The COVID-19 outbreak in India, as in any other large country, displays large state-level variations. It is unfortunate that the Corona spread is on an increase and cases are soaring high. India is currently at the third position in the world ranking. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the central and state governments have implemented several measures to reduce the spread of the disease and provide relief for those affected by the virus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech had expressed confidence that the fight against deadly Coronavirus would be won in the days to come if people are cautious and take safety measures. Since the migrants have returned to their homes, the reverse migration would have a strong impact on the socio-economic balance of the states.

Tamil Nadu stands second in the Covid19 tally in India. The state of Tamil Nadu has 1,14,978 diagnosed positive cases as on now. Whereas Kerala has managed to reduce the number of cases in these few months, but still the pandemic continues to disrupt the lives of people economically, physically and mentally. As the lockdown having been eased, people thronged in the marketplace to buy essentials and other means. Thus, there is a rapid increase in the cases in most of the states.

With the soaring numbers in the cases and changing situation in the country, Caritas India and partners are continuously reviving and reviewing their strategies and implementation tasks. As the arrival of monsoon, the partners are also willing to emphasize preparedness and mitigating of possible disasters like flood, landslides and cyclones etc.

Earlier, the focus was the relief work for the migrants and travellers like distributing cooked food, masks, and sanitizers. Later, the focus shifted to the distribution of dry ration and hygiene kits to the people belonging to the unorganized sector. At present, the focus is diverted more on rehabilitating the people creating awareness at the community level and linking them with the government schemes and benefits for long term relief and planning.

Current Scenario

As per the current scenario, the number of COVID patients are increasing day by day with an increase in unemployment in all the southern states of India. The priority of people is also changing, earlier it was more focused on distribution and awareness now people have switched on to other needs like education, livelihood and agriculture support mechanism. Considering the need of people partners have also revived their strategies and focus. Now partners are involved in providing educational support to the underprivileged families by providing free television set to the families to have online classes for their children. 

Since joblessness is also at the peak in Maharashtra, Catholic Businessman Association have come forward to help the unemployed youth in finding jobs. Each parish is monitoring the people and supporting them. Reverse Migration is also affecting the rural index in the already growth stagnated parts of the states. An example of such a scenario could be found in Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra. It is an upcoming tourist destination and the pandemic has marred the tourist business. Reverse migration has added more burden on the district as hordes of natives have returned jobless and without any prospect of employment. So, they all need to be catered to for livelihood assistance.

Moreover, with the arrival of monsoon, people are forced to come out of their houses and purchase necessary equipment and products for cultivation from the market. Hence, there is a greater need to create awareness pertaining to protective measures against COVID19.

Population of Concern

With the lifting of lockdowns, people started coming to their normal life despite the increase in COVID cases because they have no option rather than risking their lives for survival. They are caught between hunger and Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, more focus is laid to improve the livelihood of these people.

There has been a constant change in the focused group as per the need and the situation. Now, the population of concern vary from state to state, depending on the local context. Majorly, domestic workers and their families, the Third Gender, lepers and differently-abled, Beggars and ragpickers, Single parents and marginalized families are focused upon.

In this pandemic, the most affected section in the society is the unorganized sector i.e. the daily wage earners. In Maharashtra as well in other states, the DSSS partners and the Parishes are monitoring and supporting them with rations and other basic requirements. Some are also given psycho-social support by the professionals as and when the need comes in.

Sectoral Support

Despite the focus on livelihood, there is still a need to support the vulnerable section of the society & individuals with the support of cooked food, dry ration and hygiene kits. To continue the provision of food supplies, some of the Partners have formed committees in each Parish. These committees reach out to the most vulnerable families in their respective areas every month with rations as per the requirement given from the survey list. Some of the parishes also have Small Communities who take care of the poor and needy in their area. St. Vincent de Paul societies are ones such communities who adopt the families and help them with food and medical kits.

Psycho-Social Support

The Partners are also extending psycho-social support to the family members of affected patients who face social alienation, depression and discrimination are being counselled and given hope for the recovery of patients

Many people have been going to the Church society for counselling sessions and informal conversations with the Priests.  A constant help has been provided to the people in need of psychological comfort. Social Communication Committee has been formed by one of the partners in Western Zone which has intensified Psychosocial Counseling of people through videos transmitted via YouTube Channels. The trained and professional volunteers are also providing psycho-social support to the quarantined people and the migrants.

Livelihood Support

Since it is monsoon season, the farmers have started moving to the farms to begin the cultivation process. However, most of them are facing financial crunch. Therefore, the partners are supporting the farmers by providing them with necessary inputs such as vegetable seeds, Madua (Millet) seeds, fertilizer etc.

Migrants and daily wage labourers have been assisted to apply for job cards under MNREGA thereby creating opportunities of livelihood. Marginalized farmers have been linked to Kisan Vigyan Kendra (KVK) from where they were able to procure manures, paddy seeds, pulses and other fruit saplings.

 Way forward – a sustainable approach

There is a need to develop holistic interventions by Government and Non-Government Organizations enabling the focused people to attain sustainable development in their lives.

There is a need to strengthen collaboration with local NGOs and panchayats for further long-term planning. There is also a need to create awareness towards Covid19 pandemic & its adverse effect to the community at large. As people have started coming out of their homes, most of them seem to be neglecting the safety measures and guidelines. So, there is an urgent need to spread awareness on the importance of maintaining safety protocols. The partners have planned to reach out to the remote villages and communities and organize a demonstration on maintaining physical distancing, health & hygiene with the support of animators & volunteers.

Some partners also have planned to provide cover-up support to the students with educational materials like books, pen, pencil and other study materials including Television sets for enable them to attain online classes.

The Crisis Committees formed at the parish level will continue and provide financial and dry ration, medical help for the poor and needy. Jobs are made available and network is formed so that they get job wherever available. A sustainable livelihood convalescence program is necessary to help jobless people and their families. The major sector for growth is the agricultural sector in the region; modernized methods of processing of the agricultural produce like Cashew, Rice, Kokum, etc. can alleviate the employment opportunities in the region along with the by-products of produce like Coconut Coir, Cashew fruit and Cardanol-oil etc. has a huge demand and can be exploited for industrial production creating more employment and entrepreneurial options.