Shadhika

Durga: A Young Heart to Help Many

By Vaishu Manjunath, Marketing Associate & Sabah Siddiqui, Program & Donor Associate

March 31, 2020

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Around the world, Covid-19 is everyone’s current situation.  We all are suffering from this virus, but our doctors, public officials, and other front line workers are fighting with coronavirus for us. Shadhika is proud to have an alumnae named Durga, who is a chemist and is working very hard in this dangerous atmosphere.

As a Shadhika Scholar, Durga attended Vacha, our partner site in Mumbai. She graduated with a Pharmacy degree, and has been working as a chemist for 1.5 years. In India, 21 days of lockdown was declared on 24^th March, 2020. Because of this situation, she is working 9 hours per day, and doesn’t get any time off. Due to coronavirus, her work pressure is increasing. As per now, India has crossed 1,000 people infected with the virus. It’s dangerous to go outside, but she must go to pharmacy everyday by bus. She must have her I.D. checked to ride the bus, and  they are asking the purpose of her traveling.  The pharmacy owner is providing precautions to their staff. She shared that due to lockdown in India, things happened suddenly and the distribution of medicine supply has stopped. They are facing a lack of medicine and medical supplies.

Durga’s parents are worried about her job and the situation, but they are supporting her. She says, “My father and brother are not working due to lockdown. My sister Sneha is working from home.” She also mentioned that the Indian government made a good decision to lockdown for 21 days, but she thinks they needed to give 1-2 days notice, so that the pharmacy could have stocked all the medicine. This would have also helped the people who are working as daily wagers and come from rural areas. Instead of having time to travel home, they are all panicking because India’s government announced the lockdown at 8 pm, and it started the next day. There’s no stock of sanitizer, masks or gloves in her pharmacy. Even the diabetic patients are in trouble without enough medicine for them. She says, “Because we didn’t get enough of medicine, we may close our pharmacy.”

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In her community, people are keeping their surroundings clean, and they have enough water for hand washing. They are safe. She shares, ” My father and our community are making food and distributing it to the poor people who all are suffering to eat without their daily wages,” and says she hopes the government will do something more to help the daily wagers.

Her advice: “Don’t panic. Stay home. Be hygienic. Help others who need help. This is the time for everyone to show some humanity towards people in need.” She is proud to help her country in this critical situation.

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