Nutrition Support – Purnkuti

Female sex workers and transgender people are a marginalized section of society in India, and they face legal, social, and economic challenges. They are frequently exposed to HIV and AIDS as a result of their involvement in commercial sex work. HIV/AIDS patients are frequently shunned by their families and society. Because of the nature of their work and the disease they have, this section is subjected to harassment, violence, denial of services, and unfair treatment on occasion. They require extensive assistance with nutrition, health care, counselling, and employment. Purnkuti has always supported the most vulnerable members of society. Budhwar Peth is a Red-Light district in Pune.

Actions Taken In Crisis

HIV AID:

We at Purnkuti have made a pledge to support HIV positive infected and affected families and help them with ration & nutrition kits every month. Purnkuti is also determined in supporting 165 HIV-positive female sex workers with a monthly ration to improve their overall health status. We also distributed toys to 500 children, hygiene kits to 500 Female Sex Workers, and medical kits to the children to 115 HIV Positive persons.

COVID 19 Pandemic :

Purnkuti has always been responsive to the needs of the community in times of distress. During COVID-19 1,75,000 kgs of ration were distributed to almost 3200 Female Sex workers, Transgenders, and their families. During the second wave of the Covid pandemic, 5000 Beneficiaries (Female sex workers, migrant workers, transgenders) were fed daily for 3 months by us.

Flood relief :

Purnkuti distributed around 14,400kgs of ration in flood-affected areas of Chiplun (Maharashtra) and 24,000kgs of ration in flood-affected areas of Barh (Bihar). We also distributed more than 8,000 blankets to help the poor.

Measures taken for ration distributions for HIV infected and impacted families are as follows:

After careful consideration, we determine the list of suitable recipients.
We next locate the right merchants, obtain the dry ration, and transfer it to Budhwar Peth.
Each recipient is assigned a specific distribution day and hour. The distribution occurs according to the schedule.
The coordinator stays in touch with the recipients and offers any further assistance that is required.