Reliance Foundation lifts up spirits in the state of Jharkhand

As the effects of the lockdown continue to surface, efforts to combat the same are being carried out with full fervour. The worst affected during this period were the daily wagers and their families who were left with no work, no money and insufficient food.

In Deoghar, Jharkhand daily wagers struggling for food found great respite when Sankalp Mahila Sangathan, a self-help group (SHG) mentored by

Reliance Foundation, quickly mobilised to extend the required help.

Women from the sangathan came up with the concept of building a virtual chain across their network of villages. How this works? Each member of the self-help group virtually contacts two other members for contribution in cash or kind and further requests them to add two more members to build the chain.

Leveraging the network across 16 villages, members of Sankalp Mahila Sangathan were able to collect staple grains and pulses, and have so far distributed 60 ration kits to 20 needy families in 5 villages. The mentor, Reliance Foundation salutes thousands of women leaders from SHGs like this who are making support available to the needy families in their community.

In another inspiring story from Deoghar, Jharkhand, Reliance Foundation has been supporting farmers through organized training programmes. Maksood, a small farmer in Deoghar  who grows seasonal vegetables would have to resort to labour work, owing to the scarcity of water during the summers.   

Earlier this year, he participated in a Reliance Foundation training programme on drip irrigation and post that he installed the system with the help of a government scheme. The training he attended and drip irrigation system served to be a real saviour for him and his family, especially during the lockdown when he couldn’t get work. Maksood continued to grow seasonal vegetables in his small farm, harvested his produce 20 days earlier than usual and sold them in nearby villages. He could earn enough cash to meet his family's immediate needs.

Reliance Foundation salutes the determination that farmers like Maksood are showing in adapting to new techniques and learning new ways of doing things to shine through in these difficult times.