When we started the Stories of Nepal Covid-19 Relief Fund we wanted it to be just that – a relief fund. The relief would be immediate but in all reality, temporary. This fund was never going to change or solve the multitude of issues faced by these communities but it would definitely alleviate some of the immediate issues introduced as a direct result of the lockdown. What feels like years ago now was a little under two months and the relief fund has helped buy both families and communities, the time to organise themselves in the wake of a sudden lockdown.

It was important to us that the majority of funds reached districts outside of Kathmandu. In particular, communities who already bear the brunt of structural oppression. It came to light that daily wage workers, single women, the elderly, differently-abled individuals, and entire communities that live in scarcity and under structural oppression were going to be the most severely impacted by the nationwide lockdown. We felt that the lockdown would only exacerbate the inequalities. For these communities when the impact of paused remittances, halted supply chains, and grounded transport did hit, the impacts would likely be more devastating and perhaps even longer lasting than those with the privilege of shelter and food and financial security. Lest we forget that these communities are too at a greater risk of contracting the virus.

With all this in mind, we reached out to the communities that we have been visiting for the last 7 years to ask them how we can help during the early period of the lockdown. We listen and do what we can. We spoke at length with our local partners who have been instrumental in delivering relief to those directly affected by the lockdown

We would like to take this time to explain how, where, and why the funds were spent and take the time to acknowledge and send gratitude to every single person who brought this tremendous effort to life. We set out to raise $5000 and your generous support meant that we closed the fundraiser with a total of $18,300 – 100% of which has already been distributed.

This is what we were able to accomplish, in simple numbers, with the funds raised.

We partnered with Hiteri to provide 100 food parcels to families of daily wage workers, most of whom worked in the brick factories in Kathmandu valley and in construction within the city. We were also able to fund and provide 400 meals to people facing homelessness inside the valley. Many of the daily wage workers were from outside the valley who had come to the capital in search of a better life. Alongside other individuals and charitable organisations, we recently contributed again to Hiteri’s move to distribute food parcels to another 120 families inside the valley.

We partnered with HeartBeat in providing cooked meals to over 1000 people facing the long and arduous journey on foot back to their home villages. We also provided food parcels to a total of 99 families in Bhaktapur, through Heartbeat.

In recent years we have returned to Saptari to run training workshops for local women that have helped give them the skills they need to earn their own sustainable income. Our Covid-19 Relief Fund has made a significant impact in Saptari and has supported the community as a whole. We were able to distribute families of 60 women from the same Musahar community of PipraPurv. We also provided essential relief to 65 families from the marginalised Malah community who rely on their fishing for income. We featured many of these individuals in our Stories of Malahs series. We also distributed food parcels to a further 150 families, over 60 of which were single mothers, differently-abled individuals, tenant farmers, survivors of gender and domestic violence and families from marginalized Dalit communities.

In Dhanusa, we mobilized our journalists and artist friends to distribute food parcels to 150 families of daily wage workers, local vendors, single mothers, elderly, and differently-abled individuals.

Much like the community in Saptari, the communities in Rigu have become long term partners and we are so honoured that this partnership has continued throughout the lockdown. Rigu is home to Ayush and his parents, who thanks to your support, now they live in Kathmandu where Ayush receives rehabilitation for cerebral palsy. Rigu is also home to Bhim and Sang Maya whose story brought the Stories of Nepal community together once again earlier this year, to raise funds for their hospital care. Due to how isolated Rigu is, communities have had issues getting supplies into the village. We have contributed NPR 5000 of store credit to the closest market to Rigu for 13 families from Rigu in Dolakha to use as they see fit.

Before lockdown, we recently had the opportunity to visit communities in Kanchanpur and Dailekh listening to mostly women and girls on various societal influences on their lives, including patriarchy, taboos, traditions, and menstrual practices. We are sharing stories of these strong inspiring moments in Stories of Nepal. We provided NPR 5000 of financial help to families of these incredible women in Bedkot, Kanchanpur.

Another community we were able to direct funds to was Chaynath in Mugu. We completed distributing food parcels to a total of 60 families in Chayanath, Mugu. The relief effort was carried out by our friends who are journalists from the districts. The beneficiaries of the food parcels are 57 families with member/s with a range of physical disabilities, 27 single mothers, and the remaining are families from impoverished backgrounds.

On the week of the 15th May our journalist friend Bhakta Shahi of Rajdhani News wrote an article on the dire situation of farmers whose crops were destroyed by the hail in ThatiKadh NP, Dailekh. After a discussion, we felt that we could provide relief to not only the farmers but also other families in dire need from the community. 54 families received food parcels our of which 6 are individuals with physical disabilities and 11 are single mothers.

We were also able to provide NPR 5000 of financial support each to 10 survivors of GBDV with our partner Apeiron Nepal in Sindhuli. Last year we partnered with Apeiron Nepal to showcase stories that reveal how women are being trapped in a society where patriarchy dictates the laws. The 10 women we helped support through the Covid-19 Relief Fund are survivors of GBDV and many have been abandoned by their husband and their families.

The story of Nanda Singh touched the hearts of many of our followers. We contacted Nanda Singh to see if we could be of assistance to her and the 12 children she housed at AntarDristi, children home she founded. We are supporting Nanda and her children with food for a period of three months. This is in addition to an education fund set aside for the 12 children so that when their school resumes they can return to the classroom immediately.

Accurate information regarding the COVID19 Crisis and nationwide lockdown was not and is still not widely accessible for rural communities in Nepal. We were eager to establish a way that information could be delivered to these communities as quickly and as simply as possible. We paid for and partnered with the local FM station in Bajhang and Doti to broadcast awareness and information jingles on the radio covering 7 districts.

Last but not least, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude for all the helping hands without which this would not have been possible. Thank you for coming together yet again. We all feel proud to be a part of the SON community. We would also like to thank our partners who ensured that relief reached families that really need it.

We would like to thank:

Kathmandu
Kusum Tamang and Team
Hiteri Foundation
Juju Kaji and Team
Heartbeat Nepal

Saptari
Bhola Kumar Paswan and Team of Dalit Sarokaar Manch
Kailash Shah, Ward Chair Kanchanrup NP 4
Bhimraj Mandal, Ward Chair, HanumanNagar Kankaalni NP 1
Ramu Khang, Photographer
Saagir Ali Khan, Bhardah Police Incharge
Ram Kumar Shah, Ward Chair Kanchanrup 8; Satrughan Yadav, Ward Chair.

Dhanusha
Vikash Kumar Shah and Team
Dipendra Shah, Ward Chair Janakpurdham SUBNP 3
Janaki Ram Shah, Ward Chair Janakpurdham SubNP 7
Amit Yadav, Aurahi GP 2
Sudarsan Singh, Ward Chair
Janakpurdham NP 4
Parameshwor Shah, Ward Chair JanakpurDham NP 9

Mugu
Jiban Sejuwal and Team
HIRYSDEC Mugu

Dailekh
Bhakta Shahi and Team

Doti
Dil Bahadur Singh

Sindhuli
Gita Devkota, Apeiron Nepal

Kanchanpur
Laxmi Dhital/Sara Parker, DWD Team
Ganesh B.K, Ward Chair, Bedkot 5, Kanchanpur

Bajhang
Jagadish Rokaya
Astrid Beseler, Fondation Audrey Jacobs