A Unique Initiative To Help The Elderly And A Dedicated Environmental Crusader Carries On The Good Fight

Helping the Needy

Service: In Thiruvananthapuram, volunteers associated with the District Disaster Management Authority Task Force have come up with the  ‘Dr Help’ initiative. Under it, a group delivers grocery supplies and medicines to the doorsteps of elderly folk and those with co-morbidities, so that they do not have to step outside and run the risk of contracting COVID-19. Medicines are delivered around the clock. Thirty volunteers are carrying out this noble endeavour, of whom five assist in direct deliveries. With coronavirus cases on the rise every day, such initiatives clearly meet the need of the hour.

Source: The New Indian Express

Burying the Dead

Bravery: Bengaluru’s Wasim Zubair and 22 other men have been performing a most trying task in these pandemic-hit times—burying COVID-19 victims without charging a single rupee. They are all part of an NGO called Helping Hands. Appalled by the sight of families being unable to bury their loved ones, Zubair and his team decided to take on the task of ensuring the deceased receive a respectful and dignified farewell. They have performed over a 100 burials till date, shouldering both the health risks and the overwhelming emotional toll, thereby showing immense courage.

Source: The New Indian Express

Heroes

The 'Lake Man' of Karnataka

Kaamegowda, an 84-year-old shepherd and farmer from rural Karnataka, is a true environmental crusader with a unique habit—digging ponds. Hailing from Daasanadoddi, a village in Karnataka’s Mandya district, he has almost single-handedly solved the region’s water crisis by building these waterbodies—16 of them over more than four decades—all of them, astonishingly, connected with each other, and never running dry. He also plants trees in the area. Kaamegowda started on his worthy quest more than 40 years ago, when he was moved by the plight of animals and birds suffering from the acute water crisis in the area. May his efforts inspire many others as well.

Source: The Better India