Paani Ramadan Food Pack in Hyderabad

Ms Bachan Junejo, residing in Qasimabad neighbourhood of Hyderabad was looking happy to receive Paani Ramadan Food Pack at the famous Wapda sport ground in the city late evening on Sunday. The Ramadan pack includes daily use of food items like wheat flour, sugar, tea, pulses, cooking oil and other products distributed among 500 poor women so they may enjoy the one month time.

Sharing about her background, Ms Junejo said her husband died a few years back and now she works alone to feed her four children, two sons and two daughters. The Paani, US has hired Fast Rural Development Program (FRDP) as implementing partner here in Sindh province of Pakistan. Paani is working for poor women-led households, orphans and widows, sponsoring gift items for them, through its partner organizations. During this month of Ramadan they donated around 1600 Eid gifts and food packs for Orphans and widows. The process of distribution of food packs was followed strictly by the SOPs and social distancing, in which the poor beneficiaries seem to have decorated particular smiles on their faces before their food pack gift.

Ms. Bachan Junejo said she could not imagine how these people (FRDP staff) came to know about her plight and after a brief interview they asked her to come for getting the gift. Another women beneficiary, (a widow) Ms.Amna Soomro, hailing from Hussain Soomro village in the city neighbourhood was the mother of seven children, five daughters and two sons. Her elder son works as a mason associated with a private construction company but ever since the coronavirus hit the world, he was sitting idle at home without work like many workers.

She said her son is also married and he has children to feed them but now the entire burden falls on the widow, who takes care of all the family members. A number of women were interviewed on the occasion in which it was observed that they perform as domestic workers at different elite families to earn little to ease their poor children. Some of the maid workers stay at workplaces and houses of elite people and occasionally visit their own children fortnightly or monthly, depending on the situation. But they said they were allowed to receive these gift packs and they will move to their own families. Some women belong to minority Hindu families, who being poor were identified to get the gifts to run domestic affairs smoothly.

Almost all women brought their children for help to take the items. The women narrated the situation at the time of Covid 19 pandemic in which they experienced difficulties to survive. Many of them said their males do not have work because of restrictions imposed to avoid the pandemic. Despite the restrictions, the district administration officials themselves extended helping hand with FRDP staff to make the event successful.