Although the North Eastern States have not been as affected as the rest of the country in terms of the incidence of Covid-19 transmission, the respective governments have taken preparatory measures to protect the people.

In this prodigious emergency, many organisations have also come forward in contributing financial assistance to the government in its fight against this dreadful virus.

The Jesuits of Kohima Region havebeen responding to this situation very proactively &in collaboration with the North East Diocesan Social Forum (NEDSF), the Assam Christian Forum (ACF) and some of the NGOs, are collectively helping the needy & poor people by distributing free food packets, daily essential commodities &relief materials to stranded students, passengers, destitute people, daily wagers and migrant workers.

States & Districts where Relief Work is Undertaken

1. Assam - Kamrup (M) District
2. Arunachal Pradesh - East and West Kameng Districts
3. Manipur - Senapati and Bishenpur Districts
4. Meghalaya - Ri-bhoi District
5. Nagaland - Kohima District

Foods & Dry Ration Kits

• 270 lunch packets are distributed per day
• 652 kits of Dry Ration is distributed to the needy

Awareness Programmes/Information & Updates

• General health & sanitation awareness is provided to the people for their safety measures through social media

Human Resource Engagement

• 26 members are involved in this relief work as a volunteers

Vehicles for Relief Work

• 2 Vehicles have been dedicatedly providing relief services.

Collaborators

• North East Diocesan Social Forum (NEDSF)
• Assam Christian Forum (ACF)
• Other NGOs

Future Plan

• As per future interventions concerned the same efforts mentioned will be provided till the lock down period

We were touched by an instance of sharing while we distributed dry ration kits. We went with 21 food kits to Kathabari, Guwahti as directed by the ADC but realized that there were 25 migrant families needing urgent help. We told them that we have only 21 food kits. The leaders in Kathabari area said that they will make sure that everyone gets from these 21 food kits. After two hours we got a call from the contact persons saying “thank you very much Sir for the ration kits; we managed to share the food ration with another 20 families of our neighborhood”. Isn’t it heartening to note the spirit of sharing even when you have little!!! One is truly puzzled by this spirit of abundance in times of scarcity.

- Valerian Castelino SJ