Coping with COVID: Responses and Interventions by Rainbow Home Program during COVID-19 pandemic by Rainbow Homes Program

Coping with Covid-19 Responses and Interventions by Rainbow Homes Program (RHP) during COVID-19 Pandemic

Rainbow Homes Program

Coping with Covid-19

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Knowledge Development and Dissemination Centre (KDDC) of Rainbow Homes Program have prepared this report for private circulation. It is not a priced document. Any part of this report may be reproduced for educational and other non-commercial purposes without written permission, but with appropriate acknowledgment of the source.

Credits Author : Team, Knowledge Development & Dissemination Centre (KDDC), Rainbow Homes Program Designed and Printed by : Print World, Delhi Photo source : Pictures of children under RHP

Contact: Knowledge Development & Dissemination Centre(KDDC), Rainbow Homes Program, H.No. 1-1-711/C/1, Opposite Vishnu Residency, Gandhi Nagar, Hyderabad- 500 080 Ph.: 040-27660017 | www.rainbowhome.in

Coping with Covid-19

Preface The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent measures adopted for its prevention have been a once-in-alifetime experience for all people from all walks of life. Every sector had to encounter different challenges, and therefore applied different mechanisms to cope with these, depending on the nature and the magnitude of their specific circumstances. Similarly, the decision makers, managers and caregivers of Child Care Institutions faced a wholly unique set of challenges. Their task was now doubled as they had to ensure not only the wellbeing of the children in their institutions but that of the parents of these children. It has been observed that the rigour applied by the teams engaged in Child Care Institutions (CCI) and sacrifices made for the most marginalised sections of the society has been largely unrecognized and underappreciated. In order to capitalize on the learning drawn from this varied experience, the Rainbow Homes Programme has taken the initiative to document the experiences during this pandemic and analyse the challenges faced by each and every child care institution under the programme. An attempt has been made to capture all the aspects including strategy formulation, capacity development of human resources, institutionalization of systems and prevention practices, resource mobilization, protocols for dealing with local authorities and protocols for reaching out to parents and other marginalized families. This document has been divided into five parts. The first section provides a background to the pandemic, its spread and severity in India along with the challenges faced by Child Care institutions. The second chapter deals with the initiatives taken up by the Rainbow Homes Programme towards formulating strategies to face these challenges. The third chapter elaborates upon the coping mechanisms adopted to address these challenges. The fourth chapter consolidates the results of the interventions undertaken during the crisis. The final section describes the way forward enumerating the lessons learned during from the experience. It is hoped that this documentation, in the form of a hand-book, would be helpful not only to CCIs which are part of the Rainbow Homes Program but for other CCIs as well so that each can carve out emergency strategies and develop capacity building interventions for their teams of caregivers.

Coping with Covid-19

CONTENTS Abbreviations Chapter 1: Background Covid-19 in India Impact on Child Care Institutions (CCI)

6 7 8 8

Chapter 2: Developing Organizational understanding and Strategies Tracking of children with families

11 14

Chapter 3: Challenges faced and coping mechanisms adopted Self-Preparations Orientation and IEC materials Administrative support Impact of COVID: A Situational Analysis Dealing with External Environment Extending support to Young Adults Reaching out to parents, and the homeless and impoverished population

15 17 19 26 20 33 36 36

Chapter 4: Achievements so far Resource Mobilization

41 42

Chapter 5: Conclusion & Way forward Immediate Initiatives Gradual Initiatives

46 47 47

Coping with Covid-19

Abbreviations AIDS

APPI

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

RHP

: Rainbow Home Programme

: Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives

RMU

: Resource Mobilization Unit

BEO

: Block Education Office/ Officer

SMS

: Short Message Service

BPL

: Below Poverty Line

SPM

: State Programme Manager

CCI

: Child Care Institution

SOS

: Save Our Soul

CHC

: Community Health Centre

SSA

: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan

CoV

: Coronaviruses

: Tuberculosis

CWC

: Child Welfare Committee

: Television

: District Collector / Deputy Commissioner

TOT

: Training of Trainers

UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

: District Magistrate

DPO

: District Project Officer

: United Nations

DCPU

WCD

: Women and Child Development

FCI

: Food Corporation of India

WHO

: World Health Organization

: Group Living

: Young Adult

: Human Resource

HIV

: Human Immunodeficiency Virus

IEC

: Information Education Communication

MLC

: Member of Legislative Council

MOU

: Memorandum of Understanding

NCPCR

PDS

: Public Distribution System

PHC

: Primary Health Centre

PPE

: Personal Protection Equipment

PMC

: Pune/ Patna Municipal Corporation

KDCC

NGO

: Non-Government Organization

nCoV

: Novel Coronavirus

RFI

: Rainbow Foundation, India

: Rainbow Home

District Child Protection Unit

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

Knowledge Development and Dissemination Centre

Coping with Covid-19

CHAPTER

BACKGROUND

he year 2020 will be remembered as the year which saw one of the biggest catastrophes in human history. The outbreak of Covid-19 gripped the planet rapidly, forcing people indoors and pushing governments to find ways to protect their citizens and their economies. At the time of writing, almost three million people across the world have lost their lives to the virus and even after a year of social distancing measures, devastating lockdowns and the rolling out of several vaccines, millions continue to suffer from fear of contracting the virus or from fear of being unable to sustain themselves due to the economic downturn caused in the wake of this deadly virus. According to the World Health Organization, “Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. The novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that had not been previously identified in humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans”. Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death. Initial cases of coronavirus were detected in December 2019 but were not considered to be fatal. But, in early 2020, the rapid increase in numbers of infections and the severity of the virus led to the declaration that this was now a global pandemic. On 11 March 2020, WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner mentioned that “The climbing death toll is staggering, and we must work together to slow the spread of this virus.” The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge humans have faced since World War Two. Since its emergence in Asia late last year, the virus has spread to every continent on the planet barring Antarctica.

Covid-19 in India The first case of COVID-19 in India was reported on 30 January 2020. India currently has the highest number of confirmed cases in Asia,[ and the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the world after the United States. The number of per day cases peaked in mid-September with over 90,000 cases being reported every day. These numbers have since fallen to below 40,000 in December 2020. The largest cities of the country were the worst affected. In May 2020, six cities; Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata accounted for about half of all reported cases in the country. Thankfully, the country’s fatality rate is among the lowest in the world.

Impact on Child Care Institutions (CCI) According to a UN policy brief on COVID-19 and the need for action on mental health concerns, the pandemic has led to widespread psychological distress due to the impact of social and physical 8

Coping with Covid-19

isolation, and of (the fear of) loss of income and livelihoods. Children and adolescents are faced with new emotional difficulties, caused by enforced social isolation and disrupted education. Despite the fact that the younger generations are least susceptible to Coronavirus, it is this category which has been greatly affected by the psychosocial impacts of this pandemic. Restrictions on outdoor activities, closures of schools and a lack of entertainment opportunities have created mental and psychological pressures rather than physical illnesses or lethargy. As per a study undertaken by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, there are more than 9,500 Child Care Institutions (CCI) hosting over 3,70,000 children in the country. Apart from abandoned, surrendered, orphaned and trafficked children, a majority of children housed in CCIs are from families who are unable to take proper care of their children because of social or financial conditions. As the ongoing pandemic is expected to push many families deeper into poverty, it is expected that the number of children housed in CCIs will increase significantly in the near future. At the same time though, the potential of CCIs to nurture these children will be adversely affected. Sayajeet Mazumdar, in an article in India Development Review, states that “as the nation went into lockdown on March 24th, CCIs were advised to shut their gates to visitors from outside, to protect the children. This included staff who do not reside in the CCI premises, and external volunteers and organisations working with CCIs who implement programmes on health, education, and so on. They have now limited, if not entirely paused, their engagement with children. With schools shut as well, children are restricted within CCIs. Caretakers within CCIs are trying their best to keep the children engaged with games, artwork, and other activities. Few have also sent children, who are in contact with their parents or guardians, back to their guardians, on the basis of orders from state authorities. Whether this is the right thing to do, given the current situation, is unclear. Moreover, restrictions on the entry of visitors are very likely to affect fundraising prospects in the near future as well. CCIs depend heavily on local donors for their daily essentials; only 42 percent of all CCIs receive funds through government grants. Preliminary information from the field indicates that while CCIs currently have enough food grains, groceries, and other essentials to last a couple of months, they may face a shortage thereafter. Sudarshan Suchi, Secretary-General, SOS Children’s Villages of India, said the coronavirus crisis has proved to be particularly challenging for CCIs. “Coronavirus has triggered a funding crisis for NGOs when it is most needed. The need for funds to combat the coronavirus is an emerging reality. Donations are the urgent need of the hour, for the purchase of hygiene products that have become more expensive, such as gloves and disinfectants, as well as technical equipment and laptops to impart lessons to children,” he said. Prabhat Kumar, Deputy Director - Child Protection, Save the Children, said that children in CCIs are one of the most vulnerable groups and the biggest challenge during the period of the lockdown has been to organise support from outside to provide counselling facilities which were available remotely through video conferencing modes. He said recreational facilities too are limited and pose another challenge. The Rainbow Homes Programme, one of the largest Child Care Institutions which provides non-custodial, residential, comprehensive and long-term care to children formerly on streets through 52 children homes in 10 cities of India, has encountered similar challenges. “With the outbreak of the pandemic, our foremost concern has been the safety of our children in Homes,” said the State Programme Manager, Ranchi. Therefore, at this juncture, it was critical to take a decision about whether these children should continue living in the homes. Should children with families be left with their families at this moment, for a few months with every kind of support provided to the families; Or should children be brought back and placed in quarantine?

Coping with Covid-19

Rainbow Foundation India is an Indian organization in which the most marginalized and disadvantaged child is reached and cared for by the organization of most disadvantaged people, with strong contributions of the state as well as local civil society in every city creating a movement for caring of the dispossessed for the dispossessed. It intends to create social value by improving the living conditions and future opportunities of street Rainbow Homes Program protects and cares children of India, one of the most destitute classes for the most marginalized and disadvantaged in the world. A rights-based approach is followed children across 10 cities of India, with strong to achieve this: every child has the right to have a contributions of the state as well as local civil safe home, food, development, education, care and society in every city creating a movement for affection; essentially complete comprehensive care. caring of the dispossessed for the dispossessed. These children include children who live on city Amidst all these dilemmas, there was subtle pressure streets; orphaned; abandoned; violence-affected from the administration and concerned government children; working children, children of farmers departments in most states to send the children back families (suicide and starvation) and children of to their parents. Besides, there were many questions sex workers. The program intends to create social in the minds of the top-level functionaries which value by improving the living conditions and future were linked to the decisions of ensuring supplies, opportunities of street children of India, one of funds, enhanced health care and protection to the the most destitute classes in the world. A rightschildren, commutation of non-residential care givers based approach is followed to achieve this: every and support mechanisms in case of emergencies. child has the right to have a safe home, food, The situation became more complex considering development, education, care and affection; the spread of homes across different states having essentially complete comprehensive care. different conditions, sets of restrictions and lockdown guidelines. Being a novel virus, technical knowledge about Covid-19 is still being developed in the public domain and therefore differing perceptions floated around within the homes and in the public domain. Hence, it was imperative to gather authentic technical knowledge about the Covid-19 pandemic in order to disseminate reliable information to the entire team of national and state offices including care-givers, children and their families, which could reduce their anxiety and prepare them to combat the fear of Covid-19. The official sources of government departments and UN agencies were looked to for technical information and some renowned experts in the medical sector with experience of working for poor and marginalized communities were contacted for guidance. With all these uncertainties, the heads of all units in RHP took some quick decisions to keep the programme going. The first thing was to ensure cash availability and provision of basic supplies in every home. Accordingly, homes were asked to stock up on food items for at least 2 months and items of daily use like toiletries, cleaning and sanitizing equipment along with funds for daily requirements of milk, vegetables, fruits and medical emergencies. But, as the days passed several other pressing problems related cropped up; keeping children safe in each home, ensuring the wellbeing of children who had returned to their families, adhering to COVID-19 guidelines, maintaining a stress-free environment for children locked down, orientating caregivers on precautionary measures and keeping teams motivated, and working towards ensuring food security for the family members of our children and other homeless persons. “It wasn’t easy to convince the parents, one of them said ‘hum jiyenge ya marenge par saath rahenge’ (we live or die but we will be together)”. SPM, Patna

Coping with Covid-19

CHAPTER

Developing Organizational understanding and Strategies

eeting regularly and sharing ideas was crucial hence, initially, virtual meetings of all senior team members and state teams were scheduled everyday. Later, as the situation settled, these meetings were held at lower frequencies. These meetings were also used for consultation with experts of the sector who shared their views and ideas on a regular basis that included medical professionals, social workers and donor partners. The day-to-day status in all homes were shared and coping plans were finalized in these meetings.

Details of meetings with SPMs and Unit heads on key areas for combating Covid-19 Meeting Agenda City wise update Safety of children Meeting experts on prevention measures Activity planning Support to homeless Programme and financial strategies Post lockdown strategies Bringing children back to home Interventions by KDCC Future programme RMU’s request for Campaign, networking Crowdfunding Support to parents Additional support to residential members Group insurance of staff Family Survey Steps on isolation and quarantining States’ Plans for the children with families Impact Assessment study Procurements: ration, digital equipment Finalizing annual report Update on Advocacy Fund raising: targets, reports and proposals Education reviews and life skill education Budget revision, AWP Audit update and preparation Finalization of Quantitative indicators-ERU study

Coping with Covid-19

Mar (6) *

Apr (11)

May (7)

Jun (4)

Jul (4)

Aug (4)

Sep (2)

Oct (2)

NCPCR guidelines FCRA guidelines NCPCR letter Antigen testing for children and staff Admin cost reduction Based on the minutes of meeting of SPMs * Figures in parentheses denote the frequency of meetings held

The safety of children and snehsaathis was of prime importance so some non-negotiable guidelines were formulated as key strategies.

Children in homes -

Child Care needs essentially included health care, hygiene and every child’s emotional wellbeing. Children would not be allowed to move out of home during the lockdown to visit their families. Parents would not be allowed to visit their children but would be allowed to talk to them over the phone. Children coming back from their families/guardians would be kept in quarantine with separate arrangements made available with the help of local authorities. Health departments and Municipal corporations were requested to regularly sanitize the home premises.

Staff engaged in direct care giving -

Every home would have a quarantine room and its cleanliness would be maintained according to specific guidelines. Regular temperature checks would be undertaken and corresponding records maintained. Residential team members who visited their families were to maintain the same safety protocols (quarantine and other precautions) like non-residential members after their return Working hours for non-residential team members were changed from 9 am to 5 pm. Non-residential team members were encouraged to avail car-pooling /taxi services or use private vehicles to come to the homes, thereby avoiding public transport Members would leave their shoes at the entrance of homes and maintain hygiene in the homes Solutions of Potassium permanganate would be kept in the office to mix with water which non-residential team members will use to wash their feet when visiting the homes.

Staff at National and state offices -

Staff would avoid using public transport and go for options like car-pooling or personal transport for a few months. In case required, financial support would be extended to staff availing taxi services. Office sanitization protocol PP

Minimally touched surface (walls, windows) to be washed with soap and water 3 times a week and disinfected once a week Frequently touched surfaces (floors, door lock, table top, light switch, basic, computer, sink, steps and railings)- to be washed with soap and water 2 times a week and disinfected daily

Coping with Covid-19

PP PP PP PP

Clothes, mops and other supplies used to be sterilized regularly Cleaning to be done with gloves and hands washed after removing gloves Clothes to be sterilized immediately Chlorine bleach to be used

Every individual has to have 3 sets of masks and must maintain hygiene for the masks. Everyone will leave their footwear at the entrance of the office. One pair of shoes for each staff to be kept to use within the office. Temperature checks of all staff to be done every day in the office with recording of these details. Outside lunch not to be brought but lunch prepared in the office where the team can support in food preparation on a rotational basis. Staff using kitchen space should maintain hygiene in terms of wearing gloves, masks etc. Large meetings or allowing outsiders into the office would be restricted. Those who want to come to the office for a meeting can do the same in a well-ventilated designated place inside the office with all hygiene facilities available in the room. Every office will have a quarantine room in case a member of the home staff who neither can afford to self-quarantine at homes nor find a space in our homes to quarantine. These members would be placed in a quarantine room in the office till they find suitable accommodation. Cleanliness and sanitization of the common areas of the office to be ensured. Digitization of data can be maintained through server based digitization software, keeping in mind the safety and confidentiality of data storage.

Staff working for homeless communities -

Field staff need to continue visiting the field (staff working with homeless families) ensuring the maintenance of social distancing norms. Front line health workers to be given PPE from the office.

Support from doctor/ health workers for periodic check-up -

Identifying doctors closely associated with the Rainbow Homes Program to be on call. Technical health workers and nurses to be asked to visit the homes on a fortnightly or monthly basis for general check ups of children and residential staff. Alternatively, health workers in nearby CHC/PHC to be given a letter about functioning of home in the centres so that we get support from them for regular check-ups or testing, wherever required.

Tracking of children with families -

Initiate a system of tracking of children with families to know whether children are falling sick or not. Also, the families are to be instructed to call the state team if and when any family members fall sick so that check-up of the families along with the children can be done.

Coping with Covid-19

CHAPTER

Challenges faced and coping mechanisms adopted

Coping with Covid-19

he Rainbow Homes were the real battlefield in which all care-givers, managers and senior team members have worked tirelessly since the day of the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country. Fortunately, the senior members of RHP were able to sense the coming difficulties, which helped them make some key early decisions to combat the pandemic. Across the programme, it was felt that the children would be more susceptible if the homes denied them care and shelter in this difficult time. Hence, honoring the prime commitment, the key decision taken at the organization level was that no Homes would be shut down nor would children be asked to vacate. It was a bold decision taken in order to protect over 4000 children across 10 cities of India, which demanded crucial responsibilities to be taken up at all levels of the organization. The first move towards ensuring this was to alert state teams about the upcoming dangers and draw a broad collaborative strategy in order to deal with the situation. Accordingly, different units and state teams were asked to prepare their own action plans, which were reviewed frequently. Initially, this large group met every day but later the frequency of these meetings was staggered gradually based on the need of the situation. The primary attempt was to equip the national, state and home teams with technical information about Covid-19 so that they could be very clear about the dos and don’ts during any emergency. This enabled home teams to not pay heed to the several rumors and myths associated with the disease which were circulating at the time. Next was the need to ensure the availability of essential commodities and financial resources in each home for at least two months. At the state level, a two-fold strategy was adopted, the then SPM of Pune recalls, “The caregivers within the home concentrated on the health and protection of children whereas the non- resident snehsaathis, who, were barred from entering the residential area of the home, organized medical care for children who fell sick, ensured the supply of food as well as other requirements such as masks, sanitizers, disinfectants and coordinated with concerned authorities, vendors and donors.” She further adds that the orientation of children and residential caregivers on the need to adhere with the prescribed guidelines of personal hygiene was not easy and therefore several measures were introduced for this. For instance, pictorial IEC materials in vernacular language were created and placed at appropriate spots in each home. Also, regular interaction with the children to build awareness and drills on handwashing, physical exercises, yoga, etc. were conducted. “The lockdown created more problems than the pandemic, as movement was restricted, it took more effort and time to organise things.” - SPM, Delhi Maintaining the physical as well as the mental health of children was also a critical area that demanded serious consideration from the caregivers. Continued lockdowns resulted in mental fatigue and stress amongst the children within homes. “The medical support for minor ailments of the resident children were organized by the non-residential Snehsaathis, but homes largely depended upon the tele-consultation with doctors associated with the Homes,” mentioned the State Programme Manager of Bengaluru. However, there were instances when health check-ups of children were organized in Pune homes when the doctor came in with a complete PPE kit to conduct the same.

Coping with Covid-19

Self-Preparations Acquiring authentic information about Covid-19 was very important because there was a flood of information including rumors that created an atmosphere of fear and panic in some areas. Therefore, information disseminated by reliable sources like government bodies and UN agencies were banked upon to prepare the IEC materials that served as the prescribed guidelines for caregivers, other members of organization and parents of children and other community members. A report from the Chennai state office mentions that, “Although hand hygiene, oral hygiene and respiratory hygiene had always been part of our preventive medicine, Covid-19 emphasized the need to immediately focus on improving these measures world-wide. This provided an opportunity to focus on preventive health care at the homes. With the expertise of public health specialists and doctors, a series of capacity building sessions on personal hygiene, home sanitation, waste disposal, common illnesses and immunization were conducted for all levels of the organization with a focus on improving preventive health measures at the home level. Children were taught the golden rules of Covid-19 prevention such as hand hygiene, cough etiquette, social distancing and regular disinfection of surfaces.”

Children’s Education The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdown had a subtle impact on children, affecting their physical, mental and emotional growth. This was an enormous challenge faced by the care-givers in every home across RHP. The Hyderabad State Head says, “Children are hooked onto TV or in play mode. The home team is trying hard to make a schedule for their study time, as none are interested to study at this moment. Secondly, since the lock down may extend beyond 31st March, the challenge is figuring out what to do for the children who are with their families.” The Education unit, being aware of the issue, have been working on the issue. Once schools were shut down, the challenge for the home teams was to make sure that children do not suffer from huge losses in learning levels. The Rainbow Homes Program employs a few teachers and engages volunteers to keep children updated with their curricular, extra-curricular and life skill requirements. These home teaching teams are capable of supporting children with their school work and with these additional activities and initiatives, but are unable to mirror the schooling experience comprehensively. With the large numbers of children in different levels, going to different schools and requiring different pedagogical approaches, these small teams would ultimately find it extremely difficult to keep children engaged across school subjects and additional inputs. An additional challenge that appeared during this period was the return of children to their families, which made reaching out to them to ensure some semblance of continuity in their educational endeavours a grave concern. These children would be unable to access their teachers, online materials or video conferencing nodes with the same ease that had been possible within our CCIs. To implement this change in approach across the 10 cities in which RHP functions, several rounds of review discussions were undertaken with education team members across states on education status and interventions to ensure the continuing education of children with families. The focus was to assess; i. Number of children currently at a Rainbow Home v/s children with their families ii. Support given to children outside the home iii. Government support to learning iv. Teaching learning structures and processes of RHP and how they have adapted to the new norm

Coping with Covid-19

v. Volunteer’s support vi. Digital infrastructure in each home vii. Suggestions for improvement and the way forward. In this context, the idea was to develop; grade-wise systematic plans for foundational education incorporating academic, non-academic, physical and life skill components in integrated ways; creation of concrete achievable monthly targets; assessment of learning levels at regular intervals; focusing and developing the pedagogic capability of teachers in using online tools as well as offline practice; and the inclusion of crucial life skill components in the education plans of each home. Each state team engaged organisations to work on the capacities of their teaching teams. In Bengaluru, Reap Benefit and Enfold India conducted comprehensive workshops for teachers on topics such as gender sensitivity, creativity, understanding the psychological and emotional impact of sexual and other forms of harassment, and creative social action. In Ranchi and Delhi, Pratham organised workshops to prepare team members to utilise the ASER learning tool, to assess children’s learning levels in a more systematic way. Bhoomi volunteers in Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai engaged children in art and craft, dance and spoken English sessions which also added to the rounded approach to education that RHP encourages in every home. Further, to ensure requirements of the social, emotional, cognitive and physical development of each child, alternative ways of engaging children over and above academic activities have been devised. Despite constraints such as, lack of internet connectivity, lack of availability of functioning laptops and projectors, lack of education staff and capability of home team members in teaching difficult topics and other problems, a sustained effort was made to keep children engaged meaningfully, which included; -

Continued academic support by conducting classes at homes via video-conferencing or webinars, large utilization of e-learning videos of concepts relevant to the children’s academic routines, preparation of worksheets on academic topics by home teaching staff.

In terms of alternative activities, value-based movies, documentaries/short films on themes like, justice, honesty, love, joy, etc. had been screened.

Videos of different techniques and designs on art and craft activities had been sourced to help children make wonderful works of art from a variety of objects during the lockdown.

Theme based weekly programs were planned for all the homes such as, creating and performing plays, journal writing, watching a thought provoking video and having a discussion on the same, creating ‘Thank You’ notes and reading these in front of each other and watching cognitive level-based informational videos on key topics.

Morning yoga and meditation sessions, outdoor and indoor games, free-play, dance and music sessions, laughing sessions, Bal Sabha, Committee duties, etc. were continued.

Specifically, for young adults, career guidance videos, interactions with industry experts etc. were also organized.

As the RHP is keen to develop our children not only to succeed in the formal examinations but also be honest, caring and active members of society, a crucial focus of the educational inputs during this time were based on themes of life education. To achieve this purpose, several workshops were organised with home and state team members to sensitize them to the challenges, issues and perceptions with regard to caste, religion, gender, class and race that are ingrained in Indian society. Over the course the last year, home mothers, teachers, state 18

Coping with Covid-19

team members as well as the upper management of the organisation came together to explore the purpose of education, what children ought to know apart from their school curricula, what value systems the organisation ought to embody, and how to translate all these through deliberate practice and modelling so that our children can be inspired to follow these value systems. While the impact of these remains difficult to quantify, a step has been taken in the right direction and hopefully the following years will see a marked change in this aspect. A life education compendium has also been developed by the Education team to form a bank of resources1 within the organization, which can be accessed by home teaching teams and children. The aim of this initiative is to empower individual home teams to take decisions on how different components of life education can be transacted. “We concentrated on educating our people including children and establishing systems to ease the workload.” SPM, Pune All internal and external interactions were limited to calls and online meetings, which was not a common practice for a majority of people in the organisation. Meetings between national team members and SPMs were organized every week in the first month and then reduced to once in a fortnight. Hence, there was a need to set-up protocols for online meetings as well as a need to orient team members on how to effectively use these new platforms of interaction.

Orientation and IEC materials There was a dire need to reduce the anxiety and panic among care-givers, children and the parents with regard to the pandemic. The Knowledge Development and Dissemination Centre (KDDC) unit took over the responsibility of undertaking the orientation program for these key stakeholders by developing/customizing relevant IEC materials and disseminating the same to Snehsaathis, children in the Homes and their parents. As it was not possible to have physical interactions for these orientations hence, the virtual mode was adopted, which was not easy because of the severe lack of digital access at the home level. Against all odds, these initiatives went ahead using the basic existing infrastructure and thanks to the quick procurement of essential equipment for this purpose. The fundamental technical information and need for adherence to basic norms including isolation and quarantine procedures in the context of Covid-19 were disseminated to all levels of care-givers and managers through a series of on-line workshops and follow-up meetings with help from experts of the field, volunteers and designated trainers. A poster series “Care in the times of Corona’’ has been developed by KDDC showcasing key measures to take care of children and team members. Teams in all states have been given an orientation on these posters and they in-turn oriented home team members. The first poster of the series jots down the things to remember while taking care of children in the lockdown period, as well as some ideas for how children can deal with situations where they feel angry. The second poster was created for residential team members who had been living in the homes along with children to keep them motivated. They had to maintain a balance between their responsibilities towards the children and the need to care for their own mental and emotional wellbeing. The final poster of the series describes a few guidelines to be followed by national and state team members with regard to self-care as well as the spirit of home-based caregivers. 1

Acquiring technology and special skills

Coping with Covid-19

Since the end of the pandemic is still nowhere in sight, there was a need to extend these measures. This required the supply of several kinds of equipment and consumables such as thermometers, soap dispensers, water dispensers, sanitizers, masks, gloves, disinfectants, cleaning agents, etc. at each of the homes. It was again a challenge to procure these materials in bulk at a reasonable price during the lockdown when such items were being sold at exorbitant rates. The State Programme Manager of Delhi recalls that “None of these materials were available in the open market because most shops were closed and there was no supply coming from outside, but fortunately some promising donors came to our rescue.” The Bengaluru State Programme Manager says, “Some of our donors were kind enough to connect us with their vendors, who helped in delivery of these required materials.” Apart from uninterrupted support from the national office, the inter-state office coordination also played a vital role in procurement of goods. For instance, in the initial period of the lockdown thermal scanners were not available in Bangalore, so when the Pune office found a vendor, they also booked it for the Bangalore office. Over the subsequent months, adherence to the prescribed guidelines for personal hygiene was gradually becoming stressful for children. The inability to meet their school teachers and parents, the closure of schools and restrictions on movement added to the agony of the children, so every home was encouraged to draw up a daily schedule in consultation with the children of the same home. Routines in all the homes were revisited by the children and caregivers together which was activity based to keep the children engaged in joyful learning processes. In Chennai, group counseling sessions were organized where children engaged in play and expressed their concerns. As an immediate measure, home teams made themselves available to discuss any concerns children might have regarding Covid-19 at any point. Group sessions such as skits, talking to their friends in other homes and family members over video chats, etc. were conducted. The Internet was the only medium that could be used to conduct classes, either academic or co-curricular activities, in the home. Except for a few of the homes, most homes did not have adequate gadgets through which children could interact with the facilitators. Each state team, with support from national office and local donors, successfully procured the essential equipment required like cameras, laptops, modems, projectors, etc. This was not very easy because of restricted movement and the scarcity of equipment in the market. “Our donors were a big support in the time of crisis. We could procure all essential items through them when we needed and that too at wholesale prices.” SPM, Bengaluru

Administrative support The national office of RHP had sensed the upcoming problems of Covid-19 quite early and proactively alerted the state offices to ensure preventive measures were taken. The finance units took swift decisions and ensured that; All homes procure groceries for at least 2 months Adequate funds were transferred to state offices with advice to provide sufficient cash to homes for dayto-day expenses Banks were requested to support the RFI offices for releasing funds even during lockdown Processes were put in place for quick mobilization of financial resources for additional expenses in the homes Besides this, the unit in consultation with state and national team identified areas for budget revision to meet the basic programme requirements such as doing away with all travel related to training programs, research for at least a year; focusing on only essentials for the first 6 months; relooking at recruitment, increments and salaries; procuring ration kits for parents and ensuring stock in the homes from the FCI at much cheaper rates; reducing 26

Coping with Covid-19

paid tuition costs by taking volunteer support; reducing monthly rent by combining 2-3 offices into one building or encouraging work-from-home options for non-residential members; curbing travel and admin related cost by using alternative technological options. While no large changes were made to the home budgets, state and national budgets were certainly reduced. Further, the team prepared a guideline for revision of budgets at all levels, which included the following considerations; -

In Program QQ Travel cost, capacity building costs were reduced

In KDDC QQ Curtailed training costs and travel costs. TOTs and most training were done virtually QQ New activities on identified themes for COVID-19 response were added QQ Research study was re-planned with additional studies/themes in place in response to COVID-9 crisis

In Futures and Education QQ Workshop expenditures were removed, postponed or reoriented using online sessions to ensure some amount of cost saving QQ Additional provisions for digital access may include such as tablets, laptops, projector were to allow for easy online interaction QQ Additional expenses were budgeted to support Young Adults (YA) to ensure their safety and livelihood of their families QQ Alternative arrangements for YAs were planned QQ Foundation courses and capacity building of the teachers that were planned under Education can now happen with online sessions. In Advocacy and RMU QQ Orientation sessions were planned virtually with the support of state teams QQ Large gatherings, such as dissemination sessions or workshops, were stopped or moved to the third and fourth quarters QQ In RMU, more media engagement and sponsorship options were explored QQ Greater utilization of online posters, messages, videos clips and virtual platforms for donor pitches QQ Cold calls, mails and SMS continued as primary communication with the donors QQ Training sessions and workshops of RMU were conducted virtually QQ Travel costs in Advocacy and RMU budgets were lowered QQ Recruitment and HR costs were lowered

It was decided that multiple channels and multiple sources would be explored to keep the work going and apart from these various other strategies would be looked into. Hence, supplementary budgets were prepared through a bottom-up approach i.e., starting from home to state to national level. Also, a drive to mobilize additional resources was initiated and as a result, donations from Enamor (Gokuldas) of Rs.11 lakh was received. Hexaware cleared the budget with a first phase influx of Rs.53 lakh. Additionally, Hexaware proposed a scholarship program of Rs.13 lakh, adding to the regular program budget provided to the YAs. Each city faced different sets of challenges. Some city wise excerpts of updates from homes during the lockdown presents a pertinent scenario of the situation. Coping with Covid-19

Hyderabad PP PP

PP PP

50% children present in each home. In some homes, the numbers are much lower Got 5-6 additional rooms in some schools, but not for all homes. Trying for more school spaces, negotiating with school management teams. Verandas and other places are used as sleeping areas. During the first month of lockdown period only 4 staff in each home; Hired additional home mother for 2 months in some homes Most residential staff are cooperating and staying to take care of children. All staff mutually support each other. No hierarchy in structure or division of responsibilities at this moment Enough stocks of groceries and toiletries in all homes. Weekly markets are still open and no challenge so far in procuring vegetables. However, homes are instructed to keep balance between vegetables with non-perishable food items

Delhi PP PP

Most of the children in the home (96%) and very few went back to their families. Dormitories and rooms are still crowded. Carefully distributing children in different places, even libraries, computer rooms etc.

Staff and children are well oriented about the present situation and the Do’s and Don’ts

2 months’ groceries are ordered. Enough number of toiletries procured.

Advances given to the homes. Transfer of salaries are in process.

It is observed that few home staff members are tense and anxious. Need to suggest some routine for the staff as well with a time slot for their relaxation or entertainment. However, if the situation continues, we can plan to relieve some of the residential staff replacing them with willing parents or hiring additional people.

Patna PP

PP PP

PP PP PP

Fewer children in homes, 314 children are outside the homes (those who had gone to their families for Chhat puja) Sufficient disinfectants, masks and sanitisers are provided to them. Initially could not avail extra space in any of the homes, but as children were fewer, decongestion was done. Later sufficient rooms were at hand with support from concerned departments Groceries for next 2 months procured for all homes All residential staff members were available in the homes, non-residential staff are not coming due to lockdown. 3 YAs came back to the home as the companies are now closed due to lockdown. They are helping young children in the home Video call between state and home teams on regular basis Plans prepared to quarantine children in separate homes If children come back after Chhath Puja One positive case detected near one home in Patna, hence the homes are being sanitized

Coping with Covid-19

Bengaluru PP

Most children are in the home, only about 10% would be with their families

Additional rooms in ANC may be allotted to the program. There are sick rooms in all the homes now.

Proper decongestion is done in each home with 10 children in each room. Varandas are used as sleeping place for some children to avoid congestion in dormitories Trying to acquire additional rooms in all the homes. But in most of the schools, the rooms are stacked with books for the new academic session. Provisions of groceries made for all the homes but for direct homes, provisioning got delayed as the vendors have all shut down their services and are not contactable even over the phone. Parents are coming to take their children back but we told them not to come. Only parents who have a permanent shelter are allowed to take back their children for this period.

Kolkata PP

About 77% of the total children are in homes.

Additional rooms have been allocated by authorities

Residential staff members are willing to stay at the home during this crisis. Trying for hire other team members to help with cleaning of homes

No parents are willing to help in home functioning but we are trying to motivate them for the same.

Sufficient stock of food stuff and other essential consumables have been ensured.

In Elliot road Loreto home, 35 of 83 children got cold and cough. They were taken to the doctor and kept in isolation as extra rooms were available. We need to review the timing part and technological issues further with information from each home.

Chennai PP

All 68 children staying in the homes are homeless. So, there is no question of sending them back to their parents, even if the parents insist

Additional rooms were allotted in each homes to avoid congestion in one room

Dry rations of 2 months are procured and milk has been available so far

All residential team members are present in the homes.

The challenge is that home team members in each home are asking for leave for at least 2 days. Trying to negotiate with them so that they remain in the home till the crisis is over. One case identified near one of the homes in Chennai, hence the home staff are strictly instructed not to go out at all under any circumstances State team is in touch with all the team members every 2-3 hours

Coping with Covid-19

Pune PP PP

PP PP

Most children are there in homes. Social Mobilisers are connecting with individual parents of children who are at the homes to give them updates about their children. Also convincing parents not to take their children back Tracking of sick children and update on status of improvement For sick children doctors were consulted over the phone. Some private doctors were called in to check on children. State teams are calling each home 3 times a day to get updates, review practices and note down the problems, if any Govt. schools are having online classes for 8th, 9th and 10th grade children.

Ranchi PP

At present, 23 girls and 42 boys are present in the two homes. Some children have gone back but, after receiving a letter from the District Collector, some parents want to send the children back to us.

Sufficient number of rooms, so none of the rooms are crowded.

Rations and toiletries are sufficiently in stock, no problem in procuring water, electricity etc.

Milkman dropping the milk packet at the gate so that no staff need to go out. But procuring vegetables is a challenge. Homes are coping by buying non-perishables such as rajma, pulses etc. Residential staff members are present in the homes. Planning to prepare a schedule for residential staff to give them some time for relaxation on a rotational basis If the lock down period extends, we can motivate a few parents to serve as additional help in the homes. Home teams have not allowed cleaning staff from outside. So children help home mothers to clean the premises, rooms, toilets etc.

Impact of COVID: A Situational Analysis When COVID-19 cases were on the rise and the lockdown measures were becoming more stringent, a midcourse impact assessment of the families related to RHP was undertaken across all cities. This telephonic survey was administered with 670 families of children under RHP across 10 cities (Hyderabad, Anantapur, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, Patna, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi & Ranchi), to capture the status of their current living conditions, health conditions, access of food, occupational characters, incidences of abuse or violence. The survey also investigated the families’ concerns and lists the expectations from the Government and others to ease their struggles for survival at this time of crisis. The study sought to develop a deeper understanding of the impact of the pandemic on the families of children under Rainbow Homes Program. The major objectives of this situational assessment were; Profiling of families of children who are in Rainbow Homes in terms of gender, age, income, occupational categories and special needs; Identifying the immediate needs of the families in terms of food, shelter and health; physical, 30

Coping with Covid-19

emotional and livelihood challenges as well as incidence of abuse; Mapping the families covered under the emergency relief by Government, Community or any other NGOs; identifying those that are in dire need of relief; Documenting the families’ concerns about themselves during the present crisis and expectations from communities or the Government in the process of their struggles for survival.

Short term impact Most families had some awareness about the disease and were able to recall at least some of the symptoms and methods of spreading (54%), precautionary measures and hygiene (83%). 17% of families didn’t have any information about the disease. Nevertheless, all of them expressed concern about the safety of their families, especially their children, with regards to the outbreak. Regarding the impact on income and living conditions, the average income of these households prior to the lockdown was Rs.7000 per month. In more than half of the households, only one person was the sole earning member, mostly employed in the unorganized sector. 81% of the families reported having lost their means to earn a livelihood because of the lockdown. With no income, families had to rely on their savings. While the lockdown in the country lasted for 68 days, 57.9% of the families mentioned their savings could only last for about 7-14 days while another 21% mentioned that it could last for 30 days. The survey revealed that families struggled to manage their expenses for food, water, access to public toilets, and rent. A total of 43% of families lived in rented accommodation. Of these, 79 percent could not pay rent for the months of March and April 2020; 45% of these families mentioned that there were chances of being evicted. 11% of the sample were living on the streets before the lockdown. But with lockdown, the number of people living on the street drastically dropped to 1%. These families had to find alternate accommodations such as moving back to villages, staying with a friend or relative in the same city or different cities, moving to temporary shelters, etc. 29% of families reported spending money for drinking water, on top of other expenses such as food and rent. Similarly, 12% of families reported using pay-and-use toilets which placed an additional financial burden upon them due to loss of income. In terms of managing expenses, 42% had taken loans from employers, friends or relatives or local money lenders against hefty interest rates; 5.6% sold assets such as jewelry; 5.8% bought food on credit. Regarding access to health and medication 26.5% of families reported having chronic illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, TB, HIV/AIDS, out of which 78% were undergoing some form of medication or treatment before the lockdown. 32% could not afford to continue treatment during lockdown. 13% of the sample reported disability in some form and 28% of the families reported being in an accident (indoors or outdoors) during the lockdown. During the lockdown, about 46% of families reported eating only two meals a day, whereas another 7% reported eating only one meal per day. Roughly, 19% of the families, at the time of the interviews reported complete starvation for 2 days or more until receiving support with food or dry ration. Both central and state governments announced free distribution of provisions through the Public Distribution System (PDS). Various non-government and volunteer groups also stepped up to provide relief. Overall, 31% of families reported receiving cooked food support, whereas 89% of families received dry rations at least once during the lockdown.

Coping with Covid-19

Also, 43% of the families had no identification documents and 64% did not have a ration card. As a result, none of these families were able to receive any support from the PDS.

Long term impact There are considerable direct and indirect long-term impacts of COVID-19 on these families, particularly the children, elderly, immunocompromised and malnourished members of these families. It can be presumed that the lack of proper food and nutrition, loss of income, lack of access to health and medication, increasing mental health related concerns, increasing domestic violence and abuse could only lead to larger long-term complications that could very well set back the “growth” in these families by a few decades. Impact of the pandemic on the economic condition of these families is a major area of concern because the economic downturn greatly affected people from the lower socio-economic stratum, in particular those working in non-group-based work like domestic helpers, daily wage-based workers, etc. Without any sources of income, families who reported having cash in hand for only a few days in the first month of lock down, might have already exhausted their cash supplies. Many of them might have resorted to borrowing money to have cash in hand, thus putting themselves into an increased debt trap. With prolonged lack of employment, an increasing number of families would take up low wage jobs and restrict spending, thus adding to the possibility of malnutrition and compromising on health-related precautions (use of masks, hand washing with soaps, seeking medical advice in case of cough and fever, etc.). During this time of uncertainty and fear, another significant impact is observed with regards to the mental health of families, especially among single mothers, attributed to factors such as, housing instability, chronic stress, heightened domestic violence, etc. Research shows that income loss or job loss is associated with increased depression, anxiety, distress, and low self-esteem and may lead to higher rates of substance abuse and suicide. Therefore, all the 81% of families who could not earn a livelihood during the lockdown or the 62% of families who went into an increased debt trap by borrowing money from others might report higher rates of major negative mental health impacts in the long-run. Incidences of starvation revealed in the survey indicate the grim details of how people living in poverty struggled to feed their families adequately since lockdown and how debilitating it was for households with young children. More than half of the families reported having a maximum of two meals a day and going hungry. More than half of the families did not have ration cards and hence could not access provisions of ration from PDS. With continued income loss, absence of ration card, direct cash transfer from government or food assistance, 88% of families who reported having rations available for a month would cut their meals from thrice to twice a day, from twice to only one meal a day and then skip meals in coming months. Food insecurity, therefore, is a continual source of concern and worry as it heightens malnutrition among children and lack of essential nutrition among adults. Another important impact of the pandemic to be considered is the increased domestic violence among the surveyed families. As incomes ground to a halt and working-class families struggled to make ends meet, the physical and psychological impacts were particularly significant on women family members and children. Many women members complained that with no work, men in their families increased their consumption of alcohol on the pretext of frustration and stress. Women members might have been forced to surrender their savings to male members addicted to alcohol, and in case they denied, they had been victims of violence. In the absence of cash in hand, some of the men might acquire loans from friends and acquaintances to sustain their habit and this would continue. All of these would drive these households into further debt, and the cycle would continue. Overall, there is a need to use this opportunity to improve the socio-economic conditions of these communities on a long-term basis and not just provide relief measures for immediate/short term ends. Both government and civil society organizations need to coordinate and combine their efforts towards this important goal.

Coping with Covid-19

Dealing with External Environment As movement was restricted during lockdown the concern for child care institutions surfaced in all circles. The apex child rights body in India, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), had asked states to sensitize children housed at child care institutions about the importance of social distancing and staying indoors to protect themselves from coronavirus. The NCPCR had directed district child protection units to ensure that donors would not be allowed to go inside the premises of a CCI and a separate counter may be placed near the entrance of the home, where donations can be accepted. “The donors may be requested to provide dry ration/uncooked food material instead of cooked meals,” the NCPCR said. Also, The NCPCR had urged states to release pending funds to CCIs at the earliest. (Source: Business Standard, 30 March 2020). ‘ Later, in early September, there was another notification from the NCPCR, directing district magistrates and collectors of eight states- Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Mizoram, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Meghalaya to ensure that all children living in CCIs return to their families, preferably within a 100-day period. Those who could not be sent back to their families would be considered for adoption or placed in foster homes, it added. The eight states have 1.84 lakh (or nearly 72 per cent) children in CCIs out of a total of 2.56 lakh in the country and the decision was taken while keeping in view the alarming concerns over the safety and security of children residing in these institutions as well. The court is suo moto monitoring the condition and welfare of children placed in care homes across the country during the pandemic. However, the court wondered whether the NCPCR could issue such general directions to the States without considering the education, health, safety of the children, the consent of their parents and their economic situation. Amicus curiae Gaurav Agrawal said the NCPCR direction violated the Juvenile Justice Act of 2015. Besides, he argued that the pandemic would make a child more vulnerable to domestic abuse. His note in the Supreme Court mentions the NCPCR letter to Karnataka in this regard. A Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao asked the NCPCR to respond why such repatriation of the children to their families should not be done on an individual basis. (Source: Indian Express, 26 Sept. 2020) Initially in Hyderabad, there was no pressure from the concerned department to vacate the schools, however the number of children in the homes and number of children who had returned to their families because of this crisis had been communicated to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Later in Anantapur, the line departments had teleconferences with all NGOs in which officials instructed teams to send children to their families provided the families were willing to take them back. The state team negotiated with CWC citing the family situations of 25 children and mentioned that parents were not ready to receive the children. After checking with few parents, they permitted the home teams to allow the children to remain. Even in Hyderabad city, the District Collector’s office asked home teams to collect details of children and the contact numbers of their parents in a prescribed format. A few of the parents received calls from the DC’s office. The officials were checking to see whether these children wanted to be in the homes or whether they had been forced to keep these children in these CCIs. They also wanted to know whether parents were capable of taking care of them or wanted to send the children back to RHP CCIs or other NGO-run CCIs. The CRDS home which had 25 children at that time right had been instructed by the CWC to send all children back to their families as their parents were all single parents. But the parents were not ready to take the children back. The phone numbers of these parents were given to the WCD, so as to verify whether or not parents were

Coping with Covid-19

in a position to receive their children or simply unwilling to take back the children. The authorities also showed cooperation when the state team had sent a request to the DCPU office to spray disinfectant in all the CCIs in Hyderabad, which was approved and the order was released. Within a week, all the homes were disinfected. With enforcement of the lockdown in Patna, there was a general instruction from the Bihar Government to close all educational institutions including shelter homes and hostels of children but there was no official letter to the Patna state office in this regard. So, the existing children continued in homes. However, to be on the safer side, the state team had given a detailed update to the School Education Department about the number of children in different homes in the city along with photographs of children practicing social distancing within homes. Thereafter, there was no pressure from the government to send children back Later in April, after more than one month of the lockdown, the Block Education Office (BEO) called one of the boy’s homes asking about the functioning of the home. He also instructed to send letters to all the BEOs where different homes are located. The BEO also suggested sending a letter to the DM mentioning that children are staying in the home as they do not have families. The SPM, Patna mentioned that it was decided to meet BEOs personally to convince them about the children’s family situation and the precautionary measures being taken in all the homes. Again, a call was received from the Block Office to send a letter with an explanation as to why these children were being kept in the homes, the type of care being provided to them, the precautions and social distancing practiced, etc. Since the notification from the District Magistrate (DM) office was to send all children to their families, the Block Officer suggested calling DM. The DM gave instructions on how to keep children in the home, how to follow social distancing norms of not keeping more than 5 children in one room. The DM also promised to open more rooms, if required, and informed that officials will inspect all the homes. In Ranchi, just after the imposition of the lockdown, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) office started sending orders to send the children to their parents and close the homes. Even some of the parents also wanted to take their children back but it did not seem ethical to send the children back as it would have made them more vulnerable. For this reason, it was decided not to send the children back. Hence, the state team kept delaying the adherence of the SSA order and initiated attempts to revoke the order. They met the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Ranchi and narrated the situation along with a written petition. Finally, with much persuasion, the DC was convinced and the state office got a written order to keep the children in homes provided the parents were not in a position to provide a protected environment to the children. Besides, the DC office reminded us to adhere to the Government guidelines. Later, the DC office also provided masks and sanitizers for the children and caregivers. After the letter came from DC, the SSA stopped asking to vacate the homes but instructed the teams not to bring any other children back to the homes. “We got immense support from the Deputy Commissioner’s office and the letter from DC proved to be a shot in the arm to deal with the pressures to release the children”- SPM, Ranchi The authorities in Pune were very cooperative during the lockdown. One good thing was that all the homes got additional rooms from Shiksha Mandal to maintain decongestion in homes. The Social Welfare department although sent notifications to buy masks, sanitizers, etc. for the children in the homes but did not force us to send back the children to their families, mentioned the SPM, Pune. In order to check the adherence of guidelines, social workers from the PMC used to visit the city homes randomly to review functioning, take videos and shared the same with the state team and asked to share reports on the precautionary measures taken by us.

Coping with Covid-19

Another piece of evidence of their cooperation was visible when the written recommendation of the PMC Commissioner went to the department, recommending going ahead with the signed MOU and clearing the pending bills immediately along with standing instruction to clear bills on a monthly basis. So, when the PMC was going through a financial crunch and were auctioning their old assets, the State office received the long due payment of Rs.52 lakhs. In Chennai, with the onset of the pandemic, the state government of Tamil Nadu instructed all Child Care Institutions to send as many children as possible back to their families, as a preventive measure. This was a setback as it could potentially risk the safety of the children if sent back to families in vulnerable situations. A lot of advocacy efforts were made with the District Child Protection Unit and officials at the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan to prevent this. Children at high risk of vulnerability were retained back at the homes through these efforts but more than 65 percent of the children were sent back to their families. State officials listed the contacts of parents and contacted those parents to instruct to take back their children from the homes. In Delhi, the authorities were much more vigilant. There were regular visits of CWC and DCPU officials in the homes, besides video calls by them to interact with children for close monitoring of activities. Every day they interacted with 15 children to ask about hygiene and other practices. The state team had been sending daily updates about the status of children and the precautionary measures taken in all homes. Apart from this, the CWC was continuously making video calls to home staff members to get updates or to provide support and spoke to children advising them not to go out but to obey all safety rules. Sending daily updates added to the workload of home teams who were already working at half strength when non-resident staff were not able to contribute. In Bengaluru, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), the regulatory authority for CCIs, was concerned about the status of children in homes during the lockdown. The CWC had asked for a written justification for keeping children in the homes and details of what efforts had been taken by RHP to repatriate children with families during COVID crisis. The state office’s response was marked to the DCPO and were advised to directly connect with DCPO for any further permission. Later, in one of the girl’s homes, the CWC sent a notice asking to send children to their parents, if parents were coming to take back children. The home team ensured that none of the children were forcefully retained in the home, but that they were there with their parent’s consent and sent a letter to CWC explaining the same. The CWC had been talking to the home team and looking at whether children were being forced to stay in homes, whether parents gave consent or not and whether they were genuinely in touch with their parents on a regular basis. They also conducted a video conference with ANC home to check the functioning of the home. The state team also approached the CWC for movement passes for home staff referring to a similar order from CWC Delhi. The officials organized a meeting on this and assured support in this regard. The homes in Kolkata did not face any pressure from the authorities to send the children back to parents but there was a suggestion from their end to release the children whose parents were willing to take them back. The Futures Programme Coordinator of Kolkata, mentioned that District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) in fact, organized an online orientation for the staff of CCIs on how to take care of the children in these centres, which was very helpful in enhancing the technical knowledge about Covid-19 among caregivers.

Coping with Covid-19

Extending support to Young Adults Young adults (YA) are the children who have graduated from Rainbow Home or Snehghars after attaining the age of 18 years. Largely, these children are either pursuing their further studies or are attached to different business entities honing their employment skills with support from RHP. Whereas some of them have found good jobs and are well established. They are in close contact with the state team through the Futures Programme team. The Covid-19 pandemic has had an adverse effect on their lives. Most of the companies with which they were attached were not in a position to support them during the prolonged lockdown situation. As a result, they had to fend for themselves. During this period, a significant number of YAs rejoined the CCIs in their home cities to take care of the younger children. Some of them went back to their families. For instance, in Hyderabad most YAs were with their families while some were staying in the homes; in Kolkata, YAs who stayed in hostels or group living centres were with their families. YAs without parents who were in group living centres or other arrangements came to Loreto, where extra rooms were provided to them. In Chennai, only 3 YAs were staying in homes, the rest were safe in their families. The case was similar in all cities. But, the RHP effort was not limited to this. Each city had made separate interventions to support the YAs. In Patna, an awareness program was conducted with YAs and the ones staying outside the homes were given Dettol and sanitizers, and were regularly contacted by social mobilisers through phone calls. Bengaluru organized laptops for YAs in GL or hostels so that they can continue online classes. In Chennai, 169 YAs were supported by an APPI grant. In Delhi, ration kits and cash support were given to YAs living outside. 2 girls who were staying in a rented accommodation could not pay rent and hence they were called to stay at Unnati. It was planned that if a call from any YA comes, he/she can be called to stay in the hall of PGS with one home mother to be with the YA.

Reaching out to parents, and the homeless and impoverished population The worst hit community because of lockdown were slum dwellers, homeless and migrant labourers because they did not have any surplus funds to fall back upon. The prolonged lockdown wiped away all the savings and they had no opportunity to earn further. The tall claims made by the administration all across the country did not prove to be true for a large section of these communities. Some of these families were of the opinion that “we will not die of Corona because before that we will die of starvation”. The children in the Rainbow Homes come from the same communities so the concern for them was quite genuine on the part of RHP. Therefore, once the food security of homes was ensured the team started making strategies to reach out to the parents whose children were either enrolled or present in the home and other badly affected populations around the home. The strategy was to address the issue at both the national as well as at the city levels. The national team mobilized resources to provide dry rations to the parents of our children as well as to other marginal communities around the home. State teams took up the responsibility of distributing the ration packets to the needy families and also supporting these families through local resources. Similar but city specific plans were prepared and implemented by the state teams. All state teams decided to provide essential ration items to the parents of the home children in their respective city homes. Accordingly, ration kits including cereals, pulses, oil, salt and some toiletries were prepared. But this was not easy as movement was totally restricted and issuance of passes from local administration channels was tough to avail. Hence, different strategies were adopted by the state teams. The Hyderabad team mapped the locations of the parents’ homes and the time it would take to reach there. Separate means were planned to reach 36

Coping with Covid-19

out to these families. In Patna, almost 90% of the ration kits were distributed from the homes where parents came to collect. Parents came by cycle, rikshaw, carts etc. to collect the kits. For the remaining families, a combined team of all homes was constituted and the kits were delivered to the doorstep of the parents. The Ranchi team also adopted a similar strategy and delivered the kits to parents with prior planning. In Chennai, the state team ensured the procurement of grocery items through local vendors that were packed at each home and distributed to the families. In Delhi, the packets were made in Aman Ghar and dispatched through volunteers. Every packet consisted of 5 kg rice, 5 kg atta, 2 kg pulse, 1 litre oil, 1kg salt, 1 soap and 1 detergent. Home teams were not involved in distribution. Besides, 100 parents were identified who needed support, of which 30 parents had bank accounts so the Emergency team provided the dry ration as well as some cash relief. The Bengaluru team had planned to reach 300 families of which 190 families were from direct and partner homes. The children and residential staff were involved including some identified volunteers as well as non-residential staff to pack the ration kits across the homes. Orientation about packing with all hygiene practices was given to all of them. One family member in identified areas was chosen as the point of contact in the respective community who called other families to collect their kits on the day of distribution. All the parents received ration at least twice during the two months of complete lockdown, which was a great support to them. One of the parents in Pune after receiving the kit mentioned that “bahut dinon baad aaj pura khana mila hai” (Today after so many days I have got a full meal to eat). Many others got emotional and called back to thank the team, said the then SPM of Pune. The Kolkata team faced immense problems in distribution of ration kits as the movement of vehicles were totally restricted hence, they took support of Bhumi volunteers and also took Loreto vans to distribute the kits to most of the parents. For the few who were residing far away, they were reached through vendors. Apart from supporting the parents, the state teams mobilized local resources both in cash as well as in kind, in the form of food items in order to help other needy families land groups like pavement dwellers and migrants. In the initial stage, the home team members were motivated to cook food for the homeless families around the homes. This continued for quite some time, however, the duration varied in different cities. In Patna, 1530 cooked meals were distributed by 15th April, and 81 ration kits were received from local contributions (including 5 kg rice, 5 kg atta, 1 kg dal, 1 litre oil, 2 kg potato, spices, 4 packets of biscuits and a few toffees) were distributed to homeless communities. One police station in Patna city provided 100 food packets for 2 months to distribute to pavement dwellers. Besides this, 70 cartons of Britannia biscuits were distributed to homeless families through the Hausla volunteers. In Ranchi, the surplus groceries, such as potatoes, onion, soya chunks, etc. were distributed to the homeless people staying near the home. The Chennai team distributed 1600 packets till there was a notification from the state govt that no volunteers should distribute cooked food or dry rations and everything should go to the officials directly. Pune, reached out to people in 10 identified hotspots and served 800 packets to homeless communities everyday along with drinking water to about 150 families. The support was not extensive but helped these families overcome their worries of feeding their families during this distress time. Also, these gestures went a long way towards strengthening the bonds between parents and home teams.

Coping with Covid-19

CHAPTER

Achievements so far

Coping with Covid-19

hile combating this crisis, the proactive measures taken by the management team and the rigor of implementation shown by team members resulted in several accomplishments at the state as well as the home level. These accomplishments brought in several key learnings for the organization. Some of these are very obvious whereas some are subtle that need to be seen in perspective. One of the prime achievements was to keep about 4000 children protected from the risk of infection during this worldwide crisis. This becomes more significant because the children are from different backgrounds amongst the most vulnerable families. Except for some stray incidents of fever and cough none of the children were infected. This was because the Covid-19 protocols were followed in letter and spirit in all homes and offices. In view of protecting our children from infection, the guidelines of Covid-19 did not permit nonresidential staff members to contribute towards management of homes and therefore the entire responsibility of internal management had come to rest upon the residential caregivers. Although the proportion of these caregivers was about half of the total strength, they still managed the homes very efficiently. Most of the residential staff members stayed in the home for more than four months. This was a great achievement and showcased the sincerity and dedication of the caregivers during this crisis. The Rainbow Homes Programme is equally concerned about the families of children in Homes. So, when these families were struggling to feed themselves during the lockdown time, having spent all their savings with no earning opportunity, the Rainbow Homes Programme arranged for dry rations for at least two months. Besides this, it also provided other pavement dweller families around our homes cooked meals and dry rations. Bringing smiles to their faces with this meagre support organized through instant resource mobilization was a significant achievement of the organization. Most of the Homes and Snehghars operate in functioning government schools which themselves do not have abundant infrastructure facilities. In these spaces, maintaining appropriate physical distance between children and arranging quarantine rooms was a big challenge. But, the relentless effort of the state and home teams resulted in the opening up of additional spaces for the children. Each home was able to acquire additional rooms and spaces at the behest of the school authorities and local administration which is an accomplishment that boosted the confidence of all team members.

Resource Mobilization Even in normal circumstances, resource mobilization is a tough task, particularly when the entire population is reeling from a global crisis. In spite of this, the organization was able to mobilize resources at this time for all its additional expenses. One of the national team members opined that, “this crisis was totally unexpected; hence, we had not anticipated the types of expenses we would have to incur but fortunately, we had sensed this could happen and ensured that there was sufficient supply of essential items for at least two months in each Home.” As the crisis continued, RFI had to address 42

Coping with Covid-19

several other needs such as helping the families of the children, arranging for the quarantine of children coming back to home, engaging additional supporting hands in Homes, ensuring the digital communication equipment for online classes of children and orienting people engaged in caregiving in new practices and requirements. These requirements were most essential and therefore the national team had to review the financial status and tailor it according to the immediate needs. The budget revision was done at a broader level including the different units as well as the state teams. The revision helped meet several heads of expenditure but not all of them. Hence, there was an immediate need to look for additional grants. The first attempt was to reach out to the existing donors for support. Fortunately, all the donors were willing to support the program, depending on their capacity, but the proposals had to be given in the way that suited their policy. The only relaxation they provided was that they skipped due-diligence exercises as all the donors had been associated with RHP in the past and were well versed with the systems and procedures of the program. Taking it as a big relief, the national team worked day and night to prepare proposals, coordinate with the donors and disburse funds to homes as per the requirements. This resulted into undertaking several initiatives such as supporting the parents of our children, providing ration and cooked food to other impoverished families around the Homes, sourcing equipment for online education and cocurricular activities for children in the homes, etc. Fund mobilization efforts were carried out at the state level as well. Some of the successful efforts undertaken at the state level are presented in the box below.

Hyderabad Rs.30,000 was raised with the help of the posters made by the National team. Provision supports were also received which are going to homes. In Anantapur, the DPOs proposed giving 10 kg of rice and 1 kg of dal to every child in the CCI. The DPO in Hyderabad on the other hand proposed to provide cooked food. In Bible house, Deloitte promised to support the home for 3 months, from April to July, and requested us to send the line items and their costings required for these 3 months Mr. Ashok Jain had shown interest to support with grants. Received 203 boxes of Britannia biscuit WCD-DCPU office distributed sanitary napkins for all the girls of rainbow homes for 2 months. Support with one month’s dry ration worth Rs. 3,75,000 given by Cognizant for 16 homes Pustakar, an organization that helps enhance English reading skills among children in govt. schools, has given 2 baskets of English reading books in all homes. Pratham has come forward by offering 45 days of English course (with 2 hours every day). Received donation for Lunch/ Dinner for all children and staff of all the cities. The money amounts to Rs 2.11 lakh for 3094 children and staff.

Coping with Covid-19

Patna One donor provided 500 kgs of potatoes and onions for homes. Some in-kind donations by Paras Hospital and some media houses. Received 255 boxes of Britannia biscuit Rs. 50000 received including cash and kind donations A donation of 1 lakh received from Sri Ashok Chaudhri, MLC, Bihar. 2 children of each home selected to get the grant for continuing education. Chennai Received 108 Britannia biscuit boxes. Raised Rs. 88000 from which rations are to be procured to restock the homes. Hexaware is ready with 30 laptops/computers to distribute to the homes. Raised Rs. 20,000 worth of provisions from Bhoomi and got approval from 600 kg of rice from one of the local Corporators to provide cooked meals for homeless communities. “Donating Rs. 201 to one child campaign” started to raise funds. Churches, institutions are targeted for fundraising. Ranchi Received cash donation of Rs. 17000. Kolkata Received Britannia biscuits of 250 boxes Donations received from Loretto college (50 kg of rice, 45 kg of wheat, potatoes etc.) which was shared with the families. Delhi Rs. 30000 received for Unnati girls in Delhi through online transfer Bengaluru Tally confirmed support of Rs. 2 lakh including toiletries support, in addition to regular support for all the homes. Bangalore homes had sufficient toiletries and do not need anymore.

Coping with Covid-19

The organizational achievements led to enormous learnings at the organizational as well as personal level that was expressed in different words during formal and informal interactions with the State heads along with the Managers, Mothers and children in the homes. (Separate document, ‘Voices of Children and Snehsaathis’ has been compiled to understand the pandemic from their perspective) All the decisions, strategic and programmatic, were taken in meetings of national as well as state teams, which were organized regularly. These meetings helped not only in taking appropriate and need-based decisions but also promoted sharing among the states for practical solutions and above all it generated a sense of togetherness and withering away the fear of Corona from everyone’s minds. This turned out to be key learning: if we are together, we can cross the bridge safely. Another common learning that came from all corners was that the lockdown experience developed the level of confidence of self as well as on the capabilities of the children and team members. The role of experts who came in to provide authentic information about Covid-19 and the appropriate measures was immense in coping with the crisis. RHP was able to find such health care professionals who were genuinely interested in helping the children escape the crisis. Through online training workshops and orientation, they reached out to each caregiver in every home to clarify their doubts and the prevailing myths related to the Covid-19. This was also a significant achievement because these interactions provided the caregivers with the courage to dispense their duties fearlessly with suggested precautions that resulted into no positive cases in any of the Homes barring a few stray incidents.

Coping with Covid-19

CHAPTER

Conclusion & Way forward

he organizational and personal learning from this experience paves the way for further interventions. There was a general opinion among SPMs that in order to contribute to promoting a sustainable community empowerment process, programs like RHP should focus its interventions on advocacy aspects, along with developing replicable and scalable models on the ground to create evidence of success. These interventions can be segregated in two categories in terms of its implementation. Some need to be undertaken immediately to utilize the momentum whereas some should be taken up with proper planning.

Immediate Initiatives With almost one year of practice the children and snehsaathis are now used to the new personal hygiene practices. Therefore, it is easier to institutionalize these systems in Homes/ Snehghars for ensuring prevention of any viral infections. Taking into consideration the experience of Covid-19, there is a need to revisit the emergency protocols for homes and related training modules and other materials. The revised materials will cover the preparations to be made for prevention of viral infection and dealing with the lockdown situations as well. The fund mobilization drives at the national as well as state levels generated a healthy pool of donors who are interested and capable of supporting the initiatives of the Rainbow homes Programme. Hence, there is a need to categorize these individuals or organizations based on their area of interest and maintain this database. They need to be updated about the program and its achievements on a regular basis. The number of volunteers supporting the organization has increased significantly during the pandemic, which needs to be further strengthened through being in touch with them and finding ways to showcase their contributions. Similar to the donors, this network of volunteers would also be useful in normal situations. There is scope to negotiate with school authorities for the allotment of the additional spaces for each home. Although with the opening of schools, they would require more space if the physical distance has to be maintained. Nevertheless, in some of the schools it would be feasible for the authorities to allot this additional space.

Gradual Initiatives The situation analysis survey opened up the fact that there are a good number of children’s families who do not have access to basic entitlements like ration cards, bank accounts, Aadhar cards, Health Insurance cards (Aayushmaan Bharat) or BPL cards. On this account, these families are not able to get the benefits of different government schemes. The organization should gradually start supporting these families to get the entitlements which will ease their life to a great extent.

Coping with Covid-19

Most other organizations had emergency funds which helped them manage during this difficult time, but Covid-19 has taught us that there could be a need for support for longer periods requiring larger amounts. Hence, the provision of a large emergency fund at the organizational level needs to be considered. The pandemic has prompted the organizations to acquire the skills of digital communication turning interactions into a virtual one. This not only reduces the cost of organizing these meetings but also saves time and enhances the reach because it provides the opportunity to bring larger groups together in these meetings. Hence, RHP looks forward to equipping every office and home with robust digital facilities. It would have budget implications but the management is determined to include this component in future proposals and also hopeful that the donors would agree to support this crucial initiative. According to the results of a situation analysis study, most of the surveyors got a sense of the extent of domestic violence taking place in the majority of families. It calls for the need for creating awareness that this is ‘actually not acceptable’ and that the families need to report such incidents to get justice. The need is to track the victims of domestic violence and put in place appropriate legal support systems to act upon receiving information of domestic violence. This lockdown surfaced some shortcomings towards planning for fallback arrangements for the Young Adults (YAs). Most of the YAs had just joined their respective companies when the lockdown forced their employers to let them go. Eventually, the concerned state teams and Homes made temporary living arrangements at their request. In view of this situation, RHP has decided to create in-built systems to ensure safe living spaces for all YAs in case of any future emergencies. The dedication of Snehsaathis was the key factor that helped the organization get through this crisis, however, the contribution of volunteers, professionals, local donors, student groups cannot be ignored. These networks were of immense help in mobilizing equipment, essential commodities, undertaking rapid studies, organizing donations, etc. Hence, RHP would work on further strengthening these networks and also striving to bring in more such networks in its fold. The organization with its limited resources has been able to successfully cope with this catastrophe despite being multilocational and dealing with the most marginalized children. The systems adopted by RFI in this crisis, for example, collective decision making, location-wise strategy, intense sharing of challenges and seeking of solutions from other locations facing similar challenge, roping in of qualified and down-to-earth experts and volunteers, generating quick evidence for analysis of ground realities, etc. are worth documenting and disseminating as it can be adopted by the government or CSO run CCIs. These can be used in crisis management for other programmes as well. Now that the storm of Covid-19 is being better understood and addressed, this is the time to look back and enumerate the learning that came through both achievements as well as shortcomings. The need is to use the learning in institutionalizing the same through revisiting the strategies and improvising on the existing systems and procedures within the organization in order to deal with any other crisis in the time ahead.

Coping with Covid-19

Coping with COVID: Responses and Interventions by Rainbow Home Program during COVID-19 pandemic

Articles inside

Resource Mobilization

Administrative support

Tracking of children with families

Orientation and IEC materials

Abbreviations

Dealing with External Environment

Self-Preparations