Moments Of Hope
When a lockdown is announced, what is the first place we rush to? We go to a grocery store to stock up. Have we ever thought about the state of our farmers whose businesses have been greatly affected during the lockdown?
Daniel Jabaraj, our Programme Leader – Anti-human Trafficking – South, in Bangalore was approached by Jagdish, a socially conscious industrialist employing and helping transgenders. Our team was requested to sell tomatoes for a farmer and his story was a heart wrenching one. A farmer approached Jagdish in Ramnad, Karnataka and proceeded to give him a whole bag of tomatoes for free. As Jagdish probed, the farmer said that he had worked for years in the city and saved money to lease a land. Finally when he did lease the four acres of land to grow and sell tomatoes, the pandemic and the lockdown crippled his business. The farmer said that he was going to give away all his produce and die by suicide. He is a father of 4 children whose lives depend on his livelihood.
Jagdish approached our team at Oasis and requested to sell the farmer’s produce. In collaboration with Jagdish and his connections, we were able to see tomatoes for the farmer and give him the money. A small gesture such as these can save the lives and businesses of farmers in need.
How can you help?
When you receive word about farmers or migrants struggling, you can connect them with non-profit organisations and other institutions that are providing aid at this time. A small act of help can cause a ripple effect of change.