Coronavirus: This woman is helping people unable to venture out during lockdown
Mahita Nagaraj, 38, started Caremonger India in Bengaluru to deliver daily necessities to homes of the elderly, or those who have special needs and are not in a position to venture out by themselves amid the coronavirus lockdown.
With social distancing becoming the need of the hour, the central and state governments have asked people to not come out of their homes to curb the spread of coronavirus. However, many, including the elderly, are finding it difficult to take care of themselves amid the lockdown.
To address the issue, 38-year-old Mahita Nagaraj started Caremonger India in Bengaluru. As part of her initiative, Mahita drops off daily necessities at the homes of the elderly, or those who have special needs and are not in a position to venture out by themselves.
Along with the help of other young volunteers, medicines, and other essentials are collected and delivered at their doorstep. Caremonger India was started when most services were shut as a result of the nationwide janata curfew on Sunday.
Mahita Nagaraj, Creator, Caremongers India. (Image: The Better India)
Mahita created a group on Facebook and within 48 hours, the member count went from zero to 2,000. The helpline was set up on March 20, Saturday, and received close to 400 calls on the first day.
“Most people wanted to be sure this number of helpline was legit as we all have been getting all kinds of spam via social media. Twenty-ninecalls were requests for help; we tried to complete about 17 on Day One, and the rest were pushed to the next day,” Mahita told SheThePeople
Caremonger India caters to four categories of people: senior citizens, people with physical disabilities, infants below the age of 12 months, and individuals with pre-existing medical conditions. To ensure that the volunteers maintain zero physical contact with those that request help, deliveries are made only to condominium gates and colony gates.
“I have to protect my family as well. I cannot be a transmitter of the coronavirus,” she shared with The Better India.
Deliveries have already been made in Noida, Mohali, Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mysore, Mumbai, Kochi, Trivandrum and Kolkata. Payments are made beforehand through digital payment platforms such as and UPI.
Mahita is a digital marketer by profession, and hails from Shantinagar, Bengaluru. She was prompted to create the group was when an overseas friend requested that she deliver some medicines to her parents living in Bengaluru.
She then realised that many senior citizens needed aid in such times of crisis. This is how Caremongers India was born. Instead of adding to the fear of the pandemic, she decided to undertake a noble cause and worked towards it.
“Stop Scaremongering, Start Caremongering” is their motto. If you would like to help by being a ‘Caremonger’, join their Facebook group.
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(Edited by Kanishk Singh)
