The lockdown which was imposed to control COVID-19 had a drastic impact on the most vulnerable people in the nation. Many members of LibTech were involved with relief efforts (especially for migrant workers) throughout the nation.
We did this with support from Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture (RRA), the Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN) networks among others. The networks played a key role wherein we participated in the capacity of volunteers from LibTech.
Some of the work included:
Providing dry ration support to vulnerable tribal communities in Paderu region and migrant communities in Anakapalle in Andhra Pradesh. Efforts were made to help migrant labourers in travelling to their home village- this included collaborating with other organizations, organising their local as well as inter-state travel and supplying food during their journey.
Enabling collaboration between different migrant support networks under the umbrella of COVID Action Support Team (CoAST). We helped create an online dashboard, which helped NGOs communicate with each other and help workers stranded in different parts of the country.
We also participated in the relief efforts through the Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN), a volunteer driven group that coordinated relief through a volunteer network. The group also documented the crisis through moving testimonies and timely recommendations to local, state and national governments.