COVID-19 India Project #46337

Feed 300 Families and starving children in COVID19

by The Mustard Seed Mission

Project Report | Dec 3, 2020
Salute to the Frontline Heroes Combating COVID-19

By Ms. Lee | Project Leader

"Since the pandemic began, we run similar processes every day: family surveys, packaging, delivery, and ensuring the families receive supplies. Although being exhausted, I am still happy when thinking of those being helped."

"Volunteers are still packing supplies." It is already 8-9 pm, we got a message from our Indian working partner.

Hoping to deliver the supplies to the families in need as soon as possible, all the volunteers continue packaging day and night.

Since April, the Mustard Seed Mission launched rescue plans in India and the Philippines, providing food parcels and anti-epidemic kits to the vulnerable families.

In order to obtain enough food, masks, soaps and other supplies during the lockdown, our local working partners in various fields have mobilized all their social network: community leaders, grocery store owners or wholesalers.

During the delivery, mask is their only protection, our working partners step into communities fearlessly, trying their best to understand the life challenges and urgent needs of vulnerable families, daily-wager families and migrant worker families.

Overseas partners preparing relief packages

Doing the frontline work, working partners may also step into unknown risks. Once, after the supplies were distributed, the community leader confessed that there were COVID-19 positive cases in this community. But he dared not tell it at the beginning, because he feared that once the volunteers know that there are confirmed cases in the community, they will be afraid and worried.

After several months of combating the epidemic, the Mustard Seed Mission has overcome the limitations of time, space, and language, and continued to encourage each other through various measures, and discuss the works with local partners. As a witness of exhaustion and helplessness of working partners after the rescue, I also see their strength and resilience.

For those vulnerable people striving for survival, you are invited to accompany them in this COVID-19 battlefield!

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Aug 10, 2020
A Food Parcel Is a Safety Net to Catch a Family

By Ms. Lee | Project Leader

Local working partners arranging supplies

Since April, the Mustard Seed Mission assisted 700 families in Delhi and Ghaziabad in India, and 406 families in the Metro Manila in the Philippines, A total of 1,106 families were supported by food parcels in the pasr months.

There are more families awaiitng to get assistance.

Hunger All Over the World

About 1.6 billion workers from the informal sector are in dire straits because of the lockdowns governments have imposed to stop the spread of the virus. No income, no food. Worldwide, the number of people suffering acute hunger could double from 135 million today to 265 million by the end of the year, the World Food Program says. If people have been in hunger for a long time, their mental concentration will decrease. They will be more anxious and worried, and they are also prone to expose themselves to chronic diseases. Unable to obtain food stably for a long time, the most obvious impact on children is malnutrition, resulting in short stature, underweight or overweight, and even anemia.

Food Rescue with Consideration and Thoughtfulness

Amid the COVID-19 epidemic, we discussed with the partners in India and the Philippines. We know that if people lack stable food intake will directly and indirectly affect their physical and mental state. Therefore, under the lockdown of the cities, the first step is to carry out food rescue urgently. When discussing with partners from various countries, they have brought ideas about food packages, in addition to differences in food preferences and diet culture, as well as considerations of age, calories, nutrition, economic benefits, and psychological satisfaction.

“We make sure that we are responding to the needs of the family, taking into consideration the children and the senior citizens. Children and seniors need milk, while adults get by in the day with a warm coffee in the morning. Sometimes, they don't even have breakfast but a warm coffee is enough.” said Fhabi, our working partner in the Philippines.

Satisfaction with Calories

From the table above we can see that in India and the Philippines all take rice as the main staple food. India has flour and lentils, and Indonesia has instant noodles. During a discussion with Sarah, a working partner in Delhi, India, she said: "In addition to rice, we also eat chapati with lentil, which is easy to get full."

For condiments, salt and soy sauce are the most common; partners in the Philippines mentioned that people who live in poverty need to eat rice with salt and soy sauce together.

Daily Satisfaction, Various Nutritional Supplements

Inside the food parcels, we saw special items in different countries, such as tea in India, vegetables and pasta in the Philippines, and eggs in Indonesia. One by one, we learned about the context of buying and distributing supplies.

"Tea is indispensable every day. Families and offices drink tea in the morning and afternoon." Indian partner said.

When talking about delivering vegetables, working partners in the Philippines shared, “During the lockdown of the city, it was difficult to obtain fresh vegetables, and the price was expensive. When community residents received fresh vegetables, many of them couldn’t hide their happiness.”

In India, the working partners haven’t mentioned vegetables in the food parcels yet, but when distributing the supplies, they also bought potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, and cucumbers in addition to rice, flour, salt, sugar, etc. to supplement various nutrients.

Photo by Sister Poshiya

Photo by ISACC

Photo by ISACC

Photo by ISACC

Spaghetti Helps a Father to Keep a Promise to His Child

“For variety, we put pasta and noodles, which is really essential for celebrations. We had several houses who were very thankful that they have pasta or noodles because at least one member of the family is supposed to be celebrating a birthday.” A working partner in the Philippines shared.

“One night, one of our recipient driver was teary eyed when he saw a pasta in the package. He promised his child that they are celebrating her birthday but he has nowhere to get money for food. He was very very happy that he can fulfill his promise to his child.” She continued.

"In terms of food diversity, I want to celebrate the spaghetti or general noodles to be used, and I also prepare these two kinds of food together."

Amid the lockdown, the Mustard Seed Mission and the working partners in countries are supporting the vulnerable families, sustaining the kitchens in the families continue to offer familiar taste. Having solid rice and bread in unstable days like this, the food not only feeds the stomach, connects the turbulent hearts, and conveys the feeling of mutual help between people.

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