Mercy Mission: 19 Bengaluru NGOs join hands to help the neediest

Bengaluru: In March, a sudden lockdown and discovery of the coronavirus (COVID-19) infections led to the sudden imposition of a nationwide lockdown. It inconvenienced ordinary citizens, and also led to the deaths of many. It also brought out the best among some some, especially those from non-governmental organizations (NGO), who came forward to help the needy.
Bengaluru based NGO (non-governmental organization), Mercy Mission, was one among the many organizations which did its best to help people. It has just completed six months of work during the pandemic, which includes distribution of around 73,000 dry ration kits worth Rs. 7.5 crore, for which it has won applaud in its fight against hunger and the contagion.
The umbrella organization of 19 voluntary bodies also distributed a little over 10,000 ration kits that were donated by Zomato, Feeding India and Rotary Midtown. The food was given to people in 300 localities of Bengaluru and its suburbs. Together, these 83,000 kits were equivalent to serving 78 lakh meals, said Mercy Mission.
Mercy Mission also ran 33 ‘Mercy Kitchens’, which cooked and distributed 14.5 lakh food packets, valued at Rs. 2.6 crore. Additionally, it picked up and dropped 12.3 lakh food packets donated by leading companies such as Wipro, Prestige Group, Atria Hotel, BBMP (the civic body of Bengaluru) and Compass.
Of these kitchens, six are still in operational and are serving about 27,000 meals daily since June 1. Ninjacart, a tech-driven supply-chain platform, donated 34 tons of vegetables worth Rs. 9.3 lakh to these kitchens. A report by Dr. Taha Mateen, Chairman of Mercy Mission said that the NGO operated nine warehouses in the city to store, repack and dispatch the ration kits.
Meals for Shramik Trains Moreover, Mercy Mission was also engaged by the Karnataka government to supply kits containing meals and other essentials for the (homeward) journey of 1.32 lakh migrant labourers. They had left from various locations in Bengaluru by Shramik Express trains under the Shramik Seva service.