At relief camps in Manipur, every grain counts

Manipur: The Young Tribal Women’s Network—a collective of women from Manipur and neighbouring North-East states—started as a WhatsApp group in May 2023, soon after violence broke out in Manipur between the dominant Meitei community and the Kuki–Zo tribes.

The collective was formed to fulfil the urgent need for relief. Since then, we’ve been providing necessities such as blankets, medicines and sanitary napkins to be dispatched to various relief camps across Manipur.

Initially, we catered to the rising requirement for basic amenities at relief camps in Imphal. Then we started working in neighbouring hill districts such as Kangpokpi, Chandel and Senapati. However, a radical mob roaming the streets made it difficult for us to reach the relief camps.

We couldn’t send our relief items through cargo or courier via air either, as the mob made the Imphal airport inaccessible to us. All of this is occurring against the backdrop of a pre-existing infrastructural deficit in the tribal areas, which have always lacked access to proper healthcare and other livelihood opportunities.