Volunteers step in to help patients as infections rise
Besides arranging plasma donors and oxygen, volunteers dispel wrong notions about the pandemic
As Covid-19 cases surge in Rajasthan in the second wave, volunteers have stepped in across the state to help find plasma donors, oxygen beds and dispel misinformation about the pandemic.
In Jaipur, Isha Juneja, a college student, is leading a group of volunteers through Whatsapp, Telegram and other social media handles that track people who recovered from the illness and can help others by donating plasma.
A student of journalism, Juneja and her team of over 500 volunteers verify leads on social media, and provide immediate help to desperate family members. She said that when she had started her group of volunteers, she received as many as 50 distress calls a day. “For the past few days, there is some decline; now we get about 25 to 30 calls a day,” Juneja said, adding that her volunteers also coordinate with people who can offer help.
“If someone has an oxygen cylinder which they presently don’t need, we connect them to someone who has kin who immediately need oxygen supply,” she said.
In Dungarpur district, several girls are helping the police as part Police Sakhi (police friend) initiative. Most of the girls are students of local colleges and volunteered to help in Covid-19 management.
The girls tell people, especially women, about the need to wear masks and stay home till the infection rate begins to wane. The girls also spread awareness among people by informing them about how to take precautions and things to avoid.
Dungarpur SP Sudheer Joshi said that Police Sakhi project has been very successful in the city,
“The girls also visit important junctions of the city where they tell people about the pandemic and the ways to prevent it. They are present at pickets where they carry out important duties as volunteers,” he said.
In Udaipur, two friends are serving food to people under home quarantine.
Farid (40) was running a restaurant in the city and his friend Tauseef Germanwala (33) ran a plastic bottle company. But during the corona curfew, they decided to help out family members of those who tested positive and were unable to cook.
“I and my friend Tauseef are fond of tasty food and we run a page on social media with the name ‘Fooddies Hain Hum’, where the members of the group share recipes of dishes. But when we came to know about unavailability of food to many infected people, especially those in home quarantine, we started the initiative. We are providing meals to 200 people every day,” said Farid (Montu), who hails from Dungarpur. “A few other volunteers have also joined us in the cause and are contributing to the drive,” he added.
In Kota, Imran Qureshi (37) ferries oxygen cylinders from the refilling centre in the city on his bike to the patient’s house or hospital, be it day or night.
Amaranth Chaurasia (52) and his wife Rani Chaurasia (50) of Talwandi locality in Kota are suffering from Covid-19 and they were in need of oxygen but there was no one in family to bring oxygen for them at home. Amaranth said, “Imran and his volunteer brought oxygen from somewhere to our house like an angel on just a phone call. We will remain indebted to him throughout our life.”
At a time when families are running short of helping hands in performing last rites of their families, Imran and his team have performed last rites in crematoriums and graveyards.
City Quazi Anwar Ahmad says serving Covid patients and their families has become a passion for Imran and his team. Imran says, “We are available round the clock to give service to Covid-19 patients and their families who are in dire need of assistance.”
Imran is facilitating admissions of patients in government and private hospitals and motivating people who recovered from Covid to donate plasma.
Rahul Jain, founder of Social Youth Club, and its president Zeeshan Ansari with their team of youngsters are serving from buttermilk to drinking water to those who are coming to the oxygen cylinder refilling centre in Kota. They also provide oxygen cylinders to needy patients.
Their team has put up tents with chairs so that people waiting for cylinder refill can rest in shade. Rahul said, “We have been doing this for over a fortnight now while we are running an ‘Oxygen Bank’ in which we have 22 cylinders which we are providing free to those who are in need of them for refilling.”
Rahul had also made arrangements for Roza iftar for the Muslim Covid patients at hospital last year when attendants were not allowed with the patients.