City volunteers lend a helping hand to Sri Lankans braving an economic crisis

By Y. Maheswara Reddy | NT

Bengaluru: Ten working professionals from Bengaluru have extended their helping hand to the needy families in Sri Lanka, which is facing severe economic and political crisis.

The volunteer team, who are basically working professionals, representing Good Quest and Hope Society have travelled to Sri Lanka to provide support to the needy people with the help of the local volunteer groups in Sri Lanka.

“We visited the needy people in Jaffna, Kilinochi, Mullaitivu and other adjoining areas. We are surprised to see people, despite poverty, were cool and calm. In spite of the food crisis and poverty, people in Sri Lanka are optimistic of overcoming the current situation,” said Vinod Kumar from Good Quest Foundation.

The volunteers left for Sri Lanka on April 11 and returned to Bengaluru on April 18. They have visited many people and distributed dry ration kits. They said that many Sri Lankans told them that they have either limited food or one or two meals a day.

The people who received dry ration kits include poor widows who had lost their husbands in the Civil War, physically challenged persons, auto rickshaw drivers, coolies (daily wage earners), landless farmers and many others from economically weaker sections of the society.

The volunteers said that they did not face any hurdle while travelling by train or bus in Sri Lanka. They said that civilians in Sri Lanka have been protesting at traffic junctions without causing inconvenience to the motorists.

“I am inspired by their discipline. They are optimistic to come out of this economic crisis,” said Prathima Hegde, a volunteer of Good Quest Foundation. The dry ration kits consist of rice, dal, edible oil, masala powder, sugar, tea powder, biscuits. “We have decided to supply dry ration kits for the next three months,” said Prathima Hegde.

It may be recalled that the volunteers of Good Quest Foundation, in association with other NGOs, have supplied food and groceries to the needy people in and around Bengaluru. They supplied ration kits to more than 170 transgenders in the city during the Covid-19 pandemic.