Thread by @AbhishekPonia

How the youth of India came together to fight the 2nd wave of Covid-19.. & saved thousands of lives (& continue to do so)..

A LONG THREAD

Good intentions + social media + unity = Social Good —> Lives saved!

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The second wave of the pandemic took India by storm.. around mid-April.
Suddenly there were lots of SOS tweets, emergency requests, critical patients needing urgent care.

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The main problem this time (unlike 2020) was the fact that people are unable to get the required medical care IN TIME!

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Massive shortage / inaccessibility of a) Hospital beds b) Oxygen cylinders / concentrators (even in hospitals) c) Injections d) Medicines e) Plasma (not applicable anymore).

While the situation is better now, this problem still exists in many parts of the country.

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The first thing that the good-hearted netizens started doing was AMPLIFYING requests, so someone who may have a solution or lead can help.

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But one look at the Twitter timeline, & the only thing you’d think of is CHAOS! Seemed apocalyptic.

So many people critical, so many people grieving the loss of a loved one!

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While patients were fighting death, their families were running helter skelter seeking help! They’d call every number & every possible lead in the hope of getting whatever is needed to save their loved ones’ lives.

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A new problem emerged - DEAD / FAKE leads! An active lead would quickly become irrelevant. Once the number was circulated, the item would quickly go out of stock.
The lead would switch off the no. due to excess call while the number continues to circulate online.

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Some people shared numbers of people they dislike, for fun / cheap sadistic pleasures! The families in desperate need wasted a lot of time falling such numbers.

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Many youngsters wanted to contribute, wanted to make a difference. But couldn’t find the means!

A few who could, took the initiative & started helping anyone in need. But individually it is always going to be Herculean task!

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The pivot came & a few experienced smart people took the initiative to bring volunteers together. TASK FORCE teams were formed.
All knew how deadly the pandemic is & yet decided to fight it together!

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Tasks are now divided among the teams - verifying leads, authenticating patient details, connecting them to leads & ensuring those in need got what they needed.

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@COVResourcesIn is verifying 300+ leads everyday & has a volunteer network of 250+ ..

@weareyuvaa has over 400 volunteers who have made a big impact!

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From Day 1, a lot of influencers helped in amplifying requests. Some of them even got involved hands on! This was very motivating for a lot of the youth!

Unfortunately, it took a LONG time for the BIG celebs to even acknowledge the crisis, leave alone contribute!

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Some influencers who deserve all our gratitude are - @appurv_gupta @awwwnchal @amitandon @tehseenp @Hanumavihari @ArunabhKumar @KushaKapila @viraj_sheth @Rohitonweb @palakzat

Thank you 🙏🏻

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Next problem was LOCALISATION! Local knowledge was needed to help procure beds, oxygen, etc quickly.
You don’t want to send someone 3 hours away fr a med which might be available nearby, especially in an emergency!
Volunteers hence focused on areas they r familiar with.

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India is a big IT force. Websites & apps were built overnight focusing on specific requirements or specific cities / towns!

This streamlined a lot of info for the public.

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What was heartening to see was how different people started contributing in different ways!
Home cooked meals for patients, delivery of essentials, transportation, etc.
many good samaritans have contributed in various ways!

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FUNDS: There was a realisation that the medical supply & relief material is not sufficient to support the rapidly growing cases! Hence funds wer needed to a) procure items frm abroad b) supply frm areas whr items were in abundance to areas of shortage.
Thus began fundraisers (20)

It’s heart-warming to see people contribute any amount they can afford... from 10 to 5,000. Every rupee counts & together can make a big difference!

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Campaigns began for individual cases where patients couldn’t afford their treatment!
Kudos to platforms like @ketto @milaapdotorg @donatekart @GiveIndia who are playing a key role in this.

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The fund-raising phase is where we finally saw the big celebrities coming forward! By both amplifying & contributing, a lot of money has been raised!

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Next Problem - EDUCATION! Many Indians have / had misconceptions related to the pandemic! Steps to prevent Covid-19, what needs to be done if you test positive, can patients be treated at home, etc.

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This is where Content Creators have played (& are playing) a key role!
@abhiandniyu hav made Covid-19 related videos simplifying things for the common man!

Content companies such as @TheViralFever @STAGEdotin are doing a great job explaining key aspects to the audiences!

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I wrote this thread to highlight the hard work that the volunteers are committing to, selflessly ... and to Thank them for it 🙏🏻

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The volunteers are not being paid for this work, this is not even their main job... yet they are ready everyday, motivated and inspired to save lives!
#respect

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Let me address the dark side of the work they are doing - MENTAL HEALTH! Dealing with death is hard, dealing with families whose close ones are fighting death is hard!

They deal with this several times everyday!

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Many times they r yelled at, even abused fr not being able to help in certain situations! & these selfless people feel guilt, even through they tried their best!

Many of them r hence suffering with mental health issues! Dealing with such a crisis is nothing but HEROIC!

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If Sonu Sood was our biggest saviour in 2020, the volunteers are our saviours in 2021 (along with @SonuSood who continues to do a stellar job)

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In a gloomy time, the Youth of India have stepped up & made a difference! These are the unsung heroes who need to be appreciated!
We are lucky to have a smart, hardworking & enthusiastic generation of youngsters willing to get their hands dirty & save lives!

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I want to express my gratitude to each one who has contributed, in any way possible!
You are all HEROES this country needs! Thank you 🙏🏻

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I want to also thank the team leaders & organisations who have given guidance to the volunteers- @join2manish @BlameItOnSmit @tanejamainhoon @vensykrishna @Hemkunt_Fdn @MeBhavya @WeAreBangalore
@NiritDatta @nipunnyy @an_napurna
@SDIF_India

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Tagging some angels who I want to thank- @janiceseq85 @SahrudayF @srinivasiyc @Noelmanda97 @VishnuSurekaa @AdwaitChondikar @drsouravsarkar @findingsau @helloashpreet

There are many more people who I am unable to tag or don’t know names of. Each of them has my gratitude

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It has been a month & we are nowhere close to the end of the Second wave! So many problems, yet the motivation of all those involved is inspiring to say the least! We all need to keep going, and contribute in any way we can.

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New problems are arising everyday while we are stil fighting the existing ones (Black fungus for example).

United we can overcome this, hopefully this nightmare will be over soon!

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

End
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