Life of an ASHA worker in times of pandemic

Despite all odds, she eagerly sets off to work walking from door to door visiting all quarantined families in her ward without fail.
Saji Kumari 
Saji Kumari 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Lockdown or lack of transportation doesn’t deter this 50-year-old Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) in Thiruvananthapuram from rendering her services in times of pandemic. At 9am every day, Saji Kumari leaves her house at Kachani in Karakulam panchayat after completing her daily chores which include cooking for her family.

Despite all odds, she eagerly sets off to work walking from door to door visiting all quarantined families in her ward without fail.  Saji collects details on the health condition of people and helps them in every way possible to keep themselves safe indoors. She delivers food, medicine and emergency medicines to families under her jurisdiction.

“I visit 14 houses everyday and I cover the entire distance walking. It gets difficult during afternoons because it’s very hot. But this has to be done. I report back to the Health Department every evening with the status report. I keep the department in the loop to ensure families get proper care on time,” she says.
The services rendered by ASHA workers like Saji have turned into a lifeline for hundreds under home quarantine in the state. “Some of the families are not very welcoming. They treat us like we are bothering them and restricting them from going out.

But that is not the case. We work for their welfare and people should understand that. Elderly people call us when they run out of medicines. We collect the medicines from the Health Department and deliver these to them,” says Saji, who has been doing this job for the past 13 years. When she took up the job, Saji knew her choice of work wouldn’t bring her any monitory benefits. “We get honorarium from the government, which is not regular. Most of the time we spend money from our pockets to ensure that we fulfil the responsibility entrusted with  us,” she adds. 

According to the guidelines, one ASHA worker should cater to 1,000 members but Kerala currently has one worker for a population of 2,000. There are a total of 27,345 ASHA workers in the state and around 2,460 in Thriruvananthapuram. “Many of the ASHA workers had to leave this job because of financial constraints. Our honorarium was hiked to `5,000 only recently. Other incentives have been pending for the past three months. We are buying gloves, masks and sanitisers by spending money from our pockets,” says Saji.

An ASHA worker for the past 13 years, 50-year-old Saji Kumari renders her services everyday despite the pandemic outbreak

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