New Delhi: As COVID-19 continues to impact lives, Plan India, a not for profit organisation for girls and young women announced exclusive collaboration with Radio City, renowned FM radio station, to raise funds for a humanitarian response across six cities. This initiative with Radio City is an extension of the existing appeal for donations by Plan India under the #HelpIndiaHeal campaign for the most adversely affected population. The 15 day campaign from June 15th – 30th , 2020, will see Radio City disseminate public appeal messaging, urging its listeners to make contributions towards the Plan India led campaign. The organisations have come together to fulfil the purpose and mission of providing public health information and humanitarian assistance to communities facing hardships during these unprecedented times.
The funds raised during the campaign period will be used to provide food and hygiene kits to the most vulnerable families across the six cities of New Delhi, Patna, Bikaner, Lucknow, Kanpur and Ranchi. Plan India’s #HelpIndiaHeal campaign launched on 15th April 2020, is a nation-wide campaign which enlists collaboration and financial support to be able to respond to the needs of girls, young women and their families, including the most adversely affected COVID-19 population.
Speaking about the Plan India initiative, Mr. Mohammed Asif, Plan India Executive Director said, “Plan India’s second phase of humanitarian response starts after the relaxation of lockdown and one of the agendas is to continue to provide access to nutrition to children, girls and young women in daily wage earner and vulnerable families, as livelihoods have been disrupted. We are thankful to Radio City for this association. Given their popularity, mass appeal and nation-wide network, we are optimistic that the #HelpIndiaHeal campaign will be able to resonate and raise funds so that more families can receive support from us.”
He further added, “We understand and hope to aid families living in poverty with the availability of food. Given the adverse situation, girls and women are deeply affected, we also wish to address their health and hygiene needs. With Radio City, I am confident we will be able to reach the most vulnerable.”
Speaking on this collaboration, Kartik Kalla, Chief Creative Officer, Radio City said, “We are committed to supporting the Government and various NGOs in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. For the last two months, through various other initiatives, we have been providing relief and support measures across the country. This is a first of its kind collaboration with Plan India where we are not only raising funds but making sure that the issues of girls and young women are also addressed. Through the power of our RJ’s we hope to reach out to as many people as possible and raise maximum funds to support more girls and women from vulnerable families. Radio City continues to be a front runner in terms of lending support to developmental causes. Last year during the International Day of the Girl, Radio City let a young changemaker Ruby from Plan India’s Delhi programme area, take over Radio City’s RJ Ginnie’s breakfast show, Suno Na Dilli, to raise awareness on girls’ rights.”
Plan India’s COVID-19 response focuses on communicating public health information, distributing hygiene kits, dry ration kits and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), while ensuring that the needs and rights of girls and young women are addressed.
Through the outreach, Plan India has so far supported 65,000 families, meeting the urgent needs of 260,000 people on the ground. We are committed to reaching 50,000 more families with dry ration and hygiene kits. Plan India is also supporting the initiative of national agencies like Niti Aayog, National Disaster Management Authority and Ministry of Home Affairs to name a few. The organisation also engages with local government agencies, civil society organisations, donors and healthcare experts to ensure that correct messages and immediate relief measures reach the affected so as to keep them healthy and protected during this pandemic.
Plan India believes that the nature and scale of the ongoing crisis, makes it of critical importance that governments, civil society organisations and corporates undertake strategic and collaborative actions spanning both, public health and humanitarian domains. Their focus must be on bolstering public health efforts to contain the COVID-19 disease; and minimising disruptions and humanitarian fallout on poor people’s livelihoods, education of children, safety and protection of girls and young women.
