UPSC Essentials: Case study of the week- The women who triumphed in the face of Covid pandemic

The story of Vennila

Hills, dense forests, wild animals: How an Anganwadi worker in Coonoor helped migrants during lockdown by Nithya Pandian

The case:

— A nationwide lockdown in March 2020 got hundreds of migrants and tribals stuck in the hilly district of Nilgiris. They had no access to food. Anganwadi, ASHA and healthcare workers worked round-the-clock to ensure everyone has food.

Who is Vennila and what did she do?

— One such Anganwadi worker, Vennila travelled through dense forests and scary wildlife to deliver food and ration to migrant workers.

— Vennila was also in charge of the community kitchen operated by the district administration at her Anganwadi to deliver food to migrants. She also visited kids at the Anganwadi centre and delivered eggs and rations to their families.

— As an Anganwadi worker, Vennila was also responsible for recording the weight of newborns, checking maternal mortality ratio, and providing ante-natal and postnatal services to pregnant and lactating women.

— She was awarded the ‘Covid Women Warriors, The Real Heroes’ award by the National Commission for Women on January 31, 2021, for her exceptional work during the pandemic.

The story of Bhagwatee

How a tribal woman helped her community in a Chhattisgarh village during Covid-19 by Komal Gupta

The case:

— The Covid pandemic brought several challenges for frontline workers. The health workers were under big pressure to provide healthcare services.

— The JSS (JSS is a registered, non-profit society of health professionals running low-cost health programmes in tribal and rural areas of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh) had to change the guidelines and activities of its village health programme in order to suit the covid circumstances.

— The situation demanded quick decisions, simultaneous learning and implementation of those learnings.

— The challenge was to keep the services on for the community without putting them at an increased risk of getting infected.

Who was Bhagwatee and what did she do?

— To overcome the challenge, JSS trained the village health workers to help contain the spread of the virus. Bhagwatee was one such frontline worker.

— Bhagwatee started going door-to-door, keeping track of each household and people who were experiencing Covid symptoms.

— She observed that people would often hide their symptoms. She would monitor symptomatic people with a protocol and tracker — designed by JSS — to detect fever, cough and/or coryza. Those with high fever were required to be monitored for at least two weeks.

— Her active efforts helped in creating awareness about Covid-19 among villagers, helping prevent severe cases and even deaths.

— JSS describes Bhagwatee as a “bold and determined tribal village woman”. Her spirit of community work kept her confidence alive, which helped her continue to shoulder her responsibilities without fear.

The story of Santosh Vaishnav

How stitching skills helped a woman in Rajasthan village earn a livelihood, and empower others by Komal Gupta

The case:

— In 2020, when Covid-19 first hit the country, many people in Samrau (Rajasthan) lost their livelihoods as the pandemic severely affected the labour market and the mining sector.

— The Covid lockdown left the villagers without any source of income, making it difficult for them to procure food and other essentials.

Who is Santosh Vaishnav and what did she do?

— The 36-year-old Santosh Vaishnav joined Gravis, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working with impoverished rural communities in Rajasthan.

— Gravis asked Santosh if she could teach stitching to a class of 20 village women. For this, she was offered Rs 6000 per month. Santosh agreed. This was her first income. She started climbing the ladder of success. She continued teaching batches of women. In this way, she also helped them start their own sewing work.

— Santosh now also runs a unit of a group of 11 women from her village. This group makes soaps, papads, etc with their own funds. They sell them and earn additional income.

— According to the article, to help communities during that period, Gravis started active relief measures, supporting about 150,000 people. The organisation distributed food and hygiene kits to nearly 40,000 families (around 3,20,000 people). It also built mobile medical teams which offered health check-ups and medical support to over 3,000 people every month.

— Santosh took up great responsibility in Samrau. She led a team of volunteers who helped Gravis with the door-to-door distribution of food and hygiene kits.

— She and her team stitched hundreds of cloth masks for covid period. These were distributed among the villagers.

— Santosh says she wants to continue working with Gravis. In this way, she can continue helping the people of her village.

(source: https://indianexpress.com/meta-stories-of-strength-2022/)

Point to ponder: The stories of women as a frontline workers during the COVID period are stories of grit, resilience and courage. Discuss