Volunteering during Lockdown

APRIL-MAY 2020

Amidst the chaos of Covid-19, Safe and secure in my house during lockdown I felt helpless. I could see the challenges that the country was facing. The frontline workers, the migrant workers, the common man was going through tough times yet I was sitting at my home.

Some friends were volunteering by going out and distributing food in the cities, but I live in a village where that's not required. How can I be of help?  More news I saw, more unsettled I felt with the privilege and comfort I felt during the lockdown.
Personally, for me, Lockdown had been an amazing time. Break from my business gave me an opportunity to do so many other things. I was thoroughly enjoying my lockdown but how can I be happy when so many people are going through bad times.

This gave rise to the opportunity of Online volunteering. Having the ability to speak Hindi, landed me into volunteering with migrant workers who came to the southern states from north India to work. My work was to speak to them over the phone, listen to them, understand their problems and then find ways to support and help them out.

It was a tough job, to listen to their problems and not get emotionally effected and keep my mind straight. To not take on their problems onto me or get drained by the helplessness of the situation.

My phone would be buzzing the whole day with calls.

Access to food, money to pay rent and a way to travel back home to their native villages were the most common issues. Unfortunately, these were the most difficult to solve!

Having a lack of resources on hand and having no understanding of the ground reality added to the difficulty of helping then as a volunteer. The whole experience really pushed me to be resourceful, To go beyond my comfort zone and talk to strangers, To handle emotions and above all be consistent and dedicated to the work no matter what obstacles.

I experienced good and bad, Black and white, Hope and despair. Which gave me a realization that this the reality, nothing is perfect and we all are human.

Lockdown and volunteering taught me handling myself in unpredictability, not letting emotions pull me down and living in the present 

Many times I was able to offer support, find resources to help, but sometimes I wasn't able to.
The times I was able to support and do something about the problem was what gave me strength.
The thanks that I received from the migrant workers was worth all the effort and time I put.

It was also amazing to be part of the group energy, be part of the volunteering group. I t was beautiful to see how if a group of people come together with the intention to create change and contribute it is possible to do it despite the challenges. 

Some stories - One help seeker had a pregnant wife, due at the end of May. With no work, he was running out of resources. I was able to provide him with support through finances, rations and emotional support until his wife gave birth to a baby boy and came back home. A picture of the cute newborn was enough for me to know I could contribute to someone's life.

I also did the whole tango of organising a private bus for a group of migrant workers to travel to their home in the north from south. Pass, permits, money and other dimensions of getting this was a challenging task to do. When they reached home, all the effort was worth it. 

Of course, the whole situation and problems were much larger than me, but these small actions were important to me.

I am left with so much gratitude and admiration of the hard work that the countless people - government officials, NGO's, volunteers and others did. They have done so much, worked countless hours to support people in despair. It is just breathtaking to witness.

I am glad I have been able to contribute and be part of the solution not be part of the problem.