Kathua winters are not kind. In the border stretches of the district, families live in homes with thin walls, and the cold seeps in by November. For the old, the young and the sick, winter is not an inconvenience — it is a threat.
Building the network
Since 2016, our winter relief network has grown each year. Community members, shopkeepers and donors across the district contribute blankets, sweaters, shawls and ration. Volunteers — many of them college students — sort, pack and ride out to villages before the heavy snow blocks the roads.
What a family receives
- Warm blankets and shawls for every member
- Winter clothing: sweaters, jackets and caps for children
- Ration kits: atta, rice, pulses, oil and sugar
- Firewood support for elderly households living alone
Delivered with dignity
Every kit is wrapped and handed over face-to-face. We do not walk into a home shouting about charity — we leave the parcel, share a cup of chai and listen. Over the years, many families have told us that the listening matters as much as the blanket.
Warming the body is easy. Warming the heart — that takes being there, sitting down, spending time. That’s what I remember most.