Livelihood Support to Young Single Women affected with Covid-19

Many women in the age group of 18-35 years are living single due to destitute, divorced, widowed, separated, unmarried, infected/affected with HIV/AIDS, survivors of violence against women (VAW) living single and living separately with disabilities. Majority of these women lead their families i.e. their children and aged parents with doing various small businesses, daily wage workers and street vendors. Due to Covid-19, the Government of India implicated lockdown in India severely since 25th March 2020, stop all activities except emergency services. Still many villages and towns in Srikakulam District continued in lockdown due to rapid increasing the Covid-19 positive cases, the situation worse impacted to single women and lost their livelihood. They never allowed outside for selling their items, no labour work availed, and not opened their petty shops; this will lead their families to starvation. Children in these faced malnourishment, elders has not availed medicine for their regular health disorders, this leads their families to liabilities through hand loans. Now the situation of the families of the single women were utmost worst and looking for support from various sources but not availed, Mahila Margadarshi working these families since last 8 years on their rights and avail Government Schemes

In the Covid-19 Crisis time, Mahila Margadarshi would like to promote home based income generation activities for 135 Single Women families for improving their livelihood. We trained them on stitching and selling reusable cotton masks, preparation and selling of hand sanitizers and cotton sanitary napkin making with using sewing machines, these are all the need of the communities in current situation. The communities make more expenditure for Masks and Sanitizers, girls and women in the general communities are not in a position to bear the cost of sanitary napkins for purchase. Hence, we promote these activities through using sewing machines for 135 single women families to improve their daily income for livelihood.

For this, 85 single women need your support for purchasing the sewing machines and running costs for the material to prepare Masks and sanitary napkins, 50 Single Women need the support for material cost of Sanitizers preparation; this will surely improve their livelihood during the crisis time and they come out of their debts in a short period

The families of the single women being supported through this initiation and support the communities to reduce their cost of investment in Masks, Sanitizers and Sanitary Napkins. The communities using surgical masks, which are once use, thrown them in to the streets and canals carelessly, this is most dangerous and spread the Corona virus rapidly. Due to availability of reusable cotton masks at low cost, the communities habituating the use of reusable masks and low cost sanitizers available at their villages, this will protect the environment, protect the communities from Covid-19 and promote the income of Single Women at their homes. The initiation promote livelihoods, women empowerment, environment protection and protect the communities from Covid-19

Due to the availability of wage at home, the single women feed their children properly, purchase general medicine for elderly people in the family and clear their credits taken during lockdown