Dry Food Relief for 15 Families During the COVID-19 Restrictions

Date: 28 October 2020
Area: Walpita and surrounding villages
Project: COVID-19 Dry Food Relief Programme

As COVID-19 restrictions were being tightened across the Western Province, many families who depended on daily wages and casual work were facing an uncertain period. For people whose income depended on being able to work each day, even a short period of movement restrictions could create immediate difficulties in providing food for their families.

During this period, I prepared and distributed dry-food relief packs to 15 selected families in our village and nearby areas, including the household of a COVID-19 patient in our village. The assistance could not provide for them throughout the entire period of restrictions, but the intention was to give each family enough support to ease their food needs for at least several days.

Because of the risk of infection, the distribution was carried out with particular attention to health precautions. Instead of entering the homes or making unnecessary contact, the relief packs were left in the yards of the respective houses, after which I moved away. The recipients were also advised on how to handle the outer packaging and keep the supplies safely before use.

It was a relatively small relief effort involving 15 families, but during a period when so many people were uncertain about what the following days would bring, being able to provide even a little support was meaningful to me. Sometimes what we can offer may be small, but when it reaches someone at the moment they truly need it, its value can be much greater.