A few weeks ago, just after India had abruptly gone into lockdown, Aryajaya brought to the community the story of her friend Abhyanavita.
Abhayanavita did the Adhisthana International Course in 2018, and then returned to her home in Amravati, a city in Maharashtra. She runs a project there with a team of 4 Order Members and 6 Mitras running a hostel to enable vulnerable women and girls to step free of domestic and sexual violence and giving them the tools they need to take their future into their own hands.
Since the lockdown however, the primary need in the slums in Amravati has been food. Abhayanavita and her team started writing emails to their friends and doors opened. Help started to come in in the form of money, groceries and volunteers.
Members of the Adhisthana community donated, and collectively gave £1,150 – about 95 food parcels. Each of these will support a family for over a week. When Abhayanavita wrote to thank us on April 25th, she thought they had supported 864 families, meaning over 3,500 people had been supported.
She writes:
“Yet our tears don’t stop because stories don’t stop, stories don’t stop because lockdown doesn’t finish and wages don’t start. So lots to be done. But we have little satisfaction of what we have done.
In all this process me and my team is so thankful to you for support from friends contribute and help us. It was not possible without you. I have no words to express gratitude. But always whenever Bahujan Hitay society Amravati support handed grocery to any person who is looking for their next meal you all are present there with us.
Thank you so much for all your care, kindness, and generosity.”
Abhayanavita and her team
Distributing food parcels to families
Women outside the Bahujan Hitaya Society project