As part of the Rural Revival campaign by Everyside Foundation, dry ration kits were distributed on 12th March 2024 to the families in Thirukandalam and Arakkambakkam villages in Tamil Nadu. The ration kits were provided with the aim to address one of the immediate needs arising due to poverty: the shortage of food supplies.  

The marginalized part of the society, specifically the daily wage laborers, the homeless and the jobless face several hardships due to poverty, and struggle to have healthy meals thrice a day. The effects of the corona pandemic had also left a long-lasting impact in the lives of such people, despite the nation overcoming the worst days of the pandemic.  Dry ration kits are meant to alleviate the food shortage faced by the people belonging to the lower strata of the society, and offers a helping hand in running their family. These kits generally consist of a collection of basic raw materials required to cook food, such as rice, wheat, pulses, oil, salt etc.

Thirukkandalam and Arakkambakkam villages were the locations identified for the distribution of dry ration kits. Thirukkandalam village is located in Uthukkottai Taluka of Thiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu. Around 480 families are residing in this village. As per 2011 census, the literacy rate in Thirukkandalam is 45.68% out of which 52.63% males and 39.04% females are literate. Arakkambakkam village is located in Ambattur taluka of Thiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu. Around 380 families are residing in this village. As per 2011 census, the literacy rate in here is 72.18% out of which 77.86% males and 66.52% females are literate.

This report outlines the goals to be achieved through this initiative, methodologies employed to achieve the goals, and challenges faced during the distribution activity.

Goals:

• Economic support: Provide support to impoverished and marginalized people in rural areas suffering due to hunger, arising as a result of economic and social hardships.
• Timely availability: Ensure timely access to essential food materials for the marginalized community, by identifying global and local events leading to poverty and resource constraints, such as economic crisis, natural disasters, pandemics, unemployment crisis etc.
• Resource procurement: Obtain nutritious and standard food materials to ensure health and well-being of the community. Identify the most essential raw materials needed, taking into account cultural and regional preferences, and procure those materials from reputed suppliers.
• Extensive Reach: Ensure that the supply is provided to the people who need them the most and confirm that nobody identified to be in need of assistance is excluded from receiving it.

Methodologies:

• Identify the list of people in need of ration kits by collaborating with the local community and by observing the poverty level of the people.
• Identify reliable suppliers for the procurement of ration kits.
• Utilize volunteers for the distribution of ration kits and identify a delivery point based on ease of access or deliver them to their doorsteps.
• Establish strong communication through proper channels with the local community to reach all those identified to be benefitted.
• Confirm that the ration kits have reached the hands of beneficiaries with the help of photographs and other proofs.

Challenges

• Difficulty in identifying the families most in need of ration kits due to the challenges in determining the relative income and poverty levels.
• Shortage of volunteers at the time of identification, procurement and distribution phase.
• Difficulty in timely distribution of ration kits to all beneficiaries due to hindrances such as absence of family members at home, poor weather conditions etc.

Conclusion:

We, the Everyside Foundation, through our Rural Revival campaign, aim to provide support to rural communities, who face various challenges such as poverty, unemployment, lack of awareness, marginalization etc. By providing materialistic support and encouraging community engagement, we believe that we can make a strong impact in the lives of the rural community. We keep working hard to reach as many rural areas as possible within Tamilnadu, as well as villages in need of our services all over India. Envision a world where every human being has equal rights and opportunities, without being affected by the hardships caused due to poverty. It’s a realm of limitless possibilities, where innovation flourishes, and happiness becomes available to everyone. By supporting the rural communities through our campaigns and programs, we are planting the seeds for a more prosperous, equitable, and inclusive nation, free from the evils of poverty and inequality.