Mujahid is one of the few person with disability who used to transport grocery items from across the border every day on a tricycle to make his ends meet. The lockdown imposed in Nepal has completely disrupted his livelihood. And he is not alone. Nepal has thousands of people serving in the informal economy as hawkers, street vendors, and laborers, who rely on daily income to feed themselves have become jobless overnight.
The pandemic is yet to peak in Nepal and it could be months before things slowly begin to normalize. In the meantime, people like Mujahid require help to make their ends meet. Being an economically poor country, the government was not able to provide its citizens with relief. However, many local support groups have been organizing fundraising and relief distribution campaign to support people like Mujahid.
Realizing it to be need of the hour, Bikalpa an Alternative, in association with the Language of Liberty Institute, Liberty International, Pokhara Research Centre, Swantantra Centre, and Civacts Campaign organized a relief distribution program in Biratnagar to support the needy. Initially, Bikalpa identified various individuals and organizations for the support of relief materials and made purchases of the relief materials.
On 23rd of June 2020, the first phase of the relief support was provided to Purwanchal Orphanage, where around 90 orphan children reside. The same day, additional relief was distributed to the Birateswor Old age Home, which is home to around 60 elderly. The relief materials consisted of rice and grocery items. Besides this, 35 households consisting of street vendors, disabled and other members of the society benefitted from the program. Relief materials worth USD 970 were distributed during the relief campaign.
We would like to heartily thank our partners and supporters for their generous support in this hour of need.
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