Your donation to this fundraiser supports Bhoomika Trust’s effort to ensure that disadvantaged migrant laborers can survive as they become displaced and move to shelters due to COVID-19 regulations. For just a dollar a day you can feed a migrant worker’s family of four by providing them with a food supplies kit. 100% of your donations will be used for this worthy cause, as Bhoomika Trust will use other sources for administrative and marketing expenses.

Why do Indian migrant workers need help at this time?

On March 24, 2020, India’s Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi announced the world’s largest lockdown, asking 1.3 billion Indians to stay home for 21 days to slow the spread of COVID-19 #lockdown21. While it was a necessary step to combat the spread of the virus, the lockdown has already proved catastrophic for India’s millions of migrant and daily wage workers, who earn their salary hundreds or sometimes thousands of miles away from home and live a hand-to-mouth existence. With no way to earn money and feed their families for at least three weeks, millions have decided to head back to their villages in order to survive. The Guardian, a reputed British daily newspaper, reports that since trains and most buses were suspended and taxis were unaffordable, walking was the only option for many, and the sides of the highways were lined with people, bags slung over their shoulders, many with nothing but flip-flops on their feet. The newspaper states that it is the biggest exodus in India, since the partition of India in 1947. By one estimate, more migrant workers will die from other causes like starvation, violence, accidents and diseases, than from COVID-19

What is Bhoomika Trust and how is it helping the Displaced Migrant Workers?

Bhoomika Trust, is an Indian Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) , that was started in 2000 to help the victims of the earthquake in Gujarat, India. It has been in every single natural disaster in India since then. It focuses on both immediate relief and rehabilitation. During disaster times, it works closely with the government and often coordinates NGOs together to avoid duplication of relief. During non-disaster times,it focuses on education, improving infrastructure and teaching methods.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Bhoomika is working closely with Government channels to ensure that the displaced migrant workers have enough to eat and a place to stay during the lockdown. Bhoomika is coordinating and organizing supplies for shelters housing migrants and homeless.

What is Deserving Causes India Foundation (DCI) and how do they support the Bhoomika Trust?

Deserving Causes India (DCI) Foundation, a registered US 501(c)(3) corporation, was created to build sustaining support in the US for social causes in India. It was started in 2016 to provide help to the people affected by the great floods of 2015 in Chennai, India. Since then, DCI has taken on a bigger mission to identify and promote causes around disaster relief & rehabilitation, education and blood donation. Over the past years, DCI has supported key causes identified by the Bhoomika Trust by raising funds in the US. Given the magnitude of the migrant workers’ plight in India, DCI has identified this as its sole cause for the foreseeable future, and is raising funds for Bhoomika Trust’s efforts to help the migrant workers.