This is a perilous time with the towering increase in daily coronavirus cases and the plummeting availability of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and medicines. Covid-19 is a disease that makes one physically alone and snatches away the solace of companionship and support. In this time of great despair, however, many valiant youngsters have come forward to help Covid-19 patients and their families.

Nilanjan Pramanik has been working from the beginning of the pandemic as a Red Volunteer of Andul-Mouri. “We are actively helping with food, oxygen cylinders, medicines and sanitisation. We have arranged for food providers who are helping us supply food to Covid-positive patients. We supply medicines after checking the prescription as well as buy vegetables and other essentials for the family. We provide leads for oxygen and also collect equipment such as flow meter, humidifier bottle, oxygen mask and supply them to the patients’ home,” says Nilanjan, who graduated in mathematics from Presidency University last year.

These students work tirelessly for days and isolate at home to keep their families safe. “We are trying our very best to reach out. In this crisis, we must not only think about us but also be there for people and give them courage. They really need us,” says Nilanjan.
Mahima Ghosh and her mother Kaberi have been running a food delivery business since 2018. The pandemic made them realise that there are innumerable people out there who need a healthy meal while recuperating from the contagion.

“We thought of catering to people who are in need. Patients could get some rest and enjoy healthy, home-cooked meals. The need of the hour is to provide help and resources to people without crushing their finances,” says Mahima. During the lockdown, the mother-daughter duo struggled with shopping, cooking and delivery but soon they found a way and have been providing meals to Covid-positive patients.

Ghosh senior prepares around 50 meals a day and helps deliver them to affected families in south Calcutta. Mahima is also working on delivering medicines and oxygen to people in dire need. “Every Sunday my friends and I provide free meals to 30-40 people living on the streets. We get donations from friends and relatives who have been tremendously supportive,” says the doting daughter, who is pursuing an integrated marketing communication programme from the Delhi School of Communication.

It was a news item on television about an underprivileged family in a rural area using the same mask in rotation among its members that made Sohini Bose realise the importance of awareness. She led a campaign on social media, calling out to people to donate to the cause of distributing masks and sanitisers in slums and rural areas. She also plans to do a voice awareness camp regarding the importance of vaccination, the proper way to wear a mask and use sanitisers and other pertinent points to help protect oneself.

“I got a lot of help from social media, my friends and relatives after I posted on Facebook. People have trusted me and donated generously to the project that I was trying to do single-handedly. We will do the distribution and awareness camp in my ward area, Baranagar, first and then we are thinking of spreading further,” says Sohini, who is a fourth-year PhD scholar in the department of biochemistry, University of Calcutta.

Youngsters are toiling hard to provide some relief to patients and people at large, either alone, as a group or by enlisting with different organisations that provide selfless service. “We have a support group working for more than 18 hours daily whom people can reach out to whenever there is a requirement for oxygen or hospital beds. We have a database in place that is updated on a daily basis. More than 500 people have benefitted from this,” says Srijita Neogy, a member of Rotary and Rotaract.

Around 250 volunteers aged between 18 and 24 years are the most active group from Rotaract. These students have been juggling studies and social work with panache and are an inspiration to others. “There are too many sad moments and we have lost so many near and dear ones.

However, a very recent happy moment was being able to arrange a bed for a three-year-old suffering from Covid-19,” shares Srijita, who had been a district Rotaract representative.

The efforts of such energetic youngsters have saved many from the jaws of death with the timely arrangement of oxygen or hospital beds.

Let us take a lead from these noble young souls and be of help to a person in need. Here’s hoping for a better tomorrow when Covid-19 cases start dwindling again.

Contact Us

North Calcutta: Arjun Roy, 9674005340

South Calcutta: Subhankar Das, 9051352759

Siliguri: Suroj Kundu, 8346866939

Hooghly: Nabarun Chakraborty, 7439910727

Nadia: Sabuj Das, 9875669400

Howrah: Nilanjan Pramanik, 8902700800