Manzillions’ Fight against Second Wave

As Anisha, our core team member rightly said, “During difficult times we see both good and bad sides of people and during this COVID crisis Manzillions have exhibited the best of the virtues that make them a true Manzillion.”

In Manzil we have always seen that be it any kind of crisis, students, teachers, team members and volunteers have always been proactive in their support. During the pandemic, Manzillions came forward not only to help other Manzillions but also compassionately reached out and offered help to anyone that was affected by the crisis.

When the pandemic first hit, everyone was just learning to tackle the beast and the best option for the governments across the world was to enforce lockdowns. Although a necessary step, this was detrimental to a significant majority of the population as a number of small businesses were forced to shut down. A lot of daily wage migrant workers who depended on such jobs for their livelihood had to migrate back to their hometowns and villages as a last resort. For those who stayed,  there was an acute shortage of essential supplies due to lack of financial resources and restricted access to ration shops.

Manzil also had to transform itself from a physical space to the virtual mode to continue its operations. Impersonating this never say die spirit of Manzil right from last year, some Manzillions started raising funds and volunteering to provide masks, ration kits, medicines, oximeters and other essential items to those who didn’t have the means or the money to acquire them. The team also worked towards identifying government welfare schemes that could provide resources to fund education of children who lost an earning family member. 

Unfortunately, just when everyone was beginning to get on their feet after the first COVID wave, the second wave of this deadly disease wreaked havoc, worse than last year. We witnessed health systems failing the citizens. People, young and healthy, became victims of this disease and untimely treatment, as there was an acute shortage of beds and oxygen cylinders in hospitals across the country.

This time even members from Manzil’s leadership like Ravi Bhaiya, Anil, Tulsi and their families were affected with COVID, but this didn’t stop Manzillions from taking initiatives on their own. They got together and created WhatsApp groups to connect families in need of hospitals, beds, oxygen cylinders and medicines to people having information regarding the same. Manzillions used every resource they had at their disposal. Some used their social networks to reach out to people for help, some provided financial support, while some were always available on ground searching for hospital beds and oxygen cylinders across the city. The team, led by Shrikant, had to sometimes even drive for hours during the night, travelling 30-40 km to search for oxygen cylinders and then wait for hours in lines to get them. These heroes didn’t shy away at a time when people were scared to even step out of their houses.

Another commendable initiative was taken by Shrikant, who started a WhatsApp group called Information desk (covid), with Anju, Anisha, Krupali, Uma and Ravi. This team divided work and took responsibilities to complete specific tasks like Anju worked on the Notice for this group’s activities and Krupali created the required form. When the first notice was published, the team received four to five requests for help within just two hours and got down to work! As Anju had a background in biology, she chose to help with plasma queries. Krupali took responsibility for hospitals and oxygen support, and Anisha was tasked to spread awareness about the initiative. As work progressed, they noticed that people had additional needs like food and medicines, which were earlier not talked about. Anju then

connected with Ravi Bhaiya and offered to provide assistance with dry ration distribution along with Krupali and Uma. The team naturally developed an efficient system of operating by delegating responsibilities – Anju and Krupali used to connect with people over phone, arrange resources,  and convey this information to Uma, Anisha maintained a record of all information and assisted when required, Ravi Bhaiya monitored the functioning of all activities being performed and Shrikant gallantly carried out all the field work. Till now the relief team has helped more than 300 families with their ration requirements and are getting 30-40 requests every day for the same. 

Manzillions have been supporting in various locations like providing 40 Ration kits to LBL students in Sanjay colony, 20 kits were arranged by Shrikant and Anirudh through their networks for Manzil students, 95 kits were arranged by Anurag and his networks in Laxmi Bai Nagar and Greater Noida.

The team still reports to Ravi Bhaiya every day and continues to work determinedly. Additionally, the team also reaches out to other students during classes or at a personal level to know about any issues or even to just offer their time to talk and uplift their spirits.

This shows the kind of values instilled within the Manzillions. We at Manzil understand the importance of education but more than that we understand the importance of being a good human. That is why we have always focused on values of kindness, empathy, compassion and serving the needy, evident from the selfless relief work done by Manzillions . Inspired by these efforts many well-wishers have also come forward to support Manzil in their relief work which shows how strong and contagious virtues like kindness and compassion can be.

Written by Vaibhav and Kaveri (Manzil Volunteers)