The worldwide outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic has left the world in a face of on an unprecedented crisis. Due to the enforced national lock down, the lives of thousands of daily wage and migrant workers along with their families are crumbling down.
In these times of uncertainty, we believe that it is our duty, as a committed organization, to support them, to ensure that the relief measures trickles down to the grassroots, for the vulnerable communities, who need it the most.
It takes some time to build a new habit and when it’s about our benefices, our organization head up into digital world. By changing our approach to work with them through digital networks.
Yes I Can Foundation’s various programs are on the field where digital access is being challenging as our beneficiaries includes 6 year from orphanage students to 93 years old staying with an old age home.
However Yes I Can team decided as ‘Show Must Go On’ and not only re-looked at the programs but also added up new programs to benefit our students during this stressful situation.
Yes I Can Foundation closely works with transgender community in their skills development and livelihood opportunities. When it comes to relief work, the first set of beneficiaries came to our mind was our transgender students.
As majority of them earn their incomes through marriages and functions which are not taking place due to restrictions.
Through relief work, foundation provided them with the basic essential needs and by distributing grocery kits. Keeping in mind that they are also our family and family is the only one who helps in hard times. The entire field relief work was carried dawn by our trans-gender students’ teams on the field to ensure that our grocery kits are reaching to their entire team.
Every year foundation conducts this festival known as ‘Mango’ festival where our team members visit to our project sites and offer Amaras-Puri to our beneficiaries. Beneficiaries always wait for this festival as majority of them comes from a background where there is lack of opportunities to get mangoes even during the season.
Lockdown did not stop us and foundation went ahead with the program where through virtually foundation connected with a Farmer who us using technology to supply mangoes and winner of Krishi Ratna Award too. Yes Can Team successfully hosted this festival and reached to more than 100 beneficiaries during lockdown. Yes I Can team thank Innerwheel club of New Bombay seaside for their support.
Through this project specially abled children and youth are guided to showcase their abilities and during lockdown two major programs undertaken by the organization through virtual mode are
1- Life skills coaching to specially abled youth and children
2- Digital literacy education to specially abled youth and children
Every year through ‘Back to school Campaign’ Yes I Can team reaches out to tribal children in the village in Raigad district known as Anandwadi.
This year with the need assessment it has been observed that children require COVID kits to start their ‘New Normal’ and thus 50 tribal children were involved in this program where they were benefited by COVID kits including hand wash/ sanitizer/ mask and vitamin C chewing tablets.
Yes I Can Foundation’s primarily objective is to encourage ‘Volunteering’ by giving ‘Time’ to those who are in need for our projects. During the lockdown when site visit was a challenge, we introduced a campaign ‘My e-time for them’ through which worksheets on English and personality development were sent to our students through smart phones to engage them effectively.
As schools are closed and making it difficult for village children to take up online coaching. Yes I Can team introduced My e-time for them where with the help from volunteers attractive worksheets are sent to village children as well as at orphanages for value education. This helped them to learn different concepts with effective utilization of time.
Our skills development program for girls – ‘Saksham’ where geriatric skills training with our partner organization SNEHA is being conducted is continued with online mode and more than 20 girls were part of this training. This training will enable girls to seek jobs in health sector and specially to work with senior citizens in post COVID world as professional caretakers.
During the lockdown period it has observed that most of the children/ youth have adopted to new style of getting into virtual mode but what about specially abled children, foundation realized that something needs to be done for them too as we talk about inclusive society.
Through Rangsharda – a successful virtual event where our 26 specially abled students performed on the virtual platform and won hearts of millions of audience.
The journey of Rangsharda has been memorable for the foundation as it started with grooming children to boost their confidence to perform.
Yes I Can team thank Inner wheel Club of Bombay Airport for their support for Rangsharda.
During lockdown period senior citizens in old age home had gone through a very tough time since they miss meeting people and interactions with community volunteers. Technology solved this problem where Yes I Can team and Team Spreading Smiles joined hands where tablet is provided to our old age home in khar west –Mumbai where we undertake regular activities and volunteers recorded their videos to engage senior citizens in effective ways.
Yes I Can Foundation is closely working with famers children to groom them in various aspects through project Ekalavya – series of online sessions are planned which includes trainings related to employment skills so sharpen their minds and making them confident in ‘New Normal’
As we keep talking about ‘New Normal’ and ‘AtmaNirbhar’, at Yes I Can every attempt has been made to make our beneficiaries to be confidant to face the post COVID world.
Yes I Can team always welcomes new volunteers, student interns and to join our team write to neha.yesicanfoundation@gmail.com or visit our website and fill our volunteer registration form https://yesicanfoundation.in/volunteers-corner/