Mumbai NGO Rouble Nagi helps kids whose parents test positive for Covid-19

The children are put up in ‘balwadis’ that the NGO runs across Mumbai and elsewhere

For young kids, it is not easy if their parents test Covid-19 positive or are in quarantine or isolation.

For the less-privileged children staying in slums, things could be far more difficult.

Thanks to the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation (RNAF), a Mumbai-based NGO, these children are put up in their ‘balwadis’ that they run across Mumbai and elsewhere.

“What happens when both parents tested positive, but have children to care for?....less-privileged families are finding it difficult to isolate and quarantine themselves when children involved are to be taken care of,” said Rouble Nagi, an award-winning, internationally acclaimed artist with over 800 murals to her credit and 150 exhibitions worldwide.

“Less privileged-families are finding it difficult to isolate and quarantine themselves when children are to be taken care of. The RNAF Covid-care centre is catering to Covid-positive parents who are in a fix and struggling to find a place to keep their uninfected kids,” Nagi told DH on Wednesday.

These centres are equipped to house the children till the parents recover and it is be done free of charge.

Till their parents come back, RNAF will give them a positive environment and look after them. “Right from breakfast to lunch to dinner, we are making them feel at home, also they are doing a bit of meditation, play games in the compound, study…there are teachers and volunteers around,” she said, adding that they are preferring the age group of 7-14.

“Before the kids enter the ‘balwadis’ to stay, they undergo a RT-PCR test,” Nagi said.

The foundation has contributed significantly towards the Covid-19 medical relief for children in the slums and the villages of India. During the first wave of the 2020 pandemic, RNAF reached out to over 3 lakh families across India and is now actively stepping forward to contribute and make a difference in the second wave of Covid-19.

Organising relief camps in the localities, conducting regular tests and temperature checks and ensuring that the children in the slums get proper medical care, RNAF is doing its bit for society. Nurturing and protecting children, the RNAF team lays special focus on forming relief squads and sending help wherever required.

RNAF's skill centre has been producing and distributing over 40,000 masks in the neighbouring villages and slums while educating people about the significance of staying protected, especially now more than ever. They are regularly distributing sanitary napkins to women in slum dying lockdown as it is very crucial at this stage.