Corona: Five Inspiring Stories of Kindness

When the things get tough and life is stuck, there are always good samaritans who appear from nowhere to help the needy. Here are a few stories of kindness, shining like beacons during these days of darkness.

1. 11-year-old making masks for others

Almost all her classmates across India must be playing some games indoor or online during these days of lockdown. But, 11-year-old Ananya Patel, a class 5 student of Varanasi, wanted to do something to support the ongoing fight against corona virus.

She has been sewing face masks at her modest home in Murza Murad locality ever since she heard about their power to prevent the spread of infection.

“This is my first time on the sewing machine. I could not get the masks right initially, and I wasted some material. Now I am used to making them. I will continue with this task even after this illness is over so that the poor can be protected against pollution,” Ananya was quoted as saying in the media.

She started it with her own savings of Rs 5 to begin with. She used cloth bags from the vegetable vendors and used elastic bands as the headband. But it came out well as many people appreciated and started using it.

2. Nuns giving protection to doctors

Nuns of the Apostolic Carmel (AC) congregation in Orissa are extending their bits to the fight against corona, by stitching protective gowns for the doctors of St John’s Hospital, Bengaluru. The AC sisters have stitched nearly 70 doctor gowns till now and have a target of making 100 more protective dresses.

The material for these gowns is being provided the St. John’s Hospital. The nuns are using the infrastructure of their community college, which is currently closed due to the pandemic, to make these dresses.

In Mumbai’s Bandra, Gujarat’s Mehsana and Kerala’s Kozhikode they are preparing masks and distributing them among the villagers and passerby for free.

3. Army man making masks

While on duty as an army man, he wanted to protect people and and making the countrymen safe. Now on leave also, he found a way to protect people during the days of corona.

Sudhir Kumar, a JCO in the Army and hailing from Bihar, is making and giving away masks for free. Apart from sewing masks, he is giving away other essential supplies to people in his village in Bihar for free.

He is currently posted in Amritsar, Punjab and took a month-long leave to visit his family in Jatwalia village in Motihari district of Bihar, anticipating his daughter’s marriage to materialise. And due to the current corona situation, his leave got extended.

So, he decided to help the people in his village who did not know what exactly it was and how it would affect them. They also found that there is a shortage of masks. This prompted him to make masks.

4. Feeding the dogs

During these days of lockdown, many are feeding the people. But Praveen Kumar, the Founder of We Save Animals, is feeding the stray dogs in Bangalore.

Formerly a gym trainer, Praveen has now turned into an activist with the Kanakpura-based NGO. “After realising that there are many injured animals and not enough places to take care of them, I decided to construct an animal shelter,” he was quoted saying in the media.

He feels that the dogs are also equally facing hardships for food, just like the human beings now. Praveen would usually buy 100 biscuit packets in a day to feed dogs, and Rs 1,000 worth of fruits and vegetables to feed monkeys and cows daily.

5. Attending the labourers from other States

Abdul Khader (60), a former expatriate is taking care of 131 migrant workers from Bihar and Jharkhand now stranded at Porapad, a coastal village in Kasaragod district of Kerala.

Khader put the 131 workers in 10 hall-size rooms, televisions, fans, a big kitchen, and 10 toilets. He also has been providing them with food for the past 10 days, two times a day. Khader got steel plates and tumblers on rent. In the initial days of the lockdown, the workers used to get chicken and beef.

Khader, who retired as a telephone operator at Al Ain University in Dubai, said he spent around Rs 8,000 every day to provide them food. That is, he has already spent Rs 80,000. “I don’t mind