Millions of migrant workers are fleeing Delhi and trekking back to their homes in villages due to Covid–19. They have been the backbone of the capital city economy, building houses, selling vegetables and fruits, making and repairing automobiles, cooking food, serving in hotels and eateries, delivering takeaways, working in salons, plumbing toilets, delivering newspapers, and driving vehicles. Sometime in the past they moved away from their villages to escape poverty and migrated to Delhi. Majority of these migrant labourers live in small houses in congested areas and aspire for upward mobility. The lockdown has turned them into refugees overnight. Their workplaces are shut, and most employees or contractors who paid them have vanished.
Carrying their paltry belongings consisting of food, water and clothes in ordinary bags or sacks, men, women and children are waiting in Delhi to return to their villages. Infants are being carried by their parents on their shoulders. Most of them have run out of money and are afraid that they would starve. As thousands of migrant workers are desperately trying to get back to their villages, battling hunger and fatigue, they are looking for food for survival.
Don Bosco Ashalayam, New Delhi has been responding to the immediate needs of these vulnerable workers and families during the past 40 days at a stretch from 31st March, 2020. This centre for street children run by the Salesian of Don Bosco has been reaching out to over 350 to 500 individuals daily with emergency assistance, meals, milk, fruits, masks and sanitizers. Fr. Swanoop Chaudhury, Director of Ashalayam inspires his collaborators to continue with tremendous generosity in reaching out to the needy. Fully aware of the many risks involved, Fr. Bhushan Paul, Fr. Bimal Kerketta and Bro. Anup Ranjan have reasons to dare to continue the humanitarian effort of providing relief to the vulnerable in the days ahead.
Fr. Babu Varghese SDB