The HAQ team in Delhi has been working tirelessly to respond to the immense need of those affected by the Coronavirus. Their team of approximately 25 volunteers have been providing cooked and dry rations for approximately 10,000 people on a daily basis. By early April they had served 55 settlements across Delhi and plan to cover another 4,000 people in Chilla and 6,000 in Shakur Basti. The team assembles essential kits of dry and cooked food as well as bars of soap which are procured from local grocery shops and distributed door to door. HAQ Executive Director Shakeel Basha noted sadly that, “these are still nowhere close to the number of households [that are in need] of aid.”
The HAQ team has also distributed over 1,000 face masks to homeless individuals, street vendors, waste pickers and cops who are exposed to the virus on a daily basis without any form of protection. Waste pickers are particularly vulnerable to the virus. 10,000 – 15,000 families of waste pickers in Delhi have been putting their lives at risk to earn a basic living, collecting and sorting trash which may or may not be infected with the virus without any form of protection.
