PHIA’s Intervention:

The need for immediate relief is crucial and must be undertaken at a greater pace and on a larger scale. PHIA Foundation is responding to support the affected communities Phia Foundation has joined hands with the Department of Labour, Employment & Training, Govt. of Jharkhand to establish and manage the COVID-19 Response Team (Control Room at State Secretariat, Nepal House).

When the nationwide lockdown was announced, Gopal Handsa and 60 other seasonal migrant labourers from Dumka district of Jharkhand were left stranded in Goa. As fishing related activities stopped so did their income and livelihood. When a friend from Gopal’s village informed him about the COVID-19 migrant response helpline number, he desperately called hoping for some help – once on 13th April and again on 18th April. They were barely making ends meet and survived on their meagre collective ration. There was a sense of hopelessness in the air. But soon enough the COVID-19 response team at Ranchi office forwarded their case on an emergency basis to the Humanitarian Relief Society, a voluntary organization based in Goa. Within hours the Humanitarian Relief Society reached out to them with food supplies, drinking water, masks, sanitizers and soaps. The organization also began extending help to many more migrant laborers stranded in Gumla, Goa, even taking care of any medical aid required by the group.

A helpline that is a lifeline for migrants

A helpline that is a lifeline for migrants

A helpline for Indian migrant workers returning home during the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into an 'embassy for migrants', offering support for low-income workers facing unsafe or unfair working conditions. Ritu Bharadwaj says the model has the potential to expand...

Triumphant Start To 2021

Triumphant Start To 2021

24 girls were airlifted and rescued from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu to Jharkhand on 15th Dec 2020. They approached the State Migrant Control Room under Department of Labour, Employment and Training, Government of Jharkhand to come back to Jharkhand. The girls from West...

Stranded In Karnataka: A Service Worker’s Story

Stranded In Karnataka: A Service Worker’s Story

Once the Control Room was set up by the Jharkhand government hundreds of calls started coming in each day in search of some form of relief. Surendra Yadav a native of Kubri village in Giridih District of Jharkhand was among the many people who had reached out to the...

A Dream Come True

A Dream Come True

At the Jharkhand Control Room, we have been counselling distressed migrant workers, students and other stranded people every day since we set up the helpline centre in April. So many people with so many different stories but all of them affected by one event- The Lockdown.

Sunil Minj Oraon – The Search For A Better Life

Sunil Minj Oraon – The Search For A Better Life

Sunil Minj Oraon an ambitious young man from Rolzara Village in Ormanjhi, Ranchi is a permanent resident of the State of Jharkhand. He grew up in relative poverty but was determined to work hard and achieve a level of financial stability to provide for himself and his family. Mr.

Across The Border- Stories Of Stranded Migrants From Bhutan

Across The Border- Stories Of Stranded Migrants From Bhutan

India has been suffering from the issues of migration for a very long time, and this pandemic has worsened it the most. The country had been in total lockdown due to the novel coronavirus, and the migrant workers were desperately waiting to go back home.