Episode 26: Connecting the Unconnected at the time of Covid-19
Osama Manzar, Founder and Director of Digital Empowerment Foundation spoke with Samar Khan– who is DEF’s project executive in Nuh, Haryana. He is ardently contributing as a Digital Foot Soldier to help people in the time of crisis.
“In Nuh, despite lockdown Samar Khan and his team have been on the go to serve people. Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness and understanding when it comes to seriousness of COVID-19 pandemic. The women in the village treat it as rumour. We have been working towards debunking the misinformation around COVID-19 by visiting houses in the village and spreading awareness about the pandemic.
Apart from spreading awareness, we have distributed 1700 masks amongst the villagers. Nuh is also a home for 150 families of migrant labourers from Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar who subsist on daily wages. We helped them by providing them with the essentials.
Only the main spoke centre is operating. We have helped people get online passes, but it is totally at government’s discretion to allow their movement.
The daily wagers and auto-rickshaw drivers are the ones who are the most affected. According to them, the first phase of the lockdown was somehow manageable, but now the extension period is really becoming unbearable.
The situation seems to be getting out of hand. A man in the neighbouring village committed suicide because of financial difficulty. To control the situation, we have been distributing ration amongst the villagers and helping them in best way possible.”
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