[Survivor Series] The COVID-19 lockdown left me feeling lonely and vulnerable

I am 12-year-old Vipula*. My father is a domestic help, and his meagre earnings barely cover our household expenses, especially as most of it went into my 14-year-old brother’s treatment for an atrial septal defect.

Despite all the challenges, I never imagined that my family would see more difficult times during the lockdown. My father, the sole breadwinner, lost his job overnight, leaving the family in immense financial strain and staring at an uncertain future.

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What was more terrifying was the lack of access to bare necessities, and this horror stared my family right in the face when they were left running pillar to post to get transportation to the hospital for my brother’s monthly injection. Tensions at home left me feeling lonely and vulnerable.

Every experience pushed me into a feeling of helplessness and looming despair – now taking a toll on my mental health as well. Thankfully, a timely call from a facilitator at the Salaam Bombay Foundation was able to take some pressure off the family, and gave me a renewed sense of hope.

The ‘Happy Call’ is part of the Foundation’s initiative to engage students in a variety of games and activities, which the kids and their family members thoroughly enjoyed. This also consisted of an informal conversation that helped raise the morale of the kids when they needed it the most.

On this call, I opened up about my family’s challenges and was thankful to have someone to speak with. The facilitator also spoke to my parents to get a better understanding of all that we were going through. This was met with support from Salaam Bombay Foundation through ration arrangements and that helped ensure that my family could still manage our medical expenses.

*Name has been changed to protect their identity.