When We Prevented A Migrant Worker’s Job Loss From Spelling Doom For His Parents

The Covid-19 pandemic that erupted last year destroyed livelihoods, wiped out savings, snuffed out lives and broken families apart. The world stood a helpless witness to one of its biggest medical crises and the lockdown that was imposed as a desperate attempt to stem the rot served to create joblessness hardly seen before.

Prashant, who had migrated to Delhi from Bihar in search of a better living, found himself floundering in a sea of troubles as the pandemic brought the world to a standstill. Prashant used to send a part of what he earned in Delhi to his parents, who lived a life marred by poverty.

Prashant lost his job in the lockdown, which meant that although he could somehow sustain himself, he could no longer support his parents, who were solely dependent on him. Breaking the news of job loss to his parents would have broken them totally. Prashant, therefore, kept mum. Nor could he return home with such a piece of bad news. As had happened with many poverty-stricken individuals during that difficult time, Prashant was caught between a rock and a hard place. There was nowhere to go.

Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation entered Prashant’s life when he approached us, having witnessed the service that we had been rendering to the society during the dark days of the lockdown. We met several families during our post-pandemic rehabilitation drives. Some were deprived of ration, some needed money to pay their rents, some struggled for means of transport and most of them required two square meals a day. We have seen migrant families teetering on the verge of collapse. We provided every assistance that we could.

Prashant, therefore, came to us with a lot of hope, and we ensured that he did not go empty-handed. We extended an immediate relief grant, which Prashant sent to his parents, salvaging their lives. However, sending money to his parents was not all that Prashant needed. He required something that he could subsist on himself. We stayed in touch with Prashant to help him realise his sundry needs.

Prashant soon got his job back as the pandemic waned a bit and the government’s restrictions loosened. Prashant never gets tired of thanking us for our timely help that saved not only his life but also those of his parents. Prashant’s job loss could have driven his parents into hopelessness and uncertainty, and we ensured that such a thing did not happen.

Migrants have been some of the biggest Sewa Nyaya beneficiaries, and we have tried to make sure that they do not have to rush back to their native places in distress and desperation, with their dreams of earning a better living in a big city shattered. During these initiatives, our beneficiaries have grown a bond with us, and that is what makes our sewa unique. Do support us so that we can support more such people like Prashant who have a mountain of responsibilities on their shoulders, but lack the wherewithal to carry them out properly.