Since The Lockdown Began, This Group Of Cyclists Have Been Feeding The Homeless In Manipur

When the lockdown was announced in March, cyclist Philem Rohan Singh from Manipur was on his way Delhi to Japan as part of a campaign by the Paralympic Committee of India with a theme of 'inclusion dignity and respect.

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But mid-way he had to stop his trip in Kolkata and fly back to his home state due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Philem who was already involved in charity and humanitarian works got his friends together and began distributing food items to people who have been left with no resources due to the lockdown.

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That is how the team came across some 30 homeless people who have been living the main market of state capital Imphal.

"Since late March, we have been providing them food, at least one meal a day for the homeless. But now since the lockdown has been intensified and there is the fear of community transmission of COVID-19, we are struggling to reach them every day," he said.

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Since March Philem and his friends have spent more than Rs 3 lakh for feeding the poor. While some of the money comes from small donations, the majority is raised by the activists themselves selling their campaign t-shirts.

"After I reached out to many politicians and ministers, they have made some contributions in their individual capacity. I also have a logo T-shirt called 'Cycling for Humanity' with a hashtag of service without salary. We sell the t-shirts to whoever is interested and raise the money," Philem said.

The team of 20 volunteers including nine more cyclists are involved in the distribution of the food for the needy.

"We go out on our cycles every day looking for the hungry. We have identified some 30 of them who we feed every day and there will be others who also we see on the streets and feed them.

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Another group of volunteers used to prepare the food, but since the lockdown has intensified and due to the fear of the spread of COVID-19 they are unable to do it.

"We had another team that was mostly doing the cooking, but now due to the restrictions, they are not available. So we identified five homeless people who could cook. We provide them utensils and other necessities and dry rations, which they prepare themselves," he said.

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Philem felt that much more needs to be done for the homeless and expressed hope that the government will do something for their rehabilitation.

"We will continue to feed them, but there is a limit for what we can do. What if the COVID-19 situation gets worse and we are not able to reach these people. I am more concerned about them than us. We have been trying to get some government help for them. I hope that they can do something for the homeless," he said.