WHEN COVID19- second wave - HIT US HARD
Two factors kept PUKAAR indoors for the first half of 2021:
1. The high-stakes assembly elections in Bengal. Since PUKAAR prefers to work in far flung areas we were advised to not risk venturing out.
2. The sudden advent of the deathly second wave of covid19.
circa 2021
May 2021, BIRBHUM, West Bengal
The second wave of Covid 19 took us all by sudden surprise.
Like the rest of India, Bengal too seemed rent by ambulance sirens and deadly silence broken only by wails of grief.
The West Bengal govt. rightly imposed measured lock-downs.
In a clear departure from established norms, PUKAAR did offer its help, but this time neither of the two Trustees could be personally present at the handing over of the relief.
As is the norm, PUKAAR chose to set up a safe isolation home for mildly symptomatic infected people. a 25 bed home was set up with all basic facilities. Water proof mattresses, cotton white linen, soft pillows, a nutritious diet and Oxygen back up too. The local administration in Birbhum assured PUKAAR of regular medical check ups of those in isolation at the safe home.
Big cities are often flush with aid. In keeping with PUKAAR's focus on serving far flung areas, Birbhum, a district bordering Jharkhand, was chosen for setting up this safe home.
15 June 2021, MAIPITH, Sunderban (Sometime after Cyclone Yaas)
The Sunderban has hundreds of rivers flowing through it, sustaining the mangroves and life around this exquisite and unique riverine web
Matla is one of the prominent rivers coursing through the Sunderban in all its abundance.
PUKAAR was destined to offer itself in service to the people living near Matla, in the Kultali tehsil.
Many villages were screened and many resilient faces admired.
May God there be light for a region destined to face cyclones upon cyclones.
Verification Excercise to identify beneficiaries
Personally handing over the offerings
25 June 2021, Roing , Arunachal Pradesh
Thanks to the relentless efforts of Jayashree Mohanka,
PUKAAR received a donation of FFP2 & FFP1 masks, and 100 PPE kits from Mallcom, one of India's most leading brands in this category.
A part of this donation was sent to AMYAA in the Lower Dibang Valley where these were distributed to frontline ASHA workers in the villages of Asali, Jia, Nowu Kilo, Ithili and Cheta!
A big shout out to JAYASHREE MOHANKA and MALLCOM!
5 September 2021, Thakurnagar, Purba Midnapur
Thankurnagar is a small village that tourists going to the popular seaside at Digha pass by on their way.
Like most of rural India, Thakurnagar too is deprived and underprivileged despite it's verdant green surrounding. Many decades ago the monastics of the venerated Sri Ramakrishna Sarada Mission had decided to build an ashram here, then in the back of the most backward beyond.
It is this Ashram that the team from PUKAAR used as its base to reach out to the elderly women and bright children of the village of Thakurnagar.
A very special thank you to the Rev. Pravrajikas of the Thakurnagar Ashram!
MEDICAL SUPPORT TO KIDS
As the year 2021drew to a close, PUKAAR received a donation from the scions of a jute baron. It was their silver wedding year and the young couple had barred their friends from sending any gifts; instead they were requested to donate to PUKAAR, with the intention of specifically supporting young kids in need of medical help.
December 2021, Ramkrishana MIssion Seva Pratisthan
A 3 year old girl - from district Nadia - was admitted to Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan, Kolkata with high fever. The diagnosis was that she was suffering from Scrub Typhus.
Pukaar stepped in with a donation that helped cover the child's medical treatment at RKSP.