Update on Donations Given to Help Families of Child Victims of Sexual Abuse Survive the Lockdown

This is an update to our donation drive to “Help Families of Child Victims of Sexual Abuse Survive the Lockdown.”

We wholeheartedly thank all donors for their compassion, contribution, support & solidarity. Their actions have enabled us to extend our support & services to some of the most vulnerable children & families in the city of Mumbai at the time when they needed it the most.

A few notes before we start with the update:

• if you are a donor have not yet received a thank you & acknowledgement email after you made your donation, the email may have gone to your spam folder.
• We will be sending across the 80G (wherever applicable) certificate by email by 30th April 2020.
  

Relief Distribution

From 24th March 2020 to 20th April 2020, we have been able to support 73 families. The total number of individuals benefited through this intervention are 397. This includes 159 children (of which 73 are victims of sexual abuse & rest of their siblings)

The total expenditure till date is Rs. 2,69,030/- (Rs. 3685 per family)

How the Relief was Distributed

We followed up with the families to understand their needs in terms of nutrition and health. Criteria included age of child & siblings, family’s socio-economic status, number of earning members, age of members, last drawn salary, status of employment, accessibility to shops, eligibility for government aid among others.

A list of basic ration was prepared by the team and shared with the families that required ration. (click here for the list)

The families are requested to purchase ration from the nearest store which accepted payments via virtual wallets. (In our assessment we confirmed that families had access to such shops.)

When the family purchases the ration, the bill is shared with our social worker who worked with a team member to confirm the amount, after which payments are made by us to the store’s virtual wallet.

A Family in Quarantine

Out of the 140 families that we got in touch with, 1 (parents and 2 children) has been quarantined by the localMunicipal Corportation as one of their neighbors tested corona positive. We have been working with this family since 2016 as one of the children was a victim of sexual abuse.

The family were hastily moved from their home to the quarantine spot and were clueless about the situation they found themselves in. They were stressed and anxious believing that they were patients afflicted by the virus.

Our case workers kept in touch with the family and also helped co-ordinate information between them and the concerned medical officer. This helped reassure them that they were safe and under observation.

The family informed us that there were many other children who have been quarantined on their floor, some of whom did not have parental supervision. Our counselor has since initiated interventions with the family through phone based counselling, and is also providing mental health support to the other children in quarantine.

Meanwhile, the case worker coordinated with the ward office and medical officer and helped resolve other challenges that the families were facing in terms of availability of food and medicines.  

We are hoping to ensure a safe quarantine & once they are out a containment, to facilitate a smooth return to their homes & lives.

The Week Ahead

As the relief work picks up further pace, we will strengthen our psycho-social interventions with the families. While focusing on the child, it will also involve a greater focus on the family.

A few new cases have come up and we are working on them in co-ordination with the systems and other civil society organizations. (For this, we would like to acknowledge the tenacity and committee of the Child Welfare Committee’s in Mumbai & Maharashtra who along with the District Child protection Units & Childline have kept the child protection systems functional)

We will be playing our part in ensuring that this network model remains responsive and effective even while the pandemic and lockdown are on going, that we are all there, all together, for every child.

The Donation Page

10 days after the donation page for launch, we have achieved 91% of the target. We are still accepting donation & if you know of someone who is willing to help, please do ask them to donate.

The Next Update will be Published on 4th May 2020 (The day the lockdown, hopefully, ends)