Photo credit: Aide et Action
Since the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis in India, Aide et Action has been supporting migrant workers who are particularly vulnerable. After emergency food aid and advocacy work to defend their rights, our teams are now proposing to support them on a daily basis by transforming 19 of our vocational training centres into resource and information centres.
In order to provide the best possible support to migrant workers who have found themselves in a particularly difficult situation due to the confinement measures decreed in India, Aide et Action has decided to convert 19 of its iLEAD vocational training centres into resource and information centres. These centers are meant to facilitate access to services that can be useful and beneficial to them. "These 19 centres are located in urban and semi-urban areas where there is a significant flow of migrant workers, says Ravi Pratap Singh, Regional Director - Aide et Action South Asia. We hope to reach this population through our well-established network of over 235,000 marginalised youth trained through our iLEAD programme and through other NGO network groups.
Listening, advising and guiding
" In addition to raising awareness of COVID-19 security measures, the centres will provide immediate assistance to migrant workers and link them to government assistance services for further support. They will also provide links to NGOs or civil society organizations that can assist them. On-site psycho-social counselling will be provided as well as advice on how to facilitate safe travel. The centres will also raise awareness of the different livelihood opportunities that exist in the place of migration or in the villages of origin "adds Ravi.
These spaces will benefit from the technical support of the General Information and Resource Centre on Migration, Aide et Action's thematic unit specialized in these issues. To fight the pandemic, our iLEAD teams have already provided emergency support to 95,000 affected people and distributed 125,000 sewn-on protective masks as part of our vocational training program in India and Sri Lanka.
