to the lockdown. A volunteer at the Chennai chapter, Lalith Kumaar says that the service has been up and running for four days now. “We have a high quality ration kit packed with rice (5 kg), pulses, spices, cooking oil, sugar and health drink powder.
This will be delivered to them free of cost and will be sufficient for 15 days. When that gets over, they can give us a call and we’ll deliver another kit,” he explains, adding that they will keep up the service if the lockdown is extended further. A team of volunteers man a call centre that functions from 8 am to 8 pm. They will process the requests and coordinate deliveries.
The criteria is that the beneficiaries have to be over 65 years of age and living alone, without their fami ly or chi ldren or dependents. Shilpam Kapur, a managing trustee of the Foundation, says the undertaking was made easier given that they were building on a network they had already established last year.
During last year’s lockdown, they had distributed cooked food for anyone in need, with particular focus on senior citizens. This time around, they went the provision kit way, with the help of Rotary Club of Chennai Renaissance. “We tied up with Delhivery to deliver the kits. And we limited it to just five areas in Chennai — Kilpauk, Anna Nagar, Nungambakkam, Mylapore and Adyar.
Otherwise it becomes a huge logistics nightmare,” she notes. They have also had to be stringent about who they cater to, to ensure that the service reaches those in real need of it. On the other end, they have been providing cooked food for Covid patients and their families. They also donated two oxygen buses to Government Stanley Hospital recently, doing what they can to add to the fight against the pandemic.
To book the provisions kit (or food for Covid patients), call 42997501
Coordinating orders
A team of volunteers man a call centre that functions from 8 am to 8 pm. They will process the requests and coordinate deliveries. The criteria is that the beneficiaries have to be over 65 years of age and living alone, without their family or children