Situated on the Diguru river, Sonapur is a resort town about 20 kilometres from Guwahati in Assam. Surrounded by mountains and lush valleys, it seems like life here would be idyllic. For some it definitely may be, but for three recently orphaned sisters living mostly off the grid, life turned into a nightmare for them. 

Still grieving over the loss of their parents, they were unprepared, both mentally and financially, to deal with the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdown. With no access to food or other basic necessities, their situation soon became desperate. With news outlets covering the plights of people most affected by the lockdown, a journalist came across the sisters and reported on their predicament in the local news.

Fortunately their story caught the eye of the staff at Akshaya Patra’s Centralised Kitchen in Guwahati, who reached out to local law enforcement to get the exact location at which the sisters could be found. Then in the true spirit of community, of coming together and standing for each other in a crisis, the kitchen staff coordinated with the police and local youth to deliver Essential Grocery Kits to the girls. To quote one volunteer who delivered food relief kits to the sisters, “It feels so good to experience those young girls’ sigh of relief when they received the groceries.”