Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 18: In its second phase of relief distribution under wellness initiative 50 more wellness kits were distributed among widows and BPL families in the Jinder Mehlu village of RS Pura by Vistara Airlines.
The ‘Vistara Wellness Initiative’ was rolled out in April 2020, when Vistara distributed over 50,000 long shelf-life nutritious food items to the frontline health workers through IHCL (Taj hotels), said Archana Koul, Vistara Airport Manager, Jammu . Since then, Vistara has stepped up its efforts by widening this initiative’s scope and supporting vulnerable communities severely affected by the pandemic, she added.
She said Vistara distributed 1,50,000 wellness essentials in the financial year 2020-21, which impacted over 18,000 individuals affected by the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic left several families vulnerable without access to food, let alone hygiene essentials. With community service deeply rooted in the organisation’s DNA, the ‘Vistara Wellness Initiative’ was launched to extend support to these vulnerable communities with immediate support, she added.
Koul said the objective was to support these communities’ basic nutrition and sanitisation needs. “Our initiative was well-supported by our distribution partner – The Robin Hood Army”.
The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a much more devastating effect on the entire population in India, more so on the vulnerable communities. Aligned with Vistara’s philosophy of giving back to the local communities it operates in and guided by Tata Trusts, we plan to take the initiative to the next level, she said. “Our objective for Vistara Wellness Initiative 2.0 is to reach more people with more help to have a stronger, positive impact on their lives”. “The initiative is being implemented across our 28 stations in India, where we are distributing over 4000 wellness kits consisting of basic ration items like Atta, oil, rice, pulses and spices etc. along with sanitisation items like eco-friendly reusable face masks, soaps, dental hygiene items etc, said Koul.
In its first phase Jammu, Vistara Jammu team distributed 50 wellness kits as part of the Vistara Wellness initiative 2.0, to the most deprived families ( Widow’s & BPL families) residing at Chak Aslan and Qutab Nizam, and in 2nd phase Jinder Mehlu village of R.S.Pura, Jammu, impacting more than 200 families. The initiative was driven by the local Vistara team on the behalf of TATA Sons Group who were supported by NGO partner, Robin Hood Army Headed by Venus Sethi.