COVID 19 pressed the panic button among the communities of Jongksha village in East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya until things slowly started improving. Meghalaya counts itself among those rare states in the country that has less than 100 COVID 19 positive cases and this has been truly encouraging. People of Jongksha now are trying to come to terms with life and are trying to return to their farms for cultivation.

“We are now looking at motivating the communities to go for agricultural practices by adhering to the prescribed health guidelines”, said Fr. Bernard Laloo, Director Social Service Centre (SSC). Caritas India’s partner SSC has been reaching out the affected communities of East Khasi since the very initial days of the pandemic and supported the community with the much-needed dry ration support.

The pandemic has had a lasting impact on the school-going children to which Jongksha is also not an exception. “Children studying in schools here have their schools shut down indefinitely and are not part of any online classes. Our Government is working to reach out to such Children but that would take some time,” said Ms Evansiewdor, Team Member of SSC.

FARM programme in this area is inculcating the idea of engaging children with nature and agriculture through environmental conservation activities and this was an opportunity to take the mission forward. “Children in our programme villages know how to keep themselves busy, we tried to channelize their energy into something constructive”, said Fr. Bernard. This new innovative practice of involving children gain strength when the cultivations are laced with traditional form and use of indigenous seeds.

It was important that children become the part of their age-old system and this was visible in Jongksha village during the lockdown and it continued. Children under the lower age groups are out in the fields with their parents with a helping hand in the cultivation. It’s a learning that they will carry forward. Lockdown in a way has turned out be a blessing without which this would not have been possible.

Caritas India’s mission of motivating people for the traditional form of cultivation has added another feather to its cap by having children involved in such activities. For Children learning a new skill is as important as learning basic education. Securing food is the primary goal of FARM programme and such objectives if achieved helps in bolstering the idea of food sovereignty among the farming communities of North East India. Caritas India in the region will do everything possible to motivate partners to replicate such models in the days to come.