At a time when the country is reeling under the second wave of COVID-19, two women in Patna have turned saviours to the virus-infected patients in the city.
32-year-old Anupama Singh, along with her mother Kundan Devi, cooks food at her home in Rajendranagar for covid-positive patients while her sister Neelima Singh, 26, delivers the food packets to their homes.
Neelima and her mother Kundan ensures the Covid-safe packaging of the food items. She also takes care of her sister's two-month-old baby.
The UPSC aspirant rides across the city as far as 15 km ahead daily to deliver the food.
Anupama, on being asked what pushed her to do this, said, "Recently, a member of my family tested positive for the virus. We realised how it is difficult for virus-infected people to get meals while living in self-isolation. Hence, we started serving free food packets to the homes of coronavirus-infected patients living in self-isolation as a service to humanity at our own cost."
Anupma is a former employee of Action Aid and has a double MA in History and Women studies. Meanwhile her sister is a post graduate in Economics, MBA and MSW.
“We have dedicated all our savings, which were kept for marriage, anniversaries, birthday functions, purchasing clothes and doing other household work for the next one year, to continue serving free foods to the covid-19 patients,” Anupma said.
The duo and the mother have been delivering the service for the last one week without support from others.
“Serving the people in distress is equal to serving the humanity and serving humanity is worshiping God, who rules over us invisibly,” Neelima said.
“Sometimes, some of my friends come forward to help us deliver food packets but most of the time, they prefer to remains safe at their home,” she said.
Anupma Singh and Neelima Singh were offered contributions, but they refused to accept it and asked them to offer the same servies to covid-positive patients living near them.
They receive calls for help via social media.
Impressed by their humanitarian services, many other women have taken up the mission to feed those in need during these trying times.
One such woman, Preeti Kumari, started serving free food near Phulwari Sharif.