A group of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) alumnae has raised ₹59 lakh since May 11 to ensure migrant labourers reach their homes.
With the amount collected through the fundraising campaign on crowdfunding platform Milaap, the group managed to help over 1,000 migrants stranded in Mumbai reach their homes and sent more than 25 buses across four States using ground support from actor Sonu Sood.
Having successfully sent migrants to 11 cities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, the group is looking at a few more buses in the next few weeks.
Formed in March, the IIM Women for Social Action Group (IIMWSA), using a 10-member coordination team, approached the larger IIM alumni network in India and overseas and their friends and families for support, who donated to the cause.
Additionally, many IIM alumnae volunteered to help with data collation as well as coordination with migrants for their details to enable proper documentation and processing.
“During the lockdown period, seeing the plight of the migrant community, a few of the IIM women decided to help the migrants reach home with dignity. We quickly reached out to Mr. Sood, for collaboration on the on-ground logistics,” said Ashu Tomar of IIM Indore coordination team.
Alka Tiwari is an IIM Calcutta alumna who is involved in coordinating with the migrants till they reach their home State and are either taken to a quarantine centre or sent home for quarantine.
She said, “Speaking to distressed people, understanding their stories, explaining the process and finally making them get on the buses has been a rewarding and gut-wrenching experience.”
The group consists of over 200 members who are graduates of different IIMs.The group has also been running the Kitchen Project in Dharavi to feed migrants and the underprivileged, as well as addressing the water shortage issue in Jawhar and other areas.
“The agility with which the IIM women’s team has supported the cause of the migrants and provided volunteer assistance has helped our on-ground efforts tremendously,” Mr. Sood said.