India is a highly disaster-prone area for drought, earthquakes, cyclones, tsunami, and river erosion. Raising temperatures are hurting small and marginal farmers the most with farm income dropping. This leads to migration and increased urban deprived fragility.

Compound disasters, a combination of a number of linked events, is another emerging risk that is following the pathways of rapid and large-scale development. The extent of vulnerability to natural hazards is a primary determinant, but issues of small and localized disasters also emerged. Community-based disaster preparedness programs have been implemented in many parts of the country which has resulted in reducing the lives lost due to disasters in many states in the recent decade. The social factors in India are both the cause and effect of many complex disaster situations.

At first, Plan India will understand disaster and climate risks in contexts and invest in risk reduction, monitor and reduce damage and losses while ensuring accountability to the affected and at-risk population.

Secondly, it reaches out to women, girls, men, and boys in the high-risk disaster-prone areas for humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness interventions including the Covid-19 pandemic leaving no one behind especially focusing on the needs and rights of vulnerable women and girls.

It also strengthens the resilience of communities to recover from disasters to anticipate, adapt, and respond to various disasters and harmful impacts of climate changes and lead actions for their own development ensuring rights, dignity, and inclusion.

Key Actions:

Humanitarian assistance through immediate relief – Dry ration food, education kit, and cash transfers

Extend support to communities in Child Protection in Emergency, Education, and WASH in emergency including Gender in emergency to ensure safety nets for children

Re-enrolment of children in the schools and support schools for smooth functioning

Livelihood support and promote health services

Specific gender-responsive messaging on public health issues before, during, and after disasters with elements of gender equality

Integrate Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation across all themes

Collaborate with government and other agencies

STORIES OF CHANGE

Frontline Warriors
Digital Classrooms

Frontline Warriors

FRONTLINE WARRIORS

Given the unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases and its adverse impact on the deprived families, Plan India, as part of its humanitarian mandate, started an awareness drive and distribution of food and hygiene kits to COVID-19 infected and affected families in the remotest parts of the country. Working beyond the pandemic constraints, over 700 Plan India frontline workers and volunteers played a pivotal role in driving the humanitarian response in Plan India operation areas across 15 states. This included the distribution of food and nutrition kits and creating mass awareness on COVID appropriate behavior among children and adults. They also led the on-ground mass awareness campaign in partnership with the communities in rural and urban areas and local institutions to protect children, girls, and young people from poor and vulnerable families.

Forming the backbone of Plan India’s humanitarian aid, the frontline workers made regular home visits to sensitize people on COVID-19 appropriate behavior.

They addressed vaccine hesitancy by encouraging people to take the vaccination, helped with vaccine registration on the COWIN app, and supported them with visits to the local vaccination centers. They used different outreach tools to spread awareness, like home visits and public announcements in the community, while following all COVID-19 protocols.

Impact

315500 Sanitary Pads distributed among girls and women

126,200 People distributed with personal hygiene kits

63100 Hand soaps distributed

62985 people supported with dry ration kits

45881 People supported to get the 1st dose of vaccination

25554 people supported with registration on Covid-19 App (COWIN)

16620 Covid-19 infected people reached

9948 People supported with 2nd dose of vaccination

2025 Covid-19 affected people reached with food kits and nutrition kits

700+ Plan India frontline workers and volunteers led the humanitarian response

Digital Classrooms

REACHING OUT THROUGH DIGITAL CLASSROOMS

Covid-19 has threatened the future of thousands of children, particularly those from disadvantaged communities due to the closure of schools. They are at the risk of dropping out of education for having missed a major part of their academic lessons. The children who need extra academic support are the most vulnerable and may never return to school, eventually falling into the trap of exploitation like child labor and child marriage.

A group of around 60 Youth Fellows in Bihar and Jharkhand are harnessing the power of digital mediums to ensure the continuity of education for such children. They are aspiring and promising youth between the age group of 18 and 24 years serving as part-time teachers. They provide online after-school support to improve the performance of children from the disadvantaged communities enrolled in VI to X grades.

Realizing that physical classrooms are no more a possibility due to COVID-19, they record teaching sessions on topics related to Mathematics, Science, and English and share them with children over Whatsapp and YouTube. This is revolutionizing not only the forms of pedagogy but also the ways of learning for the children.

The Youth Fellows were selected by Plan India a year ago to increase the learning outcomes of children who need extra academic support. They were mentored by Plan India experts to cultivate the knowledge, skills, and mindsets necessary to act as a teacher.

When the schools were announced shut due to the lockdown, Plan India’s state teams collaborated with the School Management Committees, and parents and decided to continue educational learning of children through digital mediums like WhatsApp, YouTube, etc.