“It all started in 2015, a few months before the Chennai floods. My family was in the face of insurmountable loss, with both my father and grandmother passing away on the same day. The impact was far too much that my mother and I had become numb, with little to no clue on how we were going to manage our finances.

But somewhere within the gloom, I saw so many people from my own community going through worse phases, especially at the onset of the heavy rains and the natural disaster that followed. Electricity connections were cut completely, and so many were out on the street, dripping wet, with little access to food or any resources. What got me further teary-eyed was one specific incident where I saw ladies requesting sanitary napkins to be lent in debt, but shopkeepers refusing due to the crisis.

I immediately got a friend, went to the Parrys wholesale market, and spent the Five thousand rupees I had saved up for my mother’s upcoming birthday to buy those women, bundles of menstrual supplies. My mother, after knowing what I used the money for, was, of course, proud, but somewhere scared too considering her only son was venturing out to help others under heavy cyclones.

Nevertheless, the work that began has bloomed today, into a full-fledged passion, with plans of starting an NGO, soon enough! In the meantime, I’ve been leveraging my savings and a network of like-minded friends to help the front-line workers during the pandemic.

Especially with the complete lockdowns being enforced, a lot of these sanitary workers and policemen didn’t have access to essentials like masks, gloves, and even water in some cases. Upon seeing their plight, my mother made sure to prepare around 6-7 liters of lemon tea at home, and I went about distributing it in the afternoon, along with the other supplies.

And in the end, we had so many of them looking forward to my daily visits, with one officer even giving me a royal salute! The moment felt surreal and I’m sure it would’ve made my father proud too, no matter where he is in the universe.”

#Service #Humanity #people #Covid19 #promise #family #hardships #Chennai #HumansofMadras