The Health Commissioner of Bhopal requested the Archbishop for voluntary services in the fight against COVID-19. It was a three-day programme which began on 20th April.
Few religious of CRI Bhopal gathered at the Board Office, received PPEs and necessary instructions each day. Fr. Justin took the lead to form two- and three-member teams and to assign the areas to each team. The teams needed to visit the areas, contact the families and locate persons with any manifestations of COVID-19, monitor blood sugar and B.P disorder. It was a Herculean task that we were asked to fulfill from 09.00 am to 04.00 pm.
Together with a companion, we were allotted certain areas of the city. The vehicle would drop us off at a particular location. As we moved around, people wondered who we were, staring at us as though we had dropped from outer space! Covered with our protective suits, we walked through the colonies visiting families while children hid behind their mothers in fear. The women shut the door on our faces still not believing that we were earthly creatures. We certainly looked like ET (extra territorial) creatures! At times, when we knocked on a door, a family member would appear at a window, look quizzically at us as we introduced ourselves and collected information. Sometimes we got no response at all.
We gathered that people were scared to reveal any information about themselves for fear of being isolated. One of them said: “If I tell you will you take me forcefully to a hospital?” In some areas we could see Anganwadi workers and people walking freely on the road and in the colony without masks.
The following day, I carried few masks, which had been made by the Sisters of Asha Niketan, and distributed them among health workers, police and slum-dwellers. By the third day, we had covered 510 families and found 30 families with COVID-19 manifestations.
At the end of each day, even though we were tired, hungry, and thirsty, we felt a sense of happiness and satisfaction at completing this noble task. The air-tight dress in the scorching heat gave us an experience of having had a sauna! We disposed of the contaminated PPEs at the hospital and submitted the reports to the Board Office.
Vandana Kalarickal
Pachmarhi Province
