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“Maybe you will find me here every evening from now on, sitting with my begging bowl. I am an old woman; I lost everything in life except my younger son. But tell me one thing, do I seem like a beggar to you?
You say you stay in Bengaluru. Nice city. So neat and clean, and the weather is perfect. I remember visiting the city long back, in my good times. Those cherished memories now feel like another life.
No one has ever become poor by giving
– Anne Frank
My husband was an accountant at a business firm. Two cerebral strokes, one followed shortly by the other, claimed his life at the prime of age. Shocking as it was for me, little did I know how disastrous the rest of life was going to be.
I was once a proud mother of two amazing sons. Today, I am coming here straight from the hospital, where my sole surviving son is battling severe pneumonia.
Soon after my husband’s death, my brother-in-law duped me of my husband’s entire life savings. Since I did not understand the paperwork much, he promised to take care of everything My elder son passed away in an accident a few years ago. It is just my younger son and me after that. Even as a helpless mother, I tried to protect him with all my might. He grew up to be a wonderful young man, around 22 years old now. He got himself enrolled in skill development training and secured a decent job. Things were looking upward again in life for the two of us.
Last month, he asked my permission to visit Sikkim with his school friends. I was reluctant at first. I have never let him travel far alone. And for me, the snowy mountains of Sikkim were risk-prone areas. He insisted, and I finally gave in.
Much later, while he was coughing up blood in the hospital, I got to know that in the spirit of adventure, he never wore sweaters or jackets, even in that freezing cold. He had returned from his trip with a persistent cough, that worsened over time. He was diagnosed with severe pneumonia. Due to late intervention, the phlegm and pus had accumulated in his lungs, which might have led to his death soon. I got him admitted to the local government hospital. For two weeks, I would only see him with oxygen masks, high-dose medicines and needles pricked to his hands. My boy has become so thin and weak. All my savings ran out on his treatment. I cannot even afford some healthy food for him now.
So, I come to the metro station every day post the visiting hours at the hospital. I sit at the base of the stairs and wait for busy men and women to drop a coin or two into my bowl.
Many people have offered to help me. They took my photo and promised me help. But I heard back from none. I do not know what the future has in store for me. I have lost everything once. I do not want to lose it all again.”
Efforts For Good talked with Rupa Sinha, the old lady who sits every evening in front of the right exit gate at Kavi Nazrul metro station (Lokenath temple side) in Garia, Kolkata. We are urging local volunteers and NGOs to come forward and provide financial and social support to this amazing woman, who desperately needs our help now.
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With the extension of the lockdown the crisis of migrant labourers and daily wagers has just grown bigger due to uncertainty and fear of future. In the migrant colonies, slums and for people in the villages hunger and desperation is building up day by day. This is high time we step up our efforts to support our people who are in dire need of food and hygiene essentials to survive the pandemic, Covid-19.
After the India-wide lockdown, a lot of jobless migrant workers are stuck in cities with hardly any resources while many started retreating back to their villages. With the loss of livelihoods, a large number of them are now struggling to support their families.
Goonj’s focus:
Majority of the Covid-19 relief work by non profits right now is in the metros and cities but Goonj is the only non profit that is also simultaneously focusing on the people in the villages and the ones stuck on highways or somewhere.
Goonj is targeting daily wagers, migrants and other vulnerable groups, who even traditionally are left out like the disabled, sex workers, LGBTQ community.
“COVID-19 is a crisis, yes…But, it’s also an opportunity for us to build the society anew. Not ‘for’ the people…but, ‘with’ the people. And in the process, we will build ourselves too.” – Anshu Gupta, Founder-Director, Goonj.
Direct Monetary and Material Transfer
Wherever Goonj got the permission to open their centres for packing and disbursement of relief material kits, they are creating a kit consisting of 20-30 kgs material including dry rations, masks, sanitary pads and other hygiene material and reaching them to people, as per needs and as per regulations with all safety precautions. This kit will help a family survive for 30 days.
Information till 10th April 2020:
In Goonj’s processing centers its trained team of women are making cloth face masks and cloth sanitary pads (MY-Pads), keeping all the precautions and with the permission and cooperation of the local authorities.
In this lock-down phase if you are facing any difficulty getting sanitary pads or you are running out of stock, here’s a detailed but very simple process of making Cloth Pads at home created by Goonj. “This is how we make Goonj MY Pads.” This is how our mothers and grandmothers turned their spare cloth into pads.
This disaster, unlike any other, is unprecedented in its scale and impact and that’s why we all must do our bit with Goonj to continue its relief work for millions of people in this still unfolding long-tailed disaster.
The need is huge.. We are there.. Need You too !!
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