NGO’s project to support families, orphans affected by Covid concludes

Among those who had gathered on Monday, a majority were single women who lost their husbands during the pandemic. One by one, the women conveyed gratitude to the NGO for its support.

Jyoti Ravindra Sonawale, a mother of three, has started a tiffin service. She used to be a homemaker and hadn’t worked outside before. However, after losing her husband to the pandemic, she encountered many challenges to ensure the survival of her children.

“Initially, we never worked. However, after losing the family’s breadwinner, we had to find work to support our children. Life became even more challenging after losing my husband, who was an auto driver,” said Sonawale.

“Government policies proved ineffective during the pandemic, they should have at least taken care of the children’s education,” she added.

Vishakha Samadhan Bansode, another single mother of two, works as a patient care provider in various homes in Pune. As long as her husband was there, paying rent was not an issue. However, after his death, she was compelled to leave the rented house with her children. “Sathi covered my house rent, my children’s education fees, and assisted me in launching my business of selling fancy items with a pull cart,” she said.