Covid- 19

Covid19 Relief Program

The IYRC NGO carried out a comprehensive campaign targeting the vulnerable community
and helped mitigate the impact of the COVID-19. On the onset of the pandemic number of
incidents occurred wherein migrant workers and their families bear the brunt. Many left the
cities and left for thousands of miles on foot to reach their respective hometowns and those
who were left faced the scarcity of food, medicines and basic amenities. In some cases
accessibility barriers and cultural mistrust in many marginalized communities prevented
important messages from being received. This communication gap was one of the factors that
amplified health inequities, especially during the emergency caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
We as an organization facilitated community services to avail the food, medicines and
emergency services with the help of Government agencies, like minded organizations, health
workers and community corps. The services we provided helped handle the crisis in Delhi
NCR. We utilized the maximum capacity of our prior experience to mobilize the community
volunteers and outlined SOP ( Standard Operating Procedure ) to carry out the campaign. Our
volunteers followed all prescribed guidelines for their own safety and avoiding the spread of
infection while helping the community. More than 65 IYRC volunteers joined hands and
formed a group for internal coordination and disseminated the contact numbers in the

community to receive the need. Below is the detail of the activities performed during COVID-
19 to mitigate the impact of pandemic.

Distribution of Dry Ration and Cooked Food

Scarcity of the food emerged as the major concern during the nationwide lockdown. Industrial
establishments paused their operation without any assurance to their employees and this
opaqueness created a widespread apprehension as the savings of the migrant workers dried up
gradually. Daily wage workers, domestic help, construction workers emerged as the major
sufferers of the pandemic and lockdown pushed them toward the brink of starvation. We
provided the dry ration and cooked food to 3400+ families and provided monetary support to
more than 200 families through direct benefit transfer.

Bridging the gap between government agencies and beneficiaries

We helped the beneficiaries by disseminating the information of the government led relief
measures through the robust networks of our community volunteers. During the medical
emergency we connected the patients to nearby medical facilities and arranged ambulances,
medicines and required medical help. We helped in registration of the migrant workers for the
vaccination and conducted awareness among the population to avoid the rumours of false
narratives of getting vaccinated. Our volunteers helped the MCG, MCD and other government
agencies to identify the people in need and in the distribution of the food.
Awareness program for behaviour change Due to false narratives and rumours, hesitancy for the vaccination was seen and we conducted the discussion and deliberation with the community through the volunteers. We performed Nukkad Natak ( Street Play ) and encouraged the adoption of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour such as wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, regular hand washing and maintaining hygiene.

Distribution of Hygiene kits

Distribution of facemasks, hygiene kits is an ongoing activity carried out throughout the year.
We have distributed more than 10000 face masks and advocated the community to wear the
mask along with distribution. Sanitary pads and hygiene kits are also given to the female
participants during the workshops and training.

Partner organizations and Resource providers

We went through the resource crunch since a huge population had to be served and this could
be possible through the resources provided by Agrasar, Reliance Foundation, Marks and
Spencers, Saajha Manch, HRLN, Feed in India (Zomato)  and many individuals. IYRC NGO pays a
sincere thanks to all the supporters.