Disclaimer : thanks to your help, we were able to complete the campaign very successfully. This is the blog article from the time of the appeal for donations.

Our partner NGO in Londa urgently needs support!

WHY ?

You've probably heard about it - in recent weeks, Covid-19 has been spreading across India at a pace never seen before. Millions of people are becoming infected with the virus every day, the number of deaths is reaching new highs every hour, and the health system has collapsed.
While the cities are the focus of media attention, the situation in rural regions is also becoming increasingly serious – including in the small town of Londa – home to one of our sewing workshops.
In daily exchanges with our colleagues on site, we are aware of the dramatic nature of the situation.
In addition to high numbers of cases and deaths, a strict lockdown was imposed and access routes to the overburdened hospitals were closed off. Most of the village's residents work as daily laborers and, due to the curfews, currently have no earning opportunities and therefore no financial means to provide themselves with sufficient food.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

Our Indian partner NGO “Nava Chetana Kendra” has been distributing food to the families in Londa for weeks. However, their financial resources are running out. Therefore, we would now like to collect donations through our non-profit organization JYOTI EV so that we can pass them on directly to Nava Chetana Kendra.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

We need your help.
A food package for a family for about 10 days, consisting of 1L of oil, 10kg of rice, 2kg of lentils, some sugar and vegetables costs 7 euros - a small amount for us, but one that makes a big difference on the ground for the approximately 2000 people in need.

LONDA – AN INSIGHT INTO THE HISTORY OF THE PLACE OR WHY LONDA IS PARTICULARLY AFFECTED

Londa is located in the south-west of India in the state of Karnataka, in the middle of a densely vegetated nature reserve. You can see where exactly HERE .
Until 10 years ago, the majority of Londa's approximately 8,000 residents worked in a local magnesium factory. However, due to a sharp increase in cancer and lung diseases, the factory was closed by the government after years of protests.
Initially a blessing for the health of the local people - but economically a catastrophe. A large proportion of Londa's residents, most of whom had no school education, lost their jobs overnight.
Abandoned by politics, most of the people, often suffering from health problems, were forced to earn their living as daily laborers at railway stations or in nearby Goa.

NAVA CHETANA KENDRA

Informed about the situation in Londa, the Indian NGO "Little Flowers of Bethanies Sisters" founded the subsidiary NGO "Nava Chetana Kendra" shortly after the factory closed. Nava Chetana Kendra is still active in Londa today and is of great importance to the local people. The extremely tense economic situation was also the reason for us at Jyoti to open our second location in Londa in 2015 and thus be able to offer at least one group of women secure employment.

THE FLOOD OF 2019 AND THE COVID LOCKDOWN OF 2020

In the summer of 2019, Londa was hit by exceptionally heavy monsoon rains. Large parts of the village were washed away, hundreds of people lost their homes, and numerous residents died - another hard blow for the small town.

Thanks to your support, we were able to donate 5,000 euros, which at least helped to repair the local school and the houses of some of our seamstresses. You can find the report on the campaign HERE .

Barely rebuilt, Londa was hit by a hard lockdown in spring 2020 and the lack of a tourism season in Goa due to COVID-19.
A large proportion of day laborers have lost any opportunity to earn money. The current situation is therefore hitting people even harder.
The staff at Nava Chetana Kendra work tirelessly to help the local people. With the help of your donations, we can make a real difference and at least financially support the great work of Nava Chetana Kendra.