Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. When the lockdown was announced in late March 2020, the large slum-settlement spread across the suburbs of Kurla and Ghatkopar were caught unawares. Shops, factories and offices were shut down, hospitals and clinics became inaccessible, schools closed and local services were crippled. Without notice, livelihoods disappeared, food became scarce and medicines became unaffordable. As a commitment to the community that has nurtured Sahyog for more than 20 years, we took on relief work in earnest to address the widespread distress we were seeing around us.

Our organizational policy of hiring, skilling and nurturing local women as staff paid rich dividends. Notwithstanding the ban of transport, more than half of our staff were able to reach their workplace by foot. With years of experience and abundant leadership skills, they coordinated activities, mobilized volunteers and organised logistics with practiced ease. As a result, despite our small size and limited resources, we were able to reach more than 1000 families and 3000 individuals in the four months of the lockdown. We were able to mobilize nearly 80 community volunteers who worked side-by-side with us, lending more strength to our efforts. With our ears to the ground, we were able to adapt and innovate to respond to the rapidly changing situation appropriately.