Volleyball player in Karnataka hoists oxygen cylinders for needy, wins hearts

DAVANGERE: Habeebunissa may be just 19, with limited resources, but has displayed grit and initiative. As Davanagere locked itself in to stave off the Covid second wave, this young woman ventured out to help the needy. The international volleyball player has been winning hearts, especially after a video of her carrying an oxygen cylinder on her brother’s bike went viral last week.

The patient in distress had got a bed at CG Hospital, but there was no oxygen, and the family was asked to source a cylinder. She swung into action, collected the cylinder and rushed to hospital. She is glad that the patient survived. She went on to arrange four more cylinders.

The daughter of an autorickshaw driver, Mohammed Jabir, Habeebunissa has been active on many fronts -- distributing masks, arranging for oxygen and blood, and even cooking food for stranded nomadic families. She and her mother used the PDS grains that her family gets to cook the meals.

“It is our duty to save humanity from the clutches of the Covid-19. The Youth Congress is funding my initiative to provide cylinders and other social work, with some contribution from my father,” she said. As vice-president of the Youth Congress Davanagere unit, she has also motivated many girls to take up sports and develop leadership skills.

She is doing her final year ITI (electrical) at Millat College in Davanagere and is an ace volleyball player. Her father Jabir, who earns Rs 800 per day, and almost nothing since the lockdown kicked in, says he is happy that his daughter is using whatever he gives her to help society.