Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust (MHT) works to improve low-income families’ living by organising and empowering women. During the Covid-19 lockdown, MHT conducted a large program, offering food packages and cash transfers to support poor women and their families in the slums of Ranchi, Jharkhand. When Covid-19 lockdowns were released, MHT piloted a program to help families move from survival mode to recovery and resilience through access to public social security schemes. These schemes, which are many but difficult to access, are important to help poor families rebuild a sustainable livelihood after the Covid-19 crisis.
Following the positive outcomes of the pilot, Dalyan has entered a partnership with MHT for five years to scale the social security scheme program to 31 slum communities in Ranchi. The aim is to improve the economic situation of over 3000 women and their families and contribute to financial resilience and wellbeing by helping women and their families access relevant social security and livelihood-support schemes. Important elements of the program are capacity building of female community workers on social security scheme provision, and measures to improve the sustainability of the intervention.
www.mahilahousingtrust.org