Reportedly from the devastating 2015 chennai floods to tropical cyclones Vardah and Ockhi to the 2018 and 2019 floods in kerala volunteers from tamilnadu have been at the frontlines of catastrophic events in recent years. When calamity strikes, volunteers and members of civil society plunge into action, not waiting for the government to extend a call for help. Meanwhile over the years, volunteers have been risking their lives to help those affected by calamities and facing multiple challenges while doing so. But the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteers say, is a nightmare.
Meanwhile the pandemic has upended their world of outreach, resulting in new and a seemingly unending number of problems. According to volunteers, they are at once faced with issues including paucity of funds, lack of movement passes during the nationwide lockdown and the sheer numbers of needy people now left starving. With the disease affecting nearly every part of the world, the monetary help, usually forthcoming from nri donors and neighboring states, has come to an abrupt halt.
Volunteers are extending help with funds mobilized through friends, activists and the public. However, the continued job losses and pay cuts across industries have put many in a fix, pushing volunteers into a crisis. As days go by, monetary help has become challenging for the volunteers. Even when funds are secured, new challenges arise. swati Saxena has been volunteering as part of india Fellow, a social change organization that works with grassroots groups. The organization set-up COVID Cash Relief in an attempt to directly help the most-affected during the lockdown.
