‘BREAKS MY HEART TO SEE PEOPLE DYING DUE TO LACK OF OXYGEN’
Jacqueline Fernandez is doing her bit to help people amid the pandemic and wants everyone to pitch in
The second wave of Covid-19 has overwhelmed the country’s healthcare system, resulting in an unprecedented loss of lives. And actor Jacqueline Fernandez admits it has been difficult to process what’s happening.
“This phase of the pandemic has been heartbreaking just to see and live through on a daily basis. For me, the most heartbreaking thing was to see the way people were dying due to lack of oxygen. That’s something which we all took for granted, and we all thought we had enough of,” she laments, adding, “Also, [people] not being able to afford certain things like hospital beds, ventilators, medicines, oxygen… it’s a basic right to get healthcare.”
While the cases have started to drop now, the situation remains grim. Amid all this, Fernandez, 35, has been trying to do her bit for helping people. She provided free meals to those in need and helped Mumbai Police personnel with raincoats and safety gear.
“Feeding people in the pandemic was an extremely humbling experience. It was also an eye opener that made me understand the need of the hour, how crucial it is for each one of us to help in whenever way we can. There are people out there who don’t have food and that’s a basic necessity for survival,” she says, asserting that even if the help is in a small way, “everything adds up, everything matters”.
Lauding her fellow actors who have stepped up to help through social media, Fernandez feels what many are doing this year is “inspiring”.
She further appeals to people that it’s is not just about monetary donations and one can pitch in with acts of kindness as well. She says, “Help people in your building, take care of strays — these things are just as important. Everyone should be responsible.”
Feeding people during the pandemic was a humbling experience. JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ,
Actor