There is no government funding for any of the work done by the Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND), says founder Sashi Kiran.
She made the comment while responding to a question raised by the Regional Representative Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Heike Alefsen, on whether the NGO received any grants from the Government for their initiatives.
“We are not receiving any funding from the Government at the moment, but we are liaising quite constantly with the people on the ground,” Ms Kiran said.
She said they were mobilising their own resources for food response programs. “We are thankful to a lot of private sectors and our donor partners for their support.”
Ms Kiran said people that were the most impacted were the ones that held our economy together –– so it was important to support them now.
“These were the people who held our economy together for the longest period and today they are down, thus the economy needs to put some attention to these people and ensure that they do not spiral further down.”
Ms Kiran was speaking at an event that organised at the FRIEND facility to commemorate the Human Rights Day 2020 on Monday, which was jointly organised by the OHCHR and FRIEND.
