A WhatsApp group that forwards only happiness

TNN | Apr 7, 2020, 04:03 IST

Members of Parindey Youth Foundation are providing dry ration to slums

Nagpur: While one end of the lockdown spectrum has people comfortably cooped up at their home, the other has migrants and poor people struggling to make ends meet. Though a slew of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across the city are charging ahead to alleviate the present condition, ‘the duplication of help’ remained a challenge.
To make sure they cater to all those in distress and not just a section of people, city NGOs have joined hands courtesy social network. A WhatsApp group — Nagpur Covid-19 Relief Group — which has around 60 participants of 10 NGOs, apart from social workers, is working selflessly and providing essentials to poor and migrants.
From personal care materials like sanitary pads to women in shelter homes, to dry ration, food packets and milk for children, the NGOs are doing everything possible to ease troubles of the needy. “Times are such that every NGO wanted to contribute but since there was little coordination between us, we were not sure if we were providing essentials to everyone or just focusing on the same set of people. To overcome this, we decided to come on a common platform,” says Gargi Vairagare of NGO Rise.
The group now comprises several members who have not met each other. “I have never met Gargi but that doesn’t matter. Whatever orders are posted in the group, we contribute,” says Leena Dixit of Native Chef, an online platform for home-chefs. Leena says her start-up has pooled in money meant for its marketing and is providing around 400 food packets.
“The packets go to shelter homes and police stations. Whoever comes to know that someone needs help, posts it on our WhatsApp group and we deliver,” she adds.
NGO Parindey Youth Foundation, which is also helping individually by sourcing food from Gurdwaras to slums, has founded a WhatsApp group called ‘Together We Can’ and helping others. “We are providing kits to people residing in slums,” says Avi Agrawal, founder of Parindey.
Devendra Kumar Kshirsagar from Live Well Foundation, who is the shelter home coordinator of the group, says the process has been streamlined because of this common platform. “There are kids in shelter home who require boiled milk. There are elders who are diabetic and need proper food. Every day in the morning, we post our requirements on the group and the group admins arrange for help,” he says.
“The best part is that there is no personal agenda here to get mileage and no one wants to click photos with the distressed. The NGOs have showed the whole is greater than sum of its parts,” Kshirsagar adds.