Hi 5 Youth Foundation – provides FREE multi-year basketball coaching and life-skills training to 2100 young underprivileged children in all over India.

Hi 5 has 1300 children at 14 locations across Mumbai’s urban slums who have been hit hard by the COVID 19 pandemic and continued national lockdown in India.

Most of them belong to families who rely on daily wages and have little to no savings. With India on lockdown and their families prevented from working, many of them are struggling for basic needs like food, medicine and money. A lot of them – due to a lack of a local street address or the logistical hurdles of overcrowded slums – have been unable to receive aid from the government or NGOs (non-government organizations). Some of them who have gotten aid – the aid is inadequate and not ongoing.

With the continued extension of the lockdown the situation for these families is going to get worse before it gets better.

More and more families require support on a continued basis till they can begin working and earning money.

Financial Assistance to families

by electronic transfer direct to bank account
Our team decided to financially support these families by directly crediting money to their bank accounts – which is the safest & quickest mode of payment. Since mid-April, we have implemented a strategic 4-Step process.

COVID-19 Update March 15, 2020 – April 15, 2020

Dear Supporters,

In these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 emergency around the world, Hi 5 Youth Foundation has taken certain responsible measures to do our part. Our actions at Hi 5 are driven by 3 major considerations –

a. Safety of the children in our program
b. Safety and health of our coaches, staff and management
c. Supporting the efforts and directives of the government and health authorities

Keeping in mind the above – here are the actions that have been taken by us:

I. Basketball coaching sessions at our various centers STOPPED from March 15th to April 15th 2020

• Mumbai : All Basketball coaching sessions at 12 BMC schools as well as our area program shut down effective March 15th
• Hyderabad : Jinnaram Tribal Residential School & Zilla Parishad Schools of Gowdavalli, Athavali shut down effective March 15th
• Kolkata : Parivaar Residential School Program shut down from March 15th

II. Work from home for all our coaches, staff and senior leadership team from March 16th to April 15th, 2020.

We at Hi 5 are using this period – to streamline our internal systems, develop our basketball coaching and life-skills curriculum, and to train our internal staff on technology and planning for the future. All our staff is working from home and we are using telecon / video calls to collaborate, review and build a stronger foundation for all our programs for the coming year!

In the meantime, we have been working with all our partners, donors and other stakeholders through audio and video calls. Our offices are shut down – but work continues for now.

III. Being compliant and helping Government efforts

As India faces a complete lockdown till April 15th 2020, we have temporarily suspended all in-office operations and are adhering to the directives issued by our national and local government. We will continuously review the situation and resume operations when it is prudent. We are still reachable for any help on your feedback, suggestions, contributions and support to Hi 5 Youth Foundation from Monday to Friday from 10 AM to 6 PM (as per usual office hours). You can email us at info@hi5youthfoundation.com or admin@hi5usa.org and we will get back to you promptly.

We thank you for your constant support and hope that you – our stakeholders, donors, partners & supporters – are taking care of yourselves and your families by staying indoors.

We salute all our healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, caregivers, government & law enforcement officials, grocery store helpers, emergency services operators and those keeping a safe distance from senior citizens in their families & communities. The only way we can fight this outbreak is through solidarity, cooperation and small acts of kindness towards the vulnerable populations.

Stay Home, Stay Safe!
R. Sundar, Usha Sundar, P. Ramaswamy
(Founders – Hi 5 Youth Foundation)

To stay updated on the latest from verified sources, please visit the links below

1.https://www.who.int/
2.https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
3.https://twitter.com/who?lang=en
4.https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
5.https://www.mygov.in/covid-19
6.https://twitter.com/CDCgov
7.https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/23-03-2020-pass-the-message-five-steps-to-kicking-out-coronavirus