Ramesh Chaurasia: Underprivileged communities need stable employment after a tragedy like Covid-19
The Covid pandemic has affected the world in more ways than anyone could have imagined. While for many of us it was about refuelling our passions and spending time with families, not everyone was so fortunate. There are many sections in Indian society and each section has been affected in different ways. For some, it has been about spending a fun time watching television while for some it has been only about trying to find enough resources to feed their children. It was seen as an unfortunate truth that the society has a huge gap that was completely exposed due to this monumental tragedy of modern time.
Fortunately, there are some people who have been working relentlessly to fill this gap. These people work everyday to help those who are in need. Selfless service has been one of the miracles that has brought hope in such times of despair. Mr Ramesh Lakhulal Chaurasia, the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Adarsh Chaurasia Mahasabha is one of those people who decided to show up and bring forth a change.
After the India lockdown in March 2020, unemployment rose sharply. The entire country was shut down and this unfortunately threw billions of people off balance. However, it was seen that the marginalized communities were the most severely affected by this rapid shutdown of most services. It was also noticed that the communities associated with traditional businesses or trades were affected badly like never before because this was an unforeseen event for everyone.
Mr Ramesh Chaurasia has been working closely within the community to ensure that all those who have lost their jobs are imparted the right skills so that they can get new and stable employment opportunities. It was noticed that most jobs were lost among the strata which has low levels of education. Daily wage workers were affected the most severely, since they did not have any stable employment and depended on day-to-day employment in different jobs.
Why under-represented communities needed more support during the covid pandemic
Since members of backward communities generally didn’t have secure jobs, they were more likely to totally lose all means of income
These communities don’t have enough bank savings to help them survive without constant work
Individuals who work on daily wages were in need of financial assistance
Children of underprivileged community didn’t have easy access to online education
Children of such communities didn’t have easy access to smart phones or the finances required to get stable internet
Women of the community are not educated enough to take the responsibility of the children’s education at home
Ramesh Chaurasia has been leading fearlessly to help his community. During the lockdown, he was found to be working tirelessly in distribution drives to supply essentials to all underprivileged members around him.
Currently, he is working towards guiding the community towards better employment opportunities and generating new and independent sources of income. He believes that one cannot totally depend on just a single source of income in such uncertain times. To ensure this, skill development camps are held where all members of the community are educated on the latest sustainable means of employment. All necessary help is provided so that eligible members can avail latest welfare schemes launched by the state and central governments. This has helped a lot of people in recovering from the losses caused due to long term unemployment.
Mr Chaurasia and Akhil Bharatiya Adarsh Chaurasia Mahasabha are working towards the upliftment of all marginalized sections within society and still play a huge role in helping the Chaurasia community find their voice.