The daughter of a migrant worker sleeps on a highway as her family failed to get a bus to return to their village, during the Covid-19 lockdown in New Delhi, India March 29, 2020. — Reuters pic

PETALING JAYA, April 1 — The United Sikhs non-profit organisation in Malaysia kick started a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for daily wage earners in India amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In India, millions of the country’s labour force are fleeing big cities to go home since a 21-day lockdown was imposed.

Daily-wage earners, labourers and workers who make up 90 per cent of the workforce in the country of 1.3 billion are bearing the brunt of the strict nationwide lockdown as they are forced to travel home by foot.

The funds raised by United Sikh will be used to provide food, sanitiser and educating the public of hygiene practices to avoid contracting Covid-19.

“The hope of humanity depends on your support and donations to the society,” a message read on the relief organisation’s GoFundMe page.

“We request you to come together and contribute towards the upliftment of mankind and a better tomorrow.”

The fundraiser went live yesterday and A$7,000 (RM18,500) was raised in 23 hours out of its A$50,000 goal.

The funds raised will be used for food, sanitiser and public education on hygiene practices to prevent contracting Covid-19. — Screengrab from GoFundMe

“Right now, an estimated 100 million daily wage or informal workers who form the backbone of the Indian economy are actually walking home,” United Sikhs volunteer Laakhvinder Kaur said in the video pleading for help.

“The 21-day lockdown with only four hours’ notice on the midnight of March 24 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has caused these people today, to not only starve, tired and also worried.”

The world’s largest lockdown set off a historic mass exodus, the largest since the partition in 1947 that divided India and Pakistan into two separate countries.

United Sikhs is a United Nations-affiliated international non-governmental organisation that provides humanitarian relief, human development and advocacy to empower disadvantaged and minority communities worldwide.

Help the daily wage earners in India by visiting here.