Note from the Manager Q1 - 2021

Introduction

Welcome to the promised land- we have finally entered 2021. The first quarter of the year was promising – India entered the new year with rapidly declining COVID cases and a vaccine rollout for the elderly. There was a sense of normalcy returning. However, as March rolled around, things regressed as the COVID outbreak took a turn for the worse. India’s complacency and lack of preparedness has left the country struggling for essential resources. When we started the LB Cares initiative last year, we looked at it from both a short term and long term impact perspective to find holistic ways of charitable contributions via fundraising campaigns to reach rural women, farmers, delivery partners, migrant workers through various portfolios. This year, there seems to be a different need of the hour and we have reactivated our efforts to meet COVID related needs for people who are directly affected by it - oxygen cylinders, medicine for covid patients, mental health services to ones who need it and feminine hygiene kits to frontline female workers.

Despite the worrying macro conditions, this quarter was full of small, joyful wins for us at Lightbox. We were finally able to open our office for a few weeks in February and see each other in-person, albeit momentarily.