Robin Hood Army to vaccinate 1.5 lakh underprivileged citizens and serve 5 million meals in collaboration with WhatsApp, Uber and Google
31 July-15 August 2021 | 150,000 vaccinations | Serve 5 million meals | 28 States
Join the initiative as a volunteer by sending a WhatsApp message to +91 8971966164
Robin Hood Army (RHA), the volunteer-based zero funds organization has joined hands with WhatsApp, Uber and Google to bring together volunteers who will help vaccinate 1.5 lakh Indians and serve 5 million meals to those most affected by the pandemic across every state of India by 15 August 2021
The initiative named #mission28states
is a national effort across 28 states in the country, in which RHA
volunteers shall bring together
civic society supported by three leading technology firms to address
two key challenges facing our nation today – feeding the hungry and
ensuring every Indian is vaccinated before a potential deadly third
wave. Like every RHA initiative that operated on a
no-funds approach, all the support brought in by the technology
partners will be used to achieve
#mission28states
throughout India.
Speaking on the occasion,
Neel Ghose, Founder, The Robin Hood Army said, “The pandemic
has been devastating for lakhs of families and widened inequities across
our communities. Whilst the government and administrations are doing
their best, it's important that civic society
steps up and contribute our talent and resources. In the lead up to our
Independence Day, this year through the support of WhatsApp, Uber and
Google for the
#mission28states,
Robins will mobilise 1.5 lakh people to get the COVID- 19 vaccine and
at least 5 million meals across
every state of India between 31 July-15 August 2021. At the Robin Hood
Army, we are stoked to bring together civic society and leading
technology partners together to undertake this massive effort to
increase outreach against COVID-19 and create impact across
every state in the country.”
The #mission28states will be executed in three parts:
-
Rations and Vaccines: Thousands of Robin
Hood Army volunteers, called ‘Robins’ will drive awareness campaigns
and organize 1.5 lakh citizens to be vaccinated across 28 states. In
addition, during
this period, Robins will also serve at least 5 million meals to the
most needy. The focus of drives shall be on serving citizens who have
least access to vaccines - homeless families, the transgender community,
rural inhabitants among others.
- Technology Partners: Robin Hood Army’s chatbot, to solicit volunteers, is powered by WhatsApp; people from across the country can now sign up as volunteers and join the mission seamlessly using just their mobile phones.
-
As the national mobility partner, Uber
is providing the wheels to this mission whereby it will deploy thousands
of free Uber rides for the volunteers to mobilize people to vaccination
centres
and distribute meals while Google will provide more than a millions of meals which
will be served to those affected by the pandemic.
-
Media: Robin Hood Army has partnered at
local and national levels with radio stations, billboard companies,
influencers, media houses, and digital groups to mobilize local
communities and broadcast
the urgency of the national vaccination program.
Speaking about the RHA initiative,
Abhijit Bose, Head of WhatsApp India, said, “WhatsApp has been an
integral medium for civic actors like Robin Hood Army, to reach
Covid-19 relief efforts to people, at scale. In line with WhatsApp’s
vision for India, to contribute meaningfully and build
solutions where needed the most, we are inspired to support Robin Hood
Army further by powering a WhatsApp chatbot solution that helps to
solicit volunteers for #mission28states, that is aimed at bringing
relief to the impacted communities during this unprecedented
pandemic.”
Speaking on this initiative, Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India and South Asia, said, “We’re thrilled to be joining forces with our valued partner, the Robin Hood Army, for supporting the #mission28states campaign. It will be an honour for us to join the war against Covid across India. At Uber, we are committed to ensure mobility is not a barrier to timely vaccination of the underserved communities and for fighting crippling hunger amidst those, worst impacted by the pandemic. Working together, we can help our communities to recover faster and reboot the economy.”
#mission28states