Covid-19 second wave: Sex workers get help from Good Samaritans in the city
Even before they could recover from the impact of last year’s lockdown, the second wave of Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictions have dealt another blow to sex workers in the Capital, who have been struggling to make ends meet. In the narrow bylanes of Garston Bastion (GB) Road, a team of volunteers, comprising students and young professionals, are distributing food and dry ration among families of over 800 sex workers.
“We collected funds and conducted a food drive to distribute packets containing ration (of 15 days), including dal, rice, flour, basic spices as well as soaps and sanitisers,” says Shankar Singh, founder of the NGO Vrikshit Foundation, adding that the group will soon return with reusable sanitary napkins for women in the area.
“For sex workers, getting help from authorities is a challenge, since they do not have ration cards... Over 2,000 sex workers reside in the 100 brothels, who’ve lost their only means of livelihood because of the lockdown,” says Awadhesh Yadav, founder of Delhi-based Society Participatory Integrated Development (SPID).
“Our goal is to prevent the second generation from prostitution. At our 24-hour shelter in GB road, we take care of sex workers’ kids, including their boarding, food and education. We are also distributing ration among families here, and those of the Perna tribe, residing in Najafgarh,” shares Yadav, adding, “We are trying our best to help everyone and raise awareness about the plight of these women.”
Some have even taken the initiative of providing emotional support, literacy and life skills to women engaged in prostitution. “During the pandemic, under our HeARTshala initiative, we taught women how to stitch cotton masks and bags, to provide them an alternate source of livelihood. In the second wave, these women have been given machines, so that they can work at home, since we do not want to risk calling them to the centres,” says Aarzoo Jolly, program lead at Kat-Katha, adding, “We are also teaching them online about finance and entrepreneurship.”
The organisation, Jolly adds, is also taking care of around 30 children of sex workers, who are presently being taught via online classes.
We taught women how to stitch cotton masks and bags, to provide them an alternate source of livelihood.
AARZOO JOLLY, From Kat-Katha
At our 24-hour shelter in GB road, we take care of sex workers’ kids, including their food, boarding, education.
AWADHESH YADAV, From Society Participatory Integrated Development