Heroes on the ground fighting Covid-19: Social workers

COVID-19 has imprisoned us – our todays are all about the lockdown, shutdown and slowdown. We are the privileged minority; our homes stuffed with essentials for the lockdown, our friend the internet aiding our social distancing, our reserves equipped for emergencies. Outside the boundaries of our quarantined fort, lies the battlefield where the underprivileged fights daily for bread. Introduce a pandemic and they become collateral damage.

About 285 million Indians fall below the national poverty line, some of who include daily wage workers.  With means to their income shutdown, it is not just their daily bread that is at stake. It leaves their nutrition and immunity at stake too.  The marginalised sections of our societies are hit the hardest in times like this. What comes to the fore today is the solidarity of the social workers working tirelessly on the ground, attempting to reach such vulnerable groups. 

The entire non-profit ecosystem has joined efforts collectively to reach out to people who are most exposed to the current situation. We at Give are working to serve NGOs all over India and the effort seen on the ground is commendable. Like, true guardians, they are leaving no stone unturned to reach out to the needy.

While we work from home, many NGOs are working from the ground. Following strict protocols and yet risking their health, social workers are on the field every day combating the spread of novel Coronavirus. They are conducting door-to-door awareness camps to make people vigilant and to inform them about preventive measures.

Numerous NGOs are supporting people with masks, sanitizers, Dettol, rations and other supplies. Health drives are also being conducted door-to-door to inform and ensure proper nutrition and good hygiene practices. 

The NGOs are working for varied groups from the most vulnerable in terms of health to the worst economically affected. They are supporting immunocompromised groups such as the elderly, people living with HIV AIDS or cancer and children. The lockdown has adversely impacted the daily income-dependent migrant labourers, construction workers, maids, petty business owners such as street vendors and countless others. We at Give are relentless in our support to NGOs working for the affected.

Highlighting a few of our NGOs on the ground doing preventive and relief work:

Society for Poor People Development (SPPD)

Based out of Tamil Nadu, SPPD supports marginalized SC communities of women and children living with HIV AIDS. Such groups are immunocompromised and highly susceptible to Covid-19. SPPD is driving awareness and sanitation camps amongst these communities.

Child Rights and You(CRY)

CRY has been involved in conducting awareness and distribution of sanitation kits across multiple locations in India. One of the spear headers in child rights, CRY has been reaching out to those pockets of the Indian populace where healthcare is sparse.  

Empowering Minds Society for Research and Development

Based in Uttar Pradesh, Empowering Minds has been driving Covid-19 preventive campaigns in the urban slums of Ghaziabad. They have been helping people who are out of work due to the shutdown. These people survive on daily wages and immediately require help.

Oxfam

Spread across India, Oxfam has been working on a tremendous scale. Supporting tens of thousands underprivileged people with disaster funds Oxfam’s reach is paramount and have brought relief to countless. They are also working with the government and quarantine/health centres to make combat work efficient. Apart from this, they are doing sanitation awareness from mobile vans and providing water supply in affected areas. 

Charutar Arogya Mandal

Based in remote locations of Anand, Gujarat, Charutar supported hospital is preparing for the rising peak of Coronavirus. They are constructing an isolation ward for any Covid-19 +ve cases.   

St Jude India Childcare Centres

St.Jude have been delivering sanitation kits to numerous cancer patients. These patients come from remote areas of India with minimum healthcare facilities and being heavily immunocompromised, hygiene safety is crucial.

Today, while we hyperventilate over frantic Whatsapp forwards or the news statistics or discuss the Government’s contingency plan, let’s spare a moment to talk about India’s everyday heroes: Social workers and the NGOs enabling them. Today, let’s extend a round of applause to the unsung leaders taking risks for our unprivileged majority. 

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