COVID and the local villages: AVAG’S response

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown have brought large scale unemployment, poverty and hunger to the rural villages and urban slums of India. The initial spread of the COVID-19 virus in India stemmed from people who had travelled through infected areas abroad. But local transmission started soon after, and people were asked to stay home, working if possible from home or maintaining social distancing and high standards of hygiene within the offices of essential services. 

The announcement of a nation-wide lockdown on March 24 came as a surprise to everyone and we in the Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG) had to close our office completely. Today, two months on, we see a shift in those in need in the villages around Auroville. Initially, migrants to the villages needed support, but now a great concern is the village residents who have been unemployed for the past two months. 

AVAG’s fundraising campaign has so far raised 31.8 lakh rupees, including very generous donations from individual Aurovilians (5.1 lakhs), AVI centres (15.4 lakhs), the Auroville Deep Adaptation Group (1.3 lakhs), Udhayam Women’s Federation (6 lakhs) and others (4 lakhs), demonstrating the care Auroville and friends have for the people who live in the surrounding villages. Around 70% of this money has been utilised to support the neighbouring 11 villages around Auroville, while 30% was used to support the other bio-regional villages, including some in  the containment zones. Support went also to some sanitation workers and volunteers as well as to members of the Udhayam Women’s Federation of AVAG, mostly women from marginalized families. So far, we have delivered 8423 relief packages that contain food and masks. If further funding is available we will support poorer settlements and people like the aged, single and physically challenged and those most in need in our bio-region.

The first phase of distribution

Through ongoing capacity building, since its inception in 1983 Auroville Village Action Group has established a network of 300 women’s self-help groups and other community-based organizations, such as Udhayam Women Federation, Paalam Youth network and Auroville Bioregional Sports and Cultural Association. We also collaborate with the village leaders, government institutions, other local non-profit organizations and with different outreach units of Auroville. When the COVID crisis hit, it was these local bodies that requested support for marginalized sectors of the rural population. 

When working with communities, we have a list of priorities. These include giving accurate  information about the disease and the preventive measures without causing panic, offering psycho-social support, helping people enroll in the relevant government schemes, financially supporting families and, most important of all, making  space and time to listen to people. 

Since COVID-19 is a pandemic, there are government regulations concerning the distribution of relief materials. AVAG received permission to do relief work from the block level officers and the police, who provided a special mobility pass for our staff and vehicles.

Even though the government declared COVID-19 to be a “notified disaster” and announced several relief measures at state and central levels, many migrants and single member families lacked the necessary documents to access the schemes. Due to limited funds, we focused our phase one distribution on people who lacked documentation, as well as the aged who did not have anyone to look after them. We also prioritised single and widowed women who were economically and socially more vulnerable. 

Our team members and representatives of local groups helped us identify the families and a list was submitted to the Panchayat Secretary. Once he had given his approval, the staff of AVAG and the team would visit the houses to give out tokens which made those people eligible to receive the relief materials. The beneficiaries were invited to a public place, such as the Panchayat office, where they were given a relief package in the presence of the traditional leaders and the Panchayat Secretary. In this first phase, 335 families in 11 villages around Auroville were given relief packages that contained food and sanitation materials worth Rs.1000 (USD 13). At the request of the Panchayat secretaries, we also gave sanitation materials to 76 sanitation workers. The Udhayam Women’s Federation also provided Rs 500 cash to 355

women they had identified as being in dire need.

The second phase of distribution

When the second lockdown was announced, we saw hardship and worry on the faces of unskilled workers, the aged, daily wage earners, artisans, street vendors and the workers in small business units. Even though the state government had been supplying food essentials to all, the government’s cash distribution stopped. While most employees of Auroville units and services continued to receive their salaries, many non-Auroville businesses either stopped paying or reduced the salaries of their workers. Employees in the transport and tourism sectors became jobless for an unforeseen period. Consequently, AVAG decided to extend its work to help the many people who were experiencing distress due to prolonged periods of joblessness and lack of income. 

In a demonstration of human unity, Aurovilians, AVI centres and friends of AVAG gave us the support and confidence to expand our help to more families impacted by COVID-19. We distributed kits with food and masks worth Rs 500 to neighbouring villages, giving particular focus to single/widowed/deserted women, physically and mentally challenged people, families with a history of dialysis, and those severely impacted by extension of the lockdown, such as hotel staff workers, drivers, masons and artisans. 

Mr Ranganatham, a village elder from Kottakarai village told us: “The COVID-19 lockdown has crippled the lives of everyone, and people everywhere face many hardships. All the leaders of my village, and the women and youth, agreed to support AVAG in this initiative, in identifying the poor. We gave priority to the widows and single women, the families that are living in huts and the very poor families. We are very happy to play a role in this great work.” 

As in phase one, AVAG’s Udhayam Women’s Federation again provided support from its collective fund (of 5000+ members) by distributing rice and masks, and AVAG shared half the expenses. To honour their work, AVAG also gave food essentials to 80 police and Home Guard volunteers, and supported 376 families in containment zones, with special attention to the infected families.

Enduring Concerns

Though we are grateful to everyone who has contributed and feel proud of the endurance of our team, our efforts are insufficient considering the daily needs of the people. As one village leader told us, “The present situation is totally unexpected. Apart from the need for food, families need money for purposes like clothing, medical care, education, housing, marriage, etc. Now there is no money even to get biscuits for children. In the past, people have borrowed money with the plan to repay from their monthly income. Now, when all of a sudden they have become jobless for months, how will they pay back the loans? Crime may increase and possibly the incidence of suicide.” 

Let’s hope this does not come true. However, The National Commission for Women has expressed its concern over the steep increase in violence against women in India, and Childline India has reported a 50% increase in calls from children since the lockdown period started. 

It is particularly hard for those in containment zones where the lockdown is very strict. A woman from Nesal village, a containment zone at some distance from Auroville, told us, “We felt totally neglected. The infected family is not in our settlement; those two families are roughly 1.5 km away, but no one outside our village, including our relatives, wants to be in touch with us, fearing that we would infect them. AVAG has come to us to give food essentials. This is not new: AVAG has always been there for us.” 

The future

Everything our team has accomplished has been made possible by the large network of support. We are grateful to all those who have mobilized or given donations, supportive government officials and to the strong local support network for distribution, including Auroville Outreach Education Board, local women’s and youth groups, Paalam network, Panchayat Secretaries and Village Elders. This relief work has provided AVAG with very valuable experience of how to work in challenging times. The capacity of the support teams has improved tremendously and the relationship between the different community groups has strengthened.

However, the situation remains fluid in the region, and everything depends on whether the disease spreads further. For example, our neighbouring territory, Pondicherry, considered a safer zone until recently, is on the verge of becoming a danger zone. If the virus spreads, there will be more restrictions and the mobility of the people will be further controlled. Though everyone will be impacted, continued financial support for marginalised families is particularly important, otherwise they are subject to the high rates of interest demanded by money lenders. We also plan to help people without documentation to enroll in government assistance schemes, and we plan to supply masks to school children when government schools open again.

In other words, our COVID relief work will continue for a considerable time to come.