Differently-abled needs special safety net during COVID-19 Pandemic

Nationwide lock-down to contain COVID-19 pandemic has left a lot of anxiety and agitation among people. Apart from health issues, it has drastically affected the socio-economic stability of the people. The situation is worse for the vulnerable sections especially the People with Disability.

Out of the 121 crore population in India, a whopping 2.68 crore people are disabled. However, the extent of support at their disposal is very limited, says the 2011 Census.

People with disabilities (PWDs) are more prone to COVID-19 viruses as compared to others. The preventive measures like “hand-washing” and “social-distancing” is a serious limitation due to their dependency on others due to physiological constraints.

Tejas Dilipsingh Sonule is a visually impaired boy who resides in Chandrapur and is completely dependent on his family. The family earning is lost due to lockdown and there is no hope that they get any employment soon. Caritas India partner Loksamgraha Social Service Society (LSSS) supported the family with a food kit to survive in this hour of crisis. The pandemic and the lockdown have hit them hard, whatever the Government support was provided exhausted within a few days of lockdown.

“My parents work as daily wage labourers but due to lockdown, my father is unemployed for the past two months which has affected the livelihood of the family. The financial condition has become very precarious. If not for LSSS, we would have starved. I am thankful to the organization for whatever help my family has received”, says Tejas.

LSSS has supported 150 differently-abled children and their families with food kits. The families reside in Rajura, Balharshah, Gondpipari, and Jiwati blocks of Chandrapur district in Maharashtra. Most of the children belong to families of daily wagers. As a result, these families were desperately looking for a helping hand from all the sides. In this terrible situation, LSSS provided a food kit consisting of 3 kg Rice, 200 grams of Chili powder, 1 liter refined oil, 1 kg Salt, 1 Kg Grams, 1 kg Sugar, 200 grams of tea powder and 1 bathing soap.

The assistance provided by LSSS was a great help for these families as they were desperately looking for support. Their condition was so pathetic that most often some of the members in the family abstained from having meals one time a day.