Changing lives, one stitch at a time

The deadly pandemic brought life to a standstill for many. While some were extremely fortunate to have a roof on their head and the company of their loved ones, there are some who had to fight for survival with each passing day. The haplessness of these communities was given the attention it deserved by many social media initiatives and NGOs.

A large number of tailors lost their livelihood in the pandemic. An initiative called Ek Chadar Meri Bhi is helping generate income for them.

The program urges you to donate lightly used bed sheets to these tailors who will turn them into shopping bags which will also reduce carbon footprint. These bags will be sold to stores and will be available at a very nominal cost.

Nidhi Sati, who donated a chadar for the project, says, “We all know how difficult it had become for these daily wage workers to survive during the pandemic. The roadside tailors and even the tailors at boutiques were rendered unemployed. Ek Chadar is an initiative for these tailors. With basic equipment, these people can earn from home. One double bedsheet can easily produce 20 bags.”

She further adds, “I encouraged all my friends, neighbours and colleagues to pitch for this project. A friend of mine who owns a grocery store ordered about 150 bags today itself. People are coming forward to buy in bulk which is a great start.”

Charanjeet Dhiman, project convenor, Anything Will Do NGO, that launched this initiative says, “As human beings, it’s our responsibility to help the most vulnerable amongst us in times of need. We will do everything in our capacity to help them.”

Shobha, a karigar from Faridabad, says, “With this project, I earn a daily wage of Rs 500-600 which helps me buy my groceries and milk for my family. I learnt stitching as a kid and it has helped me wade through these times.”

Dhiman has also been instrumental in feeding needy kids across India. He says, “With many kids going without the daily intake of milk, we decided to start the Milky Way project. We associated with milk booths that supplied milk to any needy person who came asking for it. So, any poor kid who came to get milk was given half a litre packet. We locked in some money with the booth well in advance so that the project could run smoothly. To maintain transparency, we encouraged the booth manager to click a picture with the person.”

With the project, Anything Will Do fed milk to thousands of small children across India during the lockdown.