The virus volunteer army!
How one Scots village is fighting back – with a dose of co-operation and good old fashioned community spirit
THE hastening impact of a major viral outbreak can quickly overwhelm a community – doubly so if one lives in a small village. At first glance, everyday life certainly seemed to be shutting down in Scone, Perthshire, the rural enclave in the shadow of the palace made famous as the ancient crowning place of Scottish kings.
The shops on the main Angus Road have become unusually quiet, buses run empty of passengers, and even the pubs’ most loyal drinkers can scarcely be classed as regulars any more.
It probably does not help that Scone’s 2,500 or so households contain a fair speckling of senior citizens. And coronavirus, the whole world now knows, hits the elderly hardest.
Delve deeper, however, and one soon appreciates this is not a community that is hiding away, quietly succumbing to illness.
Far from giving up in despair, a band of volunteers – young and old – have formed themselves into a volunteer army and stand ready to serve the sick and needy in whatever way they can.
Their inspirational lead is part of a spontaneous rearguard action by selfless Samaritans, which is starting to be mirrored up and down the land.
In Scone, the call to arms came initially from a message on social media posted on Tuesday morning by Scone and District Community Council.
By midday, they had more than 20 helpers offering their services. By the following morning, that figure had nearly doubled.
Organisers Jill Belch, a doctor, and Vanessa Shand, a nurse, were stunned by the response.
‘Normally the community council deals with planning applications and red tape, but we set this up because we were getting calls from folk offering to help but who didn’t know how to tell others they were available,’ said Professor Belch, a cardiovascular physician at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital, who is herself aged 68.
SHE explained the GP surgery had agreed to act as a go-between and put those at need in touch with those willing to help. ‘Scone is not big, but we are a strong community and will be there for those within it who need our help,’ she said.
‘We are offering to shop for self-isolators and leave [the goods] at the door. Two local chefs are offering to provide meals if meals on wheels can’t cope; people are going to FaceTime folk who live alone twice a week to make sure they are OK.
‘As schools close, we will offer to babysit for NHS staff who have to work and we will respond to any non-viral emergency such as falls, etc, for folk who live alone.
‘The response has been quite humbling and some people are helping in unusual ways we never imagined.’
Among the more imaginative is care worker Vik Macharia, 38, who recently moved to Scone from
England with her family. She is making antibacterial soaps to include in care packages for those stuck at home.
She said: ‘I’ve made 18 bars already and I’m waiting for more ingredients to be delivered to make another 50 bars as there is no soap in any of the shops.’
With many groups and attractions closed – including the nearby Scone Palace and Black Watch Museum – one local has offered to run free online quiz nights.
Retired district nurse Carine Wilson is 72 and housebound with osteoporosis, but it has not stopped her from offering to be a phone contact for the isolated.
‘I may not be able to get out of the house but I have the phone and my computer,’ she said. ‘Medically, I’m pretty immobile, but I still have my marbles and I can talk to people. I do think as the weeks go on that loneliness is going to be a big part of it.
‘There are a number of 50-plus groups in Scone which have all closed down because of Covid-19.
‘There was a singing group, walking group and a handicraft group I was part of. We need to replace them with something. My medical background has been community nursing and I can talk for Britain, so I thought I would volunteer.’
The same sense of pulling together is being felt elsewhere. In Ballachulish, Inverness-shire, the
Covid-19 Ballachulish Community Support was formed in a day from 50 volunteers.
One of the co-ordinators, Rhona Middleton, said: ‘Things volunteers can help to do will include grocery/leaflet deliveries, distributing prescriptions, making meals, communicating with those not online, dog walking or patrolling the red or green flag system in the area to check for changes.
‘We’ve already distributed info packs and window flags to every home – households can display a green tick in their window if they do not think that they need assistance and a red cross will be used by those who do, no matter how large or small the task.’
In Fife, the Bruce Arms pub, in
Limekilns, has started home deliveries of beer, cider, wine and homemade pizzas for its ‘beloved customers [who] will want to follow government advice by refraining from entering public houses and restaurants’. In Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, Hannah Urquhart, 25, leads the Fyive Resistance Group, which aims to protect the elderly and vulnerable in the area. ‘Although early days, it has been heartwarming to see the community move as one,’ she said. As the challenges grow in the weeks ahead, so the determination of local communities to help the vulnerable strengthens.
BACK in Scone, Mrs Wilson reflected on how the crisis may already be sowing seeds of hope for a brighter future. She said: ‘I grew up in the south of Scotland at a time when everyone knew everybody and we would go into each other’s houses. That’s the way life was then.
‘Families have become more insular now and a lot of people don’t know their neighbours, but I think people might be surprised at how much community spirit exists when the need arises.
‘And the need has never been as strong as now. Hopefully, this might start to rekindle that sense of togetherness.’