COVID-19: 10 Ways Tata Steel Is Helping Frontline Health Workers & The Poor

As the nationwide lockdown forced all factories and industrial units to shut shop, the vast labour community of India that lives from paycheck to paycheck was rendered helpless. In face of such misery, many industrial giants have extended their CSR arm to provide aid to needy families.

Tata Steel Foundation (TSF) is one of them. On 28 March, the Chairman of the Tata group, Ratan N Tata pledged to donate Rs 1,500 crore to fight the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the country.

TSF has also launched a programme called #CombatCovid19 that focuses on the vulnerable communities in Jharkhand and Odisha.

Here’s what they are doing:

1. One of the initiatives is called #ThoughforFood launched in collaboration with East Singhbhum administration. It is providing meals to 50,000 people living in slums and other backward regions of these states. The organisation is also distributing 40,000 grocery and hygiene kits in the Jharkhand’s Kolhan region.
   
2. To tackle false news across WhatsApp and social media, TSF provides authentic and updated information related to COVID-19 to people living in 238 Gram Panchayats of Jharkhand and Odisha. This information is passed through community heads.
3. TSF is also bridging the information gap about the health situation by training ASHA workers. Close to 428 workers in Jharkhand and Odisha are conducting door-to-door surveys that identify families who need assistance.
4. In a bid to ensure sufficient masks for frontline health workers in the two states, TSF has roped in 90 households from Jamshedpur, Noamundi and Kalinganagar to stitch 75,000 cloth masks. So far, 6,500 masks have been distributed.
5. TSF has introduced an alternate source of income for 593 underprivileged households in rural Kolhan.
6. TSF has formed an end-to-end supply chain for vegetables that will benefit both farmers and buyers. They have linked 264 farmers across Bodam, Patamda and Jamshedpur with urban households in Jamshedpur.
7. TSF has also invited volunteers from the general public and Tata Steel employees across 13 locations.
8. To extend psychological and emotional help to people in Jamshedpur, TSF has collaborated with Jeevan: The Suicide Prevention Centre. Eighteen volunteers from Tata Steel are currently handling the helpline along with a team of Jeevan experts.
9. To give a stress-free and pleasant experience to non-medical staff deployed in isolation/quarantine wards, TSF has prepared an hour-long digital module.
10. TSF and East Singhbhum administration have also set up a civil society coordination cell to ensure a smooth interaction between people and the officials.

Get all COVID-19 Updates here

Also Read: In This Together: Wipro, Azim Premji Foundation Commit 1,125 Cr to COVID-19 Fight

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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