“More than 15 years after my marriage, I decided to start working so that I could help people in need, and also earn some money for my family. I joined the government as an Asha health worker. I remember, when I was pregnant with my children, I didn’t have enough guidance in terms of what to eat and how to deal with the pains. I learnt from experience, each time. With my work, I go to slums, meet pregnant women and guide them to have safe pregnancy. Many of them are absolutely unaware of what constitutes good and healthy food or hygienic environment.
Ever since the COVID-19 outbreak in India, we’ve been overworked with no safety measures. We received no training on how to deal with it. They gave us face masks and shields. If they break or tear, we have to fend for ourselves. In the beginning, many of us thought this was like other diseases that can be overcome – cancer, TB or so. But gradually, we saw the number of cases increase and realised that things are far worse than we imagined. In this situation, we go to every patient’s house and isolate their family members. We meet and create awareness about what to do so they can be safe. It’s not an easy job – imagine meeting people who are possible carriers!
I have two daughters and a son back at home. I’m scared on some days, but on other days, I just go with the flow. What else can I do? At this point, public safety is of absolute importance. But people don’t understand that. When we visit them, they shoo us away like we’re dogs. They think that we are patients too and we’ll spread the virus to them. In reality, we are risking our lives to keep them safe. The situation is such that we can’t blame anybody. But I hope people are more considerate of healthcare workers. I hope we’re recognised for this work – where we’re called in anytime during the day. We stand in queue with patients at hospitals. We’re not being paid for the extra work either. But we can’t stop and let people fend for themselves. I’ve signed up for this and I want to do my bit in helping people survive this pandemic.”
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