We are living in tough times and a harsh reality is that maybe some part of the catastrophe is induced by us (in terms of the unchecked spread of the virus). Our actions as a community do make the difference on how better or worse a situation becomes. The point here is to ensure that we are taking the right moves henceforth.
While there are many things that can be done to reduce the impact of this pandemic, it brings our attention to the most important thing we can do to bring a ray of hope to someone’s life. And that is by Sharing. Obviously while sharing is caring, do not ever share your mask. That’s the worst thing to do in this pandemic.
Coming back to what we should give, here is a quick collection of some of the important things that come to my mind.
Blood and Plasma: As the world is fighting the pandemic together, we are increasingly seeing instances where patients require human blood or plasma to be infused to help them survive a disease. Now this is something that cannot be cultivated in farms or manufactured in an industry (at least as of date), thus making it important for us to donate Blood or plasma if we are fit to donate.
It is life’s harsh reality that anyone might need blood at any point of life and hence it makes it important to donate this critical resource.
Food and other essentials: Be it the pandemic induced lockdowns, isolation of COVID-19 patients or Corona warriors working round the clock, it has been increasingly observed that some sections of the society need to be helped with good food and other essentials. Reason for this may vary though.
Sometimes it may be sheer financial ability to afford due to lack of money, while for others it might physical inability to procure resources either due to some physical disability, old age or a requirement to isolate.
Financial Aid: Loss of jobs, pandemic induced inflation, and increased expenditure may make it difficult for some people to make their ends meet. Lockdowns have a dual role in our society. While they are very important to curb the spread of the virus, life for a low earning person can become difficult. This makes it very important for those who are well to do help these people in some capacity or the other.
Here are some important points to think about while donating your hard earned money:
1. While government funds could be doing a great thing to help the needy, they do deprive us of one thing. The smile on someone’s face when help is received. Look for the needy around you and donate to them.
I don’t think there is more we can do in life than restore someone’s smile.
2. Beware of where you are donating. Many fraudsters have come up and started taking advantage of the situation.
Verbal Support: Yes. This is a very important thing. We tend to ignore mental health as a part of healthy lifestyle. Pandemic induced events such as isolation, home-quarantine, job loss, loss of near ones or fear of the virus are seen to harm the mental health of many people. Kind words, listening to someone in their tough times, encouraging them to stay calm and fight the situation can be way to help people cope with the mental stress they are going through.
This is especially important as many people have made social-distancing from an infected person or a Corona warrior a big issue and they even avoid contacting them on call.
Remember, distancing should be physical not emotional !!
Time and Efforts: Giving your time and efforts can help the community in a big way. Some of the ways in which people are helping out in terms of their time and effort can be as easy as
1. Efforts taken to help someone find a ventilator or oxygen bed, an ambulance or any relevant leads to find medicines. If you notice black marketing of these critical resources, informing the relevant authorities is an even better help to those in need.
2. Taking efforts to ensure that everyone around you is following the pandemic norms. Remember, together we can fight the greatest of a crisis !
3. Spreading a word of positivity along with the precautions that need to be taken.
Our Corona Warriors have played a very important role in contributing to help us survive the pandemic and yes, I have written about some of them.
For example the Nurses who are Breathing life into the Healthcare Ecosystem or Cab drivers who help transporting people from one point to another in this pandemic. A Lesson from a Cab Driver
All these people deserve respect and all those who contribute in the above ways too deserve respect. Please keep up the good work !!
Do let me know if there is a type of Corona Warrior that should be covered in the coming blog posts and I will be glad to write about them.
Nagesh Naik 
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