Gandhi - AVANI COVID Relief Fund for India's Poor

Dear Friends and Former Gandhi Legacy Tour Participants,

It is our hope that this message finds you and your loved ones well. This past year has presented many challenges for all of us as a result of the pandemic. If you have been following the news, the pandemic has reached a crisis level in India with many hospitals having run out of basic supplies, let alone being able to provide the advanced medical needs of those suffering from severe cases of the virus. Not only has the virus presented new public health challenges, but it has exacerbated the economic plight of those living in extreme poverty. The World Poverty Clock reports that nearly 87 million Indian are now living on $1.90 or less a day, up from 53 million over the last six months alone, which is a 64% increase in the extremely impoverished population! Our friends and partners at AVANI (Kolhapur, India) have a long history of dedication to providing programing for the protection of women and children in the state of Maharashtra not limited to rescuing child laborers, running a home for former child laborers, life skills education, and more. Since the beginning of the pandemic they have expanded their reach to providing Emergency Food Relief Kits to 1,200 waster picker women in 35 slum communities. If you are in a position to make a financial contribution to this fund, our dear friends and partners at AVANI will not only be able to distribute more kits (inclusive of basic needs such as food, soaps, and masks) to those most vulnerable, but they will additionally be able to assist with providing pandemic related health care supplies and medical relief to this population. This is a public fundraiser, so please feel free to share our fundraising efforts with your friends and family.

In Peace,

Dr. Arun Gandhi, Peace Farmer

Anuradha Bhosale, AVANI Founder and Chief Advocate

Cinzia Lombardo, Assistant Peace Farmer