As obvious as it sounds, the census was not only about recording the total population. It counted the total males, females, poor, rich, healthy, sick, young, old, homeless … ah, the homeless. Let’s pause and have a look at what the report has to say about it.
It is defined in the report that the homeless are those who do not live in houses, but rather stay on pavements, roadsides, railway platforms, staircases, temples, streets, in pipes, or other open spaces. There are 1.8 million homeless people in India consisting of single men, women, mothers, the elderly, and the disabled.
Let’s put this in perspective, alright? As I am writing this down, in the first week of October, India has a record of upwards 7 million COVID-19 positive cases. In that number, total deaths count is a whopping 108 thousand. The fear of virus has locked most of us at home to avoid public interactions, but many of the deprived sufferers to continue leading their lives amidst the public – 24/7 – without a home.
Who wants to bet against the fact that the homeless are the most affected ones in this pandemic?
None.
Now that we have understood the seriousness of this situation, abhaya Foundation wants to take this opportunity to spread awareness regarding how important it is to help the homeless when they need it the most.
Since 2006, abhaya Foundation has been immensely working towards helping the destitute across the country. The mission “abhaya Hunt The Winter” is particularly famous because of its outstanding achievement in providing blankets to the people sleeping on the quiet roads, by the pavements, outside temples, trying to battle the icy winds throughout the night to see the morning sunshine. A selfless campaign to "Love all & Serve all " which was started by donating 100 blankets per annum now has reached 5,000 blankets per annum with beneficiaries in Andra, Telengana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and 6 other Indian states. We are also proud to inform you that our campaign has benefited the homeless in Africa and Nepal as well. To watch a short video on this campaign click here.
The main reason this campaign has no regional boundaries is that this is a volunteer-driven mission. One selflesss person who would like to serve the needy builds a team and completes this godly work. He has nothing to expect in return. No praisings, no exaggeration. We also support other organisations who help the homeless. To cite an example, we arrange around 500 blankets to Sri Rama Krishna Mission every year.
The objective of the volunteers is not simple – they are taught where to look for the ones who are in desperate need for some help in battling the winter cold. It requires eyes and ears to be open to the society, then slowly the pain will be visible, the screams of agony will be heard and the heart will lead them straight to the victim who is the suffering of the curse cast upon him. They head on the roads when they are pitch-dark, find the needy and cover them with a blanket of love without even disturbing their sleep.
To delve into numbers again, the blankets cost Rs. 200 each. Each year abhaya spends around Rs. 10,00,000 for the purpose of this mission. At abhaya Foundation we have set ourselves afoot the mission of “ abhaya Hunt The Winter” once again, and the stakes are high this time. The bad numbers must be brought down by adding more and more good numbers. So, we have decided to provide 5,000 blankets this year. Check out our brochure here.
Should you choose to be a part of this mission which signifies the numbers that mean something positive in the labyrinth of statistics of 2020 that are extremely negative, please reach out to us to volunteer and support the ones in need. To contribute to this cause via Paytm, click here
The screams of agony echoes, “Winter is
coming!”
Sandesh K & Adithya MA
Volunteers
abhaya Foundation
Reach us out at:
Wonderful expression dear boys. God bless you...Let's hope hundreds will join the Mission - abhaya Hunt the Winter
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