Dear Donor,

As one of the many contributors to our second appeal, I would like to thank you most warmly for your generosity. I am delighted to tell you that the appeal has raised £36,779 so far, not including gift aid. This is a magnificent effort following on as it has from our first appeal last year.

We have already sent a total of £35,376 to our three partner organisations in Tamil Nadu. As with the first appeal, nearly all of the money has been spent on food aid which has been distributed to those most in need. The residue of the money has gone to buy PPE equipment for the staff as well as thousands of face masks which have been distributed free of charge. Medical equipment and medicines have also been purchased for use by our partners' health teams in the villages.

In this second wave there have been many infections and some deaths. Now, infections are reducing and it is hoped that the lockdown restrictions will be completely relaxed very soon.

This second lockdown has hit the rural poor hard coming on top of last year’s problems. Consequently, the help that we have been able to fund has been so vital and welcomed in the villages. As a result of your donations, many thousands of people have been helped in many ways. I hope you will be able to get a sense of how important our emergency funding has been from the case studies attached.

Thank you once more for your generosity.

Murray Frankland

Managing and Founding Trustee

Case Studies

MASARD

Venkateshan being helped into ambulance by village animators

Venkateshan is from Annaagar village. He earns his living hand making pottery and is the sole provider for his family of four. He contracted Covid and became very unwell. In the absence of any local government health facilities the MASARD trained Village Animator stepped in and was able to give him medical treatment, however his condition worsened, and he required hospitalisation. Annanagar is a remote village without transport facilities, and he was taken to the hospital in the Masard ambulance which had been prepared for such contingencies.

He is now. Back home but weak and unable to resume his work as a potter. The family had no savings and have been able to survive with the help of an interest free loan from Masard amounting to £200. The family have also benefited from food parcels which enabled the family to have three meals a day for 6 weeks

Venkateshan and his family are most grateful for the timely medical help which they think saved his life and for the financial and food support in their time of great need.

CARE

Chithira and her children outside their home in Kaliyampoondi

Chithira is a 27-year-old widow with three children and lives in the begging community village of Kaliyampoondi. She contracted Covid and was hospitalized for two weeks. During this time, the CARE staff made sure that her children were cared for and had sufficient food. After her discharge from hospital, she was too weak to gain any income. Her situation became more complicated when two of her children became infected and were also hospitalised.

Throughout this time, she was without any income and if it were not for the support and food aid that CARE provided the family could very well have starved.

CRUSADE

Yasotha and her mother outside their home in Thottakdu village

Yasoda is aged forty and blind. She lives with her mother in Thottakdu village. CRUSADE had previously been able to secure a small pension from the government for her and her elderly mother. However, this money (£20 /month) was nowhere near enough for them to live on, so she relied on being given work under a government scheme to make ends meet.

During this second wave this government work was not available and so mother and daughter were struggling to survive. CRUSADE knew of her predicament through her membership of the special support group for the disabled. This group is run with our funding. CRUSADE staff were able to provide food aid and support for this vulnerable couple. Without this they would have been in desperate straits.