Working with YOLO has shown me the perfect blend of using social media as well as local networks. I am happy to share our story of YOLO’s second collaboration with The Akshaya Patra Foundation. This time I reached out to the communities in need in Maharashtra. We reached out to local partners on ground who got in touch with the people residing there for more than three decades. Most of the members being daily wage-workers were finding it extremely troublesome to secure their daily food requirements. Lack of education and also of information prevented them from getting food from ration shops.

I want to specifically highlight that these communities are filled with very young kids(mostly below seven years of age) and young widowed mothers. We managed to cover fishing communities as well as tribal communities. A kit had: 5 kg rice, 2 kg daal (lentils), sugar, masala(spices), salt, washing powder, soaps, sanitizers, and face-masks. The distribution drive went on for a week with close to 500 kits being distributed each day.

This was enabled through a local network built by MyPincode groups in Maharashtra. We have been indulged in relief work across Maharashtra since the state has been the most affected by the pandemic. Our work focuses on communities who have lost their livelihood entirely with no sustenance in the immediate future. We are glad that our work has been able to impact 2000+ families in Maharashtra