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Initiatives during Covid -19 Pandemic
Assisting Senior Citizens
Lha initiated a program to assist senior citizens during the peak time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lha staff and volunteers have been on the front line every day since the nationwide lockdown on March 22. Under the guidelines issued by the Indian government, elderly people above the age of 60 were strictly instructed to stay at home. Lha has been helping seniors to buy their food, medicines and necessary essentials.
While maintaining all the necessary precautions and social distancing by our staff and volunteers, we served more than 60 seniors in and around Dharamshala. This program was carried out with support from Tibetan Settlement Office.
Distribution of Food and Basic Necessities
As the nationwide went into lockdown, many people were left without a job, especially the daily wage earners, taking away their only source of income. Lha, with help and donations from many sponsors, distributed groceries and Tsampa (a Tibetan stable food) to many needy Tibetans as well as local Indians.
In two years of global pandemic, we distributed over 5000 kilograms of rice, wheat flour, cooking oil, butter, sugar andTsampa to needy people in Dharamshala.Lha has also provided free door to door deliveries of Tsampa and other essential groceries to Tibetan hermits living in the mountains around Dharamshala.
At the height of the second wave of COVID-19, Lha provided free COVID home isolation kit boxes to help people recovering at home. One hundred boxes of these home isolation kits were distributed through the Department of Health, Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). Each of these boxes contained a vaporizer, pulse oximeter, hand sanitizers, N95 masks, digital thermometer, Vitamin C and Paracetamol tablets. Over 60 other such boxes were distributed directly to various individuals in May and June, 2021.
Financial Support to Individuals in Need
The global pandemic has affected everyone’s life and for many it was the worst time of their life. During and after the peak time of lock down, numerous individuals reached out to us for help.
Despite our own major financial crunch due to COVID-19, we were able to support seven individuals, enabling them to pay their rent for few months and buy basic necessities. Acknowledging the sensitivity of the situation for these individuals, we are not mentioning their names or including their photos anywhere in our reports.
The above programs were made possible with donations from a few individuals and organizations.Lha, on behalf of all the beneficiaries would like to thank them for their continuous support.
Monthly Town Sanitization
Working with the Tibetan Settlement Office Dharamshala, Lha has volunteered to sanitized the whole area of McleodGanj once every month. Since May this year Lha staff have sanitized every nooks and corners of McleodGanj and Forsyth Ganj each month, under the TSO initiative to control the rising number of COVID-19 positive cases in Dharamshala.
Lha has supported the TSO to the best of its capability in carrying out many programs during the pandemic and is always ready to work hand in hand with TSO when it comes to serving the community in need.
Lha’s volunteer work and contribution during the pandemic was acknowledged by the CTA, through Dharamshala Tibetan Settlement Office (TSO) with a certificate of appreciation on 24th December 2021.
Low Cost Lunch Box Service
Lha started a low cost lunch box service from May 2020 when India was entering the second phase of the pandemic lockdown. One lunch box meal is provided for under 1 USD (INR 70), with free delivery. The service was available to the general public living in and around McleodGanj and aimed to provide healthy, affordable meals and make people’s life a little more convenient during this difficult time.
The lunch box service is free for those who cannot afford to day. This initiative also provided an occupation for lha staff who were not working on the usual Lha programs due to the lockdown.
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