We are are living through extraordinary times. Our lockdown in
the UK is a challenge in so many ways, but it’s a real call for
protection and survival.
Regular customers will know that at the heart of Trading Boundaries lies a passion for India which stretches back almost 25 years. Throughout this time we have supported multiple charities in the country however, it was only in 2014 that we discovered a hugely worthwhile Indian charity called The Sambhali Trust which blew us away with their dedication and kindness. Given the current worldwide climate we would like to update you on what they are doing to give aid during the Coronavirus and also ask for your help.
Each country has had its own response to Covid 19. India was a little later than some in adopting WHO guidelines but once in force, the regulations have been stringent to say the least. The majority of India’s workforce is paid daily - it is the virtual definition of a hand to mouth existence. At the beginning of the lockdown this enormous workforce was on the move - returning home to survive, because construction, and all other business in India, was closed down.
Hundreds of thousands of manual workers and their families were left with no choice other than to return to their villages in the hope of finding aid. This was the largest migration of people since Partition in 1947 and very hard to imagine! The sad reality is that so many of these families were beginning to starve on their way home - and when they arrived many were not allowed in to their village without 14 days quarantine and had almost nothing to eat.
As many of you will know, Trading Boundaries has been committed to raising funds for Sambhali Trust for some years. We’ve been hugely impressed by their dedication and ‘can do’ approach with many issues such as education and empowering women in the cities of Rajasthan and surrounding villages. Right now, their efforts have a different focus. Please take a minute to watch this video, it’s a very short clip of how they are distributing much needed food to remote villages:-
https://www.facebook.com/SambhaliTrust/videos/919155235186255/To add to the chaos, in the last few days the situation has changed. The Indian government realised its mistake inadvertently generating this huge migration which would inevitably spread the virus and changed its policy to locking down and quarantining all colonies of migrant workers. This has left enormous groups of people trapped in confined areas without access to food, and this is where Sambhali Trust, and also some of our very longterm suppliers, have stepped up to deliver food to those in desperate need.
Factories previously used to produce recycled paper or for block printing are now large-scale kitchens. The same staff have turned their hands to cooking and distributing food to those who need it most.
Here are some photos of how this is happening:
