Covid Direct Relief Support at Keystone

The impact of the lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic had a lasting impact on food security and nutritional needs of marginalized communities in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve. One of the consequences was that undernourished children, women, and the elderly in these were left more susceptible to the pandemic. During the lockdown, a decline in the availability of wage work has further impacted tribal and urban slum households, particularly families with limited earning capacities.

Our Reach

Efforts were directed towards providing relief materials, rehabilitating community health systems & access to healthcare, and reviving traditionally livelihoods.

Since the first lockdown in March 2019, our team has been utilizing available funds while simultaneously raising new funds to address the myriad of needs and demands in our working regions.

Our relief services were initially to assuage the food crisis that indigenous and urban margnialized communities in Coonoor, Kotagiri and Coimbatore were experiencing. As the pandemic’s threat receded (for a while), and lockdowns were easied, prudent measures to help sustain communities (eight working regions) were implemented.

These include periodical medical checkups for sanitary workers, seeds for a community kitchen garden and traditional farming, enterprise models for women groups to earn income, etc were some of the key long-term initiatives that we still render support to.