Food support programme for Covid-hit families in the Kathmandu Valley and the surrounding areas
As in many other countries with high infection rates, the Nepalese government has imposed a national lockdown for a second time, closing the country’s borders and imposing a curfew. The first lockdown started on 25 March 2020 and lasted 54 days, while the second phase started on 26 April 2021 and ran until 28 June 2021.
As one of the poorest countries in the world, people in Nepal were particularly hard-hit, with the impact of this evident in every sector of the economy. As a country with a major tourism industry, however, the service sector was particularly badly affected: tourism, aviation, hospitality, retail.
‘We would never have thought that we’d be locked down at home, but we’re somehow getting by,’ says Ashesh Khanal. ‘People running small businesses, retailers, homeless people, older people, people living on their own, and day labourers are suffering from major financial difficulties. Lockdown has had a terrible impact on the social, health and economic situation in Nepal.
The government, national and international humanitarian organisations and private institutions are trying their best to get food and other basic supplies to people in need. Despite this, many people still do not have access to aid supplies and are living an extremely deprived life. These people need to be given food parcels so they can survive this critical period of the coronavirus pandemic.’
Ashesh Khanal is a member of the Tara Namaste Foundation Nepal’s board of trustees and is a coordinator of the food support programme.
Introduction of the Tara Namaste food support programme:
Brought into being under the motto of ‘from person to person, from one heart to another’, the Tara Namaste Foundation Nepal established the food support programme to give families in the Kathmandu Valley and neighbouring areas food packages containing what they need to survive.
The programme was launched on 9 June 2021 and is financed by the Tara Namaste Foundation Liechtenstein, as well as private individuals.
Local help, local knowledge
The Tara Namaste Foundation Nepal mobilised its network (social workers, associations, local activists, people active in the public sphere) on a local level so it could reach out to vulnerable families. This enabled it to attract a raft of volunteers to assist with distributing the parcels.
To date, it has offered support to 67 families, or 237 people, in the Kathmandu Valley and in the Ghyalchowk Gorkha region.
The food parcels are given to homeless people, older people, single mothers with children, disabled people and domestic workers. They have all lost their sources of income as a result of Covid and are hardly able to purchase food.
Ashesh Khanal: ‘These food parcels are desperately needed to prevent people from starving to death. All the families are hugely grateful for this much-needed support.’
The Tara Namaste Foundation will be continuing the food support programme.
Food parcel for a family of four – one food parcel lasts a month:
- 1 sack of rice (25 kg)
- 2 kg lentils
- 2 l cooking oil
- 1 kg chickpeas
- 30 eggs
- 1 box of noodles (30 pack)
- 3 pieces of soap
- 1 kg of rice flakes
- Biscuits
I will support a family with a food parcel
Donate to contribute to the Tara Namaste Food Support Programme. Thank you.
1 food parcel for 1 month: CHF 42.00
1 food parcel for 2 months: CHF 84.00
1 food parcel for 3 months: CHF 126.00