Ensuring Food Security to Mothers

 

Though it seems like India is past the worst of the pandemic, the after-effects of the whole ordeal can still be felt throughout the country, especially in the poorer and rural areas. The year of 2021 saw the rate of unemployment in India soar to new highs, with some months seeing levels around 15%. Such high unemployment heavily impacted the financial capabilities of many families. However, the main victims were those who resided in rural areas and worked as labourers, often earning extremely low daily wages with little to no job security.

While the rural residents were already not earning enough to even comfortably feed themselves, the loss of employment accompanied by the pandemic resulted in total loss of any source of income. This would then lead to a lack of purchasing power to buy food grains, which ultimately resulted in the loss of a nutritious diet or malnutrition. 

It is during such times that social intervention is needed the most. NGOs like Mijwan Welfare Society and Ma Foundation have answered this cry for help and taken on the challenge of providing support to individuals who are facing social and financial struggles. Through their flagship programs, Mijwan Welfare Society have helped countless victims of poverty in the rural part of the country. Be it employment, food, education, or just skills, the NGO has continued its progress towards creating a society that is self-sufficient through self-employment and self-growth. Now, Mijwan Welfare Society along with Ma Foundation are determined to help those mothers who are struggling to support their families. With numerous success stories already, the two organization are going strength to strength to ensure that no mother is left worried.

Another mother that Ma Foundation and Mijwan Welfare Society have helped during these testing times is Usha Devi. Residing in Mahuari village of Chausa in Bihar, Usha Devi used to work as a farm labourer before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country. Although her hard work was earning her extremely low wages, Usha Devi was able to manage her household with those finances. However, she started struggling after her work stopped due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns. To add to her financial misery, all her family members who had migrated to different cities in search of better employment had also returned to the village, furthering the financial pressure on Usha Devi. Due to the lack of finances, the household was struggling to feed its members and the future was looking very grim for Usha Devi and her family. But right when it seemed that all hope was lost, the destressed mother was introduced to Mijwan Welfare Society who, along with Maa Foundation recognized the troubles that Usha Devi was going through. The two organizations helped Usha Devi acquire all basic necessities like food grains in a bid to ensure that no member of the family sleeps with an empty stomach.

 

Khusiyo Wala Ration Kit- खुशियो वाला राशन किट

 

While India is struggling to contain the spread of COVID-19, many of the other issues that the country is facing have largely gone unnoticed. The most frightening of these issues being the problem of malnutrition. The lack of an effective policy to feed its ever-increasing population has seen India rank a lowly 94 among 107 nations on the Global Hunger Index. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, an agency of the United Nations, about 14% of India’s total population, a figure that estimates to be 189.2 million, is currently undernourished. This is a haunting figuring considering that the primary victims of this problem have been children and women. It has been noted by experts that in India, 20% of children under the age of 5 are underweight due to a lack of a nutritious and adequate diet.  Also, 51.4% of women of reproductive age between 15 to 49 years are anaemic. Further according to the report by FAO, 34.7% of the children aged under five in India are stunted (too short for their age) meaning their weight is too low for their height. This has put malnourished children and women at higher risk of death from common illnesses such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria. This situation, coupled with unemployment, has only worsened the livelihood of the citizens, especially those who reside in the rural parts of the country.

However, premier NGOs like Ma Foundation and Mijwan Welfare Society have been working actively to counter these threats. Through their various welfare programs, these organizations have helped the victims of unemployment and malnutrition with all the necessary tools to pick themselves pick from the bottom.

Sukhmata is one of them. A resident of village Kalyan Bhadarsa in Ayodhya, Sukhmata was left devasted after the sudden death of her husband in an accident. As her husband was the sole earner of the family and used to work as a daily wage labourer, Sukhmata did not have the financial capacity to run the household on her own. She was left alone to take care of her two girls, both under the age of 10. Her situation got so dire that Sukhmata did not even have enough grains to feed her children, who were on verge of falling prey to malnutrition. Fortunately, Sukhmata was found by Maa Foundation and after the organization was made aware of her difficulties, they worked tirelessly to help her. Ma Foundation through its implimeting organisation Mijwan Welfare Society acquainted Sukhmata with widow pension, ration card and MNREGA job card, and all the other opportunities and schemes that would help Sukhmata to make herself financially secure and independent. Furthermore, the Foundation then provided her with ration kits, which included food grains that were enough to feed her and her children.

It is through humanitarian work like this that Ma Foundation and Mijwan Welfare Society have managed to effectively change the livelihood of hundreds of poor and unfortunate individuals. Maa Foundation is determined to promote and develop more mothers like Sukhmata, who are struggling in the current economic and social climate.