Our Path Forward

At the outset, we would like to thank you for the continuous generosity dedicated to our relief efforts for the past few weeks. It has helped us to make a considerable impact in many lives. We started off with 500 meals daily but your support boosted our capacity to 39,000 meals daily.

Impact at a glance (data as on 31st May):

·       12,00,000 (1.2 million) cooked meals served across Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayendar, Kalyan and Bhiwandi

·       11,200 grocery kits distributed to families in distress

·       20 kitchen partners activated as a part of our outreach

·       3 community kitchens serving communities while generating local employment opportunities

What’s the situation on the ground?

Based on our evaluation of the situation on the ground with our community organizers, partner organizations and experienced social workers, we have the following setof observations:

·       Any form of disturbance to the local economy can potentially disrupt employment opportunities for those engaged in the daily-wage industry.

·       The local economy in Mumbai Metropolitan Region has been severely affected, creating an obstacle in the path to recovery. Jobs are lost, businesses are shut and income is stalled.

·       Khaana Chahiye Foundation has been catering to a wide range of beneficiaries including daily wage-earning communities like construction labourers, sanitation workers, domestic workers, auto-rickshaw drivers, dabbawalas and a whole range of informal labor force.

·       We are catering to the marginalized groups like commercial sex workers, transgender collectives and homeless on the streets of the city. Many of them have been receiving aid in the form of cooked meals and grocery kits.

·       Cyclone Tauktae wreaked havoc on many communities living in the city’s slums. It made our relief operation difficult as some of our beneficiaries lost the roof over their head along with daily income. Any form of relief has to include support for these communities.

·       Grocery kits are a logistically and financially sustainable measure to support beneficiaries in the long-run, especially in the incoming monsoon season.

The path ahead

An emergency relief is the urgent requirement on the ground. Our operations will be aligned to address this sense of urgency by continuing the ongoing aid. However, our current status limits the operations to 18th June2021.

YOU can help us change that. Here’s what we will be doing:

·       We are transitioning our support from cooked meals to grocery kits as much as possible. These kits are curated to support a family of 4 for 10-12 days. The process is taking place in collaboration with our partners, community organizers and volunteers.

·       Our aim is to support 30,000families identified by our volunteers and partners on the ground in some of the worst affected communities across Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

·       Beneficiaries who do not have any cooking apparatus will continue receiving cooked meals.

·       We have extended the support to the self-help groups driving our Community Kitchen vertical. Since our last update, we have started 2 more community kitchens – one in Govandi and the other in Kalyan.

·       Our volunteers and partners have reached out to tribal clusters in Palghar, Dahanu, Wada, Murbad and Khadavli on the outskirts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Some of these families have received grocery kits from Khaana Chahiye Foundation, rest will be getting them in the coming week.

·       We are also supporting orphanages, old-age homes with groceries. These groceries are arranged based on the requests issued by our partners.

Considering the extend of need and the size of our operation in terms of geographical outreach, we are updating our target to 8,00,00,000.

This will enable us to expand our horizon and accommodate requests from a wide range of beneficiaries across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The following pictures area glimpse of our ongoing work. For regular updates, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn or write to us on contact@khaanachahiye.com.

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