CHENNAI: When the government machinery had its hands full helping people, a few of the city’s brave hearts joined together to make life easier for the desperate families seeking Covid-related help. What made the bond all the more special is that most of the people who came together hadn’t even met each other, they just knew only their names and phone numbers. Meet Chennai Cares, who go by @ChennaiCares on Twitter.
They are a group of volunteers omnipresent on social media to provide verified information apropos availability of beds, oxygen cylinders and other aids like medicines, home-cooked food for isolating patients and so on. The group makes hundreds of phone calls and responds to messages online every day. Since the group’s inception over two weeks ago, they have helped over 500.
Shyamala Sathiaseelan, 47, a member of the group received a call about a week ago. The boy on the other cried saying his mother has been admitted in Stanley Hospital but since there is lack of beds they have put her in the emergency ward. “I let the boy grieve. The government hospitals in Chennai are making sure they attend to every patient in the day. So I told the boy either he can stay in Stanley Hospital assuring they will treat his mother or he can contact 104 and seek for beds in other hospitals. The boy decided to stay and I called him two days checking what was happening,” said Shyamala.
“I was surprised when I received his call early in the morning. He said that his mother has been taken inside and the doctors have begun treatment.” The boy thanked Shyamala and she kept in touch with the boy until she was discharged. This is a moment Shyamala says that brings unexplainable joy. Shyamala’s kids aged 11 and 14 also have volunteered to do back-end work like data entry and there are several young kids helping the group. The oldest member is an octogenerian who calls all hospitals to check for availability of beds.
Shyamala added that the volunteers, many of whom have not even met one another, have developed a special bond of friendship. “While texting if a person has only a few hours he/she can spend, another person volunteers and says, ‘you go take rest, I’ll cover for you’, which I believe is truly inspirational,” she says.
Archanaa Seker is a researcher and an activist based in Chennai. She has been helping in searching for hospital beds and oxygen along with Chennai Cares for the past two weeks. She came to know about the availability of 200 five litre oxygen cylinders which was not purchased by anyone. “The company was declined by many people because they are looking for large quantity cylinders. But these small ones could be used for patients waiting in ambulances outside the hospital,” said Archanaa.
The information spread and Rs 2.5 lakh was raised for 60 cylinders at the price of Rs 4100 and another Rs 5.7 lakh for 140 cylinders was raised by the Bhoomika trust, an NGO that is working closely with bureaucrats during the pandemic. The 140 cylinders were delivered to the Madras Medical College. The 60 cylinders are yet to be delivered to Omandurar Government Hospital.