As the global COVID-19 pandemic bears down on cities and towns across the country, the world, state and municipal leaders are scrambling to mitigate the spread and “flatten the curve”. The global community finds itself caught between slowing the outbreak to save lives and introducing interventions to save livelihoods.

The villages adjoining the Ashram are also facing hardships like the scarcity of food and essential commodities. In these uncertain and testing times, the Ashram has become the anchor for local families coming for help from surrounding villages. Ninety families from Oily village (Gram Panchayat Ser Banera, Solan district) were helped with supplies that included ten quintals worth of grains, pulses, wheat, and cooking oil. Maryog village, with about twenty families, also received two quintals of grains, pulses and cooking oil. Depending on their need, other villages were covered from time to time.

Promptly rising to the occasion with another humanitarian act, the Sri Badrika Ashram Silai Kendra made 250 cotton cloth face masks. A group was formed to raise awareness about COVID-19 and the hygiene and safety measures that needed to be put in place to combat the virus. The group distributed masks to Ashram residents, staff and laborers who were stranded onsite and locals.

The Ashram, as a caring community has long supported localized development programs. It now focuses its efforts on minimizing the effects of the pandemic in the nearby villages.