Twenty-five years old Asha Devi from Siraha district was worried about feeding her six months old baby. Because of the lockdown, her husband, who worked as a daily wage labourer, lost the means to feed the family. With the low food supply, she could not properly breastfeed her baby. It was heartbreaking for the parents to hear their baby cry out of hunger as the baby could not feel fully satisfied.
Her husband Ananda Ram shared that even before the lockdown, life was not easy for the six-membered family with two children. As a porter, he used to carry ply boards and could hardly meet the basic needs of the family. When the country went to nationwide lockdown on 24th March, the family faced financial difficulty as he lost his work and left the family without enough food to eat.
Asha Devi was worried that they would die from hunger before the virus gets them. She received information to maintain cleanliness and personal hygiene during the pandemic, but she did not have money to buy detergent to clean her baby's dirty clothes. She was also worried that they might get sick due to uncleanliness.
Meanwhile, she got notified by the municipality to register her name for relief distribution as WOREC was collecting data of pregnant women, lactating mother and women with disability. She recorded her name for the relief package.
On 3rd May she received 25 kg rice, 1 kg grams, 1.5 kg lentil, 1 kg salt, 1-litre cooking oil, soap, surf and 2 meters of cotton cloth from Ward Chairperson Ishwor Bahadur Basnet.
She thanked WOREC for being able to have nutritious food in the very time of need. Now her baby is healthy and getting enough breastmilk. She is now excited to be able to hold her baby on the arms wrapping on the clean piece of cloth. Even more, the family has the means to clean the baby's cloth to prevent her from being ill. With the soap, they can wash their hands to keep the virus away.