Global Tamilian: Volunteerism propelled by social distancing in US

A typical day of social distancing starts with browsing on the phone. News and views that promise the

connection we long for is the new caffeine for the daybreak. This also paves the way for fresh social connections. To say we are distanced is just too much of a lie. Looking at the good samaritan gestures by the Indian immigrants in the US, which are spreading faster than the virus itself, one is convinced that social distancing is not the end of human connections.

Many offshoots made possible by WhatsApp groups of like-minded friends are doing a phenomenal job at this time of need. Formed to weave face masks for health workers fighting COVID-19, ‘N95 Mask Mission’ is a chapter worth mentioning in the social distancing modules.

Initially moved by watching the news clips about the paucity of face masks and the potential risk of health aides falling sick, Ritu Agarwal, a resident of New Jersey, floated the idea of sewing face masks at home. She wanted to give these to her doctor friends in dire need.

There were initial fears and hesitation that stringent hygiene norms may halt its production. But when the situation changed drastically and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) allowed the use of homemade masks as protection, Ritu Agarwal’s idea caught fire.

Approved by her doctor-friends, the design, material and hygiene processes got rolled on. The WhatsApp group started growing in numbers and the mission to stitch masks at home became real. “Within a week, we were able to have over 400 volunteers joining us. We had to split into seven separate centres and focus on different locations. We have supplied these homemade masks to Robert Wood Johnson hospital - all within a week of starting the group. We now have requests from hospitals and doctors to send over 10,000 such masks urgently to handle the crisis. Our teams are tirelessly working on these,” says Ritu who has hardly slept since the project started.

Friends who do not know how to sew are contributing money and offering help to buy the raw materials and talk to professionals who could use these. “Our group has supplied over 250 masks in less than a week working on it,” says Satya Badeti who is spearheading the Plainsboro mask squad in New Jersey.

“We have used all the materials that we had at home. Due to the restrictions on going out to buy cloth and filters, the job really needs to be planned well. Many volunteers are helping with the project,” she says, adding that “we so far have been able to donate to hospital staff and health workers, nurses, local pharmacies and the US National Guard.”

“We take care of washing and sanitising the masks we sew before sending it out. It gives immense satisfaction in volunteering in this noble fight,” says Shanmugha Ramesh, a volunteer with the mission mask project.

Ritu Agarwal is already floating her project to get the doctor’s scrub/gowns ready through her volunteers. Currently, doctors in New York are wearing garbage bags for protection. “They work in such harsh situations, caring for infected people,” she says. Social distancing does not mean isolation from reality for these volunteers.

While these groups are engaged in guarding the health workers, there are some enthusiasts taking care of those who are hungry by organising help through the local food banks. With many going without jobs and losing their paycheck, people are looking for help to meet basic necessities like food. Food banks get crowded during these times. “Our local cricket club with around 50 members are working to help the local food banks with supplies and connecting them with the donors,’’ says Suseendran Thangaraju of the popular cricket club of New Jersey.

Yet another interesting group found that the senior citizens needed a helping hand. As the older generation is the most vulnerable to COVID-19, a group of volunteers organised help for senior citizens to do grocery shopping.Through an online space for individuals to place orders from the grocery

stores, the volunteers home delivered the products, said Sai Agaram of Monroe township in New Jersey. Many others are organising quick funds through online campaigns dedicated to help those affected by COVID-19.

No matter how small the contribution is, the fact that a lot of volunteers in the Indian-American community are ready to help despite keeping the distance requires applause. All volunteers act on the call of their conscience. The nationality and ethnicity of the receiver seldom matter in the COVID-19 crisis. A new social norm that the virus has brought to the table for us to digest.

If social distancing is the key to saving the world from an invisible enemy, connectivity seems to be the friend enabling the fight.

Thus, moving into the second week of social distancing, the US cities may look deserted and roads empty, the shops closed, people locked in their homes yet the connection has not been lost. The work for many has not stopped but the workplace has got shifted. The care and concern have not been lost but the physical touch has been compromised. Thanks to coronavirus, newer designs are being etched in our lifestyles.