Dear Marc,
How are you?
Situation here is very chaotic and dangerous with covid deaths escalting with each passing day and no availiability of vaccines....
Just before lockdown was imposed in Bengal I had decided to complete my May assignments and therefore set off for Sitalatala, Sekharblli Block I on 5th May as i had heard of the miserable condition of most villagers of this village.
It was the first time i had visited this place and found the area very poor. Strangely i found very few young members present and only old people and small children. The villagers mostly earned their living by selling vegetables and fish and some bought scrap and resold them for money, many worked in brick kilns and made pottery while others worked as domestic workers in and around Kolkata. Despite the acute poverty the villagers bore everything with a calm resigned air. Cyclone Amphan followed with Covid had dealt a great blow to their livelihood but the fear of the icy fingers of covid attacking seemed almost non existing.
An old man burst into tears when i handed him the grocery packets and others received it most gladly. 20 families received the grocery packets and an old lady was given a plastic chair for her painful knees.
A lady who i visited was advised to be immediately hoapitalised for operation of knee as she had fallen and cut and broken her knee and gangerine was about to set in. As the ambulance fees were very high a friend of mine gave half the money and half the travel costs were disbursed from the May funds. I have enclosed her reports for your perusal.
Total expenditure for the month of May
20 grocery packets for 20 families = Rs. 396 x 20 = Rs. 7920
1 plastic chair = Rs. 450
Half hospital transport fare = Rs. 1500
My transport = Rs. 1000
Total Expenditure = Rs. 10870
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