“We
have not had any supply of vegetables or even milk or bread ever since the
lockdown was imposed. Our panchayat has been so disorganised,” lamented a
resident of Moira and continues, “If it wasn’t for Tony’s help in organising
vegetables and fruits for us, I don’t know how we’d continue.” Tony aka Antonio
Nazareth - the owner of the very popular restaurant ANDRON in Nachinola, seems
to be the superman with no cape. Tired, disheveled and shouting instructions to
socially distance, despite his hoarse voice is the man behind the makeshift
bazaar in the Andron parking space.
Impressive
management with lines drawn out, to enable people to maintain distance to clear
communication on his WhatsApp group that informed everyone to wear masks or
cover their mouths to making vegetables and fruits available at reasonable
market rates and not the inflated rates that seem to be the norm, his community
team is well in place and everyone seems to know their role. He plainly
demonstrates that with a well thought out plan and clear communication, people
will follow instructions. It’s really not that difficult.
Explains
Tony, “We got into action the day the lockdown was announced by the Prime
Minister. Saddam Khatri, my neighbour, is a vegetable supplier and wholesaler.
Together, we decided to supply the people of our village. Thankfully, our
Panchayat supported us and through the collector, we got the transport pass. I
still don’t have a volunteer pass but cops have been largely helpful when you
explain your intent clearly.” Given the situation even in Moira, which is just
a few kilometers away from Nachinola, it wasn’t long before people started
trudging from other villages, including as far as Porvorim. It is obvious that
villages with active ward members and support from Panchayats seem to fare
better than those where politics seems to stall efficiency.
Tony chuckles,
“COVID has taught us that there is no religion or caste; insider or
outsider. We are all social animals on this planet and we’ve got to combat this
together.” With financial help coming in from neighbours and the community,
Tony has been able to give away free rice, flour, sugar, and oil to the needy
people.
Devidas
Netardekar, and his team, has a volunteer pass ensuring delivery of medicines
in the region while Dilip Kerkar and Samson Lobo help in making the parcels and
managing the market. Thrilled at the blessings and appreciation they have
received this past week, Tony also declares, “In normal circumstances, I am
happy running my restaurant and have absolutely no interest in politics,”
almost reading the mind of his villagers.
Sharing
this sentiment is Vijaya Josephine Pais, the creator of Offbeat Goa - a
community online portal that brings the Goan community together as a
resourceful medium to help each other and create awareness. “When the lockdown
began, I decided to not post on any events but use this medium to reach out to
everyone in Goa. I soon realised that there were many people especially the
elderly who weren’t getting any help. A conversation and meeting with
like-minded people who run sustainable businesses in Goa resulted in a citizen
movement of sorts. She added, “We reached out for citizen volunteers and
we soon had over 200 people with different skill sets offering help in
delivery, technical support, website support, and apps creation.” Trying to
stay positive, Pais, is miffed at the government’s handling of the overall
situation. “We were told that volunteer passes will be issued to local teams
but now these passes have been given only to panchayat members. Also, some
initiatives have taken a political hue and instances of overcharging have come
to light,” she adds disappointedly.
This
experience perhaps led to the well planned and detailed initiative that
then took shape with a citizen-led dedicated COVID 19 Humanitarian Helpline
number 080-4719-2600 being established. Detailing the intent, Sanjiv Khandelwal
who leads the initiative, shares, “ This is a citizen’s movement that empowers
people and we have plans on the ground for delivery across Goa. The quality of
our volunteer team, the processes in place and the technology that supports it
is the best in class. Besides the lines are manned by multilingual volunteers
enabling them to address people across strata.” Having worked on multiple
startups in his professional capacity, he was able to foresee issues. He adds,
“This isn’t the time to blame the government but a time for civil society to
stand together. In the first instance of a peacetime curfew, it is evident that
government officials are overwhelmed. Despite that, I have found a lot of them
have supported us wholeheartedly. The work done by the Commissioner and the
CCP, Sanjit Rodrigues in these hard times is inspirational.”
Giving
us a semblance of the work involved, Khandelwal continues, “Food distribution
is done by the Councillors. Our focus is on the SOS calls from the elderly and
daily wage earners and deliveries to the relief camps. We have delivered over
300 meals to the Peddem camp in Mapusa and to over 120 migrant workers in
Betim. We will soon be getting permits for our vans to service Panjim, Margao
and other parts of Salcette. We also have 110 ‘local champs’ reaching out
to local people to provide local solutions. “This is just the beginning,
there’s lots to be done.” he trails.
Puja
Mitra, who in her professional avatar runs Terra Conscious- an eco-conscious
travel initiative had also volunteered her time and expertise towards the COVID
19 Humanitarian citizen movement in Goa. A chance encounter with a stranded
Muslim couple whom she volunteered to drop to the relief camp at Peddem Sports
Ground ended up with her providing help along with other coordinators; namely
Gabriella D'Cruz, Ishita Godinho, Roshan Gonsalves and many other individual
citizens and businesses such as Aditya Tavora of Navtara who then came together
to assist the Deputy Collector Mamu Hage, Bardez Collectorate, in managing the
camp and providing supplementary assistance to the people housed there.
“In
this unprecedented situation, where urgent and consistent humanitarian aid is
needed, it is important that citizens, corporates and local businesses come
together to support the government's response efforts. We hope to assist in
creating a Standard Operating Procedure that could help as a template for other
relief camps, with emphasis on women and children in terms of health and
safety. At this point, the focus is also on getting stocks from wholesalers and
getting citizens and businesses to donate even toys, bed-sheets, medicines,
sanitary and hygiene products, and dry food rations to this relief camp,”
proffers Puja Mitra
With
physical distancing the norm these days, one of the better fallouts from this
crisis is that social connection is gaining ground. In crisis situations,
people cover each others’ back and that in itself is a learning we ought to
cherish. May the need to stand by each other be our new normal even when we
return to life as usual.