Some families in need, during this pandemic, need to make over 50 phone calls till they can find what they need– like a cylinder, an oxygen concentrator, a bed, or one of the many drugs now on the black market.
As one of them said on one of the research calls– “Right now there are 100 times more claims for resources than actual resources. There are also 10 times more useless lists than actual resources.” Verification of resources is the bulk of the work.
Right now 1000s of volunteers are on-ground and online trying to find resources for people who are looking for it.
Many of them have been volunteers at our cleanups and tree-planting drives. We know them well and we can feel the immense pressure that they are under. Many of them have asked for help with dealing with grief and loss and taking care of their mental health so that they can continue working.
With this in mind, Jhatkaa.org launches the #Care4Care campaign, an initiative that was born out of conversations with some of our partner organisations and movements. With it, we aim to provide whatever care we can rally and offer to the volunteers who are putting in time and energy for the victims of Covid19 and their families.
Most of these volunteers are between the ages of 15 and 25 and are running purely on the energy of compassion and humanity. Many of them are experiencing burnout because they are constantly online, updating resources, verifying and double verifying sources. Every 6 to 12 hours they go through the database, again and again, keeping an eye out for sources that run dry while coordinating simultaneously with families in distress, running from pillar to post. It is an emotionally overwhelming job and we need to support them through this.
Most of these organisations start at 6 or 7 in the morning where they assign roles and shifts to each other. They then go through the day making 100s of phone calls and updating spreadsheets.
So how can all of us come together and make their work just a little bit easier?
You can support this campaign by:
- Joining us as a volunteer, with this Sign-up Form.
- Donating to this campaign on this Donation page.
- Sharing this campaign with your friends on social media!
