KOLKATA: Responding to an appeal, a Muslim woman travelled 40 km and reached a stranger Hindu family’s house in Kolkata to take care of two newborn twins whose mother was sent to a quarantine centre for 14 days after she tested positive for Covid-19.
The family with an ailing member was in deep trouble after all the professional centres which provide domestic helps refused to send anyone to their house. One of the family members then uploaded an appeal on a social media platform seeking help for taking care of the twins.
Responding to the post, Firdous Moon, the 36-year-old teacher of a private school, turned up as a messiah for the family residing in Dum Dum.
"I do not judge people by their religion. I don’t believe in religion. I believe in humanity only. Whatever I did, it was as a human being. When I saw the post on Facebook, I felt the infants needed a pair of caring hands and I decided to offer it," said Firdous, adding, "My parents were against my decision. they were worried about my health because I wanted to go to a house where a family member tested positive for Covid-19. I listened to my mind and left home last Sunday."
Firdous Moon, a resident of Pailan in South 24-Parganas district, had no experience of handling infants but she managed everything within three days she took them on her lap. Now she is feeding them after every three hours, cleaning them and playing with them when they are awake.
As she was asymptomatic, the mother of the twins was sent to a quarantine centre for two weeks. She tested positive after returning home.
The woman’s husband isolated himself as soon as the twins were brought home. "It is because my son was going to his workplace regularly and he did not want to cause any risk to her wife and children. My husband is suffering from ailments. I am an aged woman and taking care of the twins was not possible for me. When Firdous called us and said she belonged to the Muslim community, we didn’t think twice to accept her," said the grandmother of the twins.
The elderly woman expressed her hope that Firdous’ act would encourage others to stand beside the families who have Covid-19 patients at home. "None of our neighbours came forward," she lamented.