The unprecedented nature and scale of COVID-19 spread implies that the number of people needed to provide relief in this humanitarian crisis is never enough. With ‘Help the helpless’ as its main motto, the Faize-e-Aam (‘Benevolent for everyone’) Trust at Basheerbagh in Hyderabad has been very active with its relief work. The Trust’s founder secretary Iftekhar Husain informs, “We are a secular trust providing relief irrespective of caste, creed and religion. So far, we have provided ration kits to 70,000 families mainly in Old City of Hyderabad and also in Nalgonda and Warangal in Telangana and in Benguluru, Mumbai, Aurangabad and some places in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.”
Volunteers provide a packet of rice | Photo Credit: by arrangement
Providing essentials
The team’s first step was to provide protective gear to its 20 volunteers who travelled across the city providing cooked food in packets to the poor and also ration kits (5 kg and 10 kg) containing essentials worth ₹800 — rice, aata, oil, mirchi powder and sugar. The team worked in two ways; respond to calls seeking help and also send volunteers to survey areas (while practising physical distancing) to identify where help was needed the most. Iftekhar believes this check was necessary to avoid duplication. “Once we identified a place, we’d send a volunteer to enquire if assistance had been provided. This was done to avoid duplication as many people are working on providing relief at various places.” The team also provided medical aid, transport charges for a few migrants and a special kit of sevayain, sugar, milk and dates to make kheer for Ramzan. “We appeal for donations and the money received through it is being used.”
Change agents
people wait in queues to receive essentials | Photo Credit: By arrangement
The Trust was established in 1983 in Aurangabad by Zulfikar Husain. Active in the field of social work, he saw a building collapse in the heart of the city. “There was no one to rescue people in that disaster. His journey to rehabilitate the needy began with that incident,” recalls Iftekhar, who became a founder secretary when the Trust’s branch opened in Hyderabad in 1984. The Trust’s chairman is Abid Ali Khan, founder-editor of Siasat Urdu daily. “Our main focus has been on education as we believe that is the main instrument that brings social change. We select children based on their marks and social status and provide assistance accordingly,” says Iftekhar adding that many students who have benefited from their support have gone on to become professionals.
For now, the Trust is working for COVID-19 relief. “We still get so many calls from people asking for help. Our relief work will not stop until the calamity bids us good bye.”