She is fighting cancer but out on the streets educating people about Covid-19 safety protocols, albeit with all protective measures in place. AT a time when immune-compromised people and those with underlying medical conditions are advised to stay indoors, Rama Sahu is serving people.
The 46-year-old Anganwadi worker who is battling uterine cancer chose to ignore her pain to arrest the spread of Covid in the village. Fondly called Rama Didi, she belongs to Hinjilicut in Ganjam district that was once the worst hit by Covid-19.
Rama is engaged at the Anganwadi centre in Khandara village - 40 km away from Berhampur and it is due to her sustained efforts that only four persons of Khandara were infected by coronavirus despite 500 migrant workers returning to the village.
When the Government announced lockdown in March-end, Khandara Anganwadi centre was closed down. It was a short break for Rama who was in-charge of providing nutritious food to children, pregnant and lactating mothers, antenatal check-ups and much more. Prior to the virus outbreak, there were 116 children enlisted in the Anganwadi centre, headed by Rama who joined in 2003.
Weeks later when migrant workers started returning, the district turned into an epicentre of Covid-19 in the State. After a few days, the State Government asked Anganwadi workers to join the battle and reach out to the remotest parts of their villages to tackle the pandemic. Though she was happy to join work, her husband Ramesh Chandra Sahu opposed the idea of going out when the virus was spreading faster than before. And he had reasons to oppose. The couple had lost both their sons at a young age and Ramesh did not want to lose his wife. Having sold their house last year to meet her medical expenses, the couple currently stays in a rented accommodation at Sompur village near Hinjilicut where Ramesh runs a small shop.
“My work is important to me. For, I overcome my personal loss when I meet people and do something to better their lives”, says Rama who meets all the villagers in a week and explains to them about the need to mask up and wash hands.
She says the Anganwadi system is very important to a village because it ensures provision of ration to beneficiaries. “Because of the pandemic, services had been disrupted and children and women of the village were not getting access to good nutritious food”, says the Anganwadi worker, who has been suffering from cancer since 2014.
When she got back to work, Rama had to visit houses in the village to conduct health surveys, distribute ration and monitor health of children and women. But that was not easy as people were scared to let anyone into their houses. For Rama, the phase was frustrating but that did not deter her from meeting people and convincing them to undergo Covid-19 test and avail medical help if they have symptoms.
Every day, she leaves her house at 7 am, armed with a mask and sanitiser. With her team of ASHA workers, Rama conducts household surveys, seeks information on people with symptoms, ensures isolation norms are followed, provides dry food to children and women besides, conducting awareness drives on virus safety. Due to her efforts, villagers today are well aware about maintaining breathing etiquettes, social distancing and not a single resident of Khandara steps out of his house without a mask.
Sarpanch of Chanduli Laxman Gouda says Rama Didi has been tirelessly working towards creating awareness among people about coronavirus as a result of which, wearing a mask has become mandatory in the village. “It is because of her outreach work that people of the village take Covid safety guidelines seriously and only four people have been infected so far”, he said.
Ganjam Collector Vijay Amurta Kulange felicitated the worker for her dedication in serving people while battling cancer, on the Independence Day. Moved by her selfless service, pharmaceutical company Mankind offered `1 lakh to Rama to educate her community about Covid symptoms. “Helping my community in this current situation has helped me take my mind off cancer”, the Covid warrior says with a smile.