It has been a difficult time in the country as we navigate through the troubling waters of Covid. The second wave has been more virulent and despite prevention norms being put in place, the numbers testing positive kept increasing and caused unparalleled health and economic devastation to families.

Amidst the damage caused so far, there has been one unforeseen circumstance that no one, including the government, was prepared for – the impact on children. Loss of parent/s and their livelihoods have left many children orphaned or in extremely vulnerable situations, especially for those from underprivileged communities.

While ILP’s priority is towards education, we’d be remiss if we didn’t address the immediate need for the health and safety of children and families. At this point, we pivoted and stepped up our support programs in rural & urban areas to better respond to these emergency medical situations. Simultaneously, the ground zero team continued to be watchdogs to ensure children not slip out of the safety net into forced labour or child marriage.

Here we bring you updates from all our Chapters. These stories inspire us all and remind us why we do what we do.

Rural Reach

Our Primary Health Centers (PHCs), which serve a population of 20,000 – 30,000 each, were overwhelmed by the onslaught of large numbers of COVID patients. Due to poor administration, most PHCs lack basic medical facilities, including supply of drugs, equipment etc.

Based on need assessment by ILP and 23 partner NGOs, we were able to supply basic medicines & medical apparatus to 50 PHCs and 20 CHCs (the Community Health Centers, the secondary level of health care providers that take care of referrals as well as specialist health care to the rural population in rural India) supported by Give India and ILP US. We were also able to meet the medical and sanitation requirements of 4 Child Care Institutions in the Tumkur district of Karnataka where ILP has been working for the last 8 years.

We, and our Partner NGOs continue to work in our 2500+ villages with communities to increase awareness on Covid appropriate health and safety norms, as well as to increase awareness about vaccines. We have been conducting numerous vaccination awareness sessions and drives to ensure the safety of families and arrest the spread of the infection, specifically owing to movements to and fro towns and cities.

Urban Undertaking

With more children testing positive for COVID, the government, in collaboration with NGOs, have been setting up COVID Care Centers for children. ILP has supported this effort by donating oxygen concentrators & nebulisers to these care centers, in both city and rural areas.

ILP has also helped supply dry ration and medicines to families of children in need of care and protection and who’ve lost their parents or earning members of the family.