NPC is working through its 16 District Inter Religious Committees (DIRCs) to implement a Covid-19 relief programme providing dry rations to those hardest hit by the prevailing curfew and the inability to earn daily wages to feed their families. Each district has been allocated Rs. 100,000 for this purpose to supply Rs. 2,000 worth of rations to each family.

When selecting the beneficiaries, DIRC members chose families who have been overlooked by other relief programmes and those who have been the most badly impacted since the virus outbreak including female-headed households, people who are ill, coconut pluckers, painters, carpenters and three wheel drivers as well as those who made their daily living selling food and elderly couples who live alone.

All selected beneficiaries are were certified by Grama Niladari officials.

Kurunagala DIRC supplied packs of dry rations to 50 selected low income families. DIRC committee members, including religious leaders, participated in the distribution of the ration packs.

Government officials appreciated Kurunagala DIRC’s efforts in finding communities that have been overlooked by other donors.

“We are very grateful for the food we received from Kurunagala DIRC. All these days we have been eating only one meal a day because we did not have enough food,” one beneficiary said.

Another beneficiary said that he had not received ration packs distributed by the government. “We were running so low on food that we couldn’t feed our children,” he added.

Ratnapura DIRC distributed packs of dry rations to 50 low income earning families in the district. The beneficiaries were selected from nominations by Grama Niladari officers and DIRC members and included female-headed households, families with differently abled people and families with patients.

A beneficiary from Angammana village, Samantha Priyadarshani, said, “My husband does not have a permanent job so we find work daily. We have four members in the family. We have not received any relief from the government, although it is almost a month since the curfew was imposed. The only donations we got were from NPC. We would like to thank NPC, Ratnapura DIRC, the Divisional Secretariat and the Grama Niladari officer for selecting us. The selection is done irrespective of race and religion and it is highly appreciated.”

Y. S. Kularathna, also from Angammana village, said, “I am paralyzed so my wife is the bread winner in the family. We eat and buy my medicine from the money she earns daily. Since the curfew was imposed, we had difficulty buying food and couldn’t have even one meal a day, so we are extremely thankful to the Grama Niladari officer for nominating us to receive this packet of food. There are many others like us who are having difficulty in getting by and also need the help of NPC.”

Badulla DIRC distributed packets of dry rations to 50 families consisting of female-headed households, families with disabled members and daily wage earners.

Grama Niladari officials helped DIRC members to select the most vulnerable families in the area and assisted with the distribution of the relief packs.

Mrs. N. Sundari, a widow with five children, said, "Blessings to the organizers who came to our village and selected the really needy people to get relief assistance to survive day to day.”