Described as unsung heroes, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers who are on the frontline in the battle against COVID-19 have received a helping hand from the farming community in Mysuru district.
For, the farmers who have constituted a voluntary group to spread awareness on COVID-19 in rural areas through Grameena Janara Corona Seva Pade is distributing ration kits to ASHA workers across the district.
The Gramina Janara Corona Seva Pade was constituted by the Karnataka Sugarcane Cultivators Association to provide telemedicine and consultation to COVID-19 patients in rural areas. In the process the members got in touch with the health authorities in the district and secured the list of ASHA workers so as to extend this gesture in recognition of their tireless work.
The distribution of ration kits is to express their thanks to the thousands of ASHA workers who are working behind the scenes and outside the media spotlight in the battle against COVID-19.
“As farmers we ourselves are in dire straits but the contribution of ASHA workers in the fight against the pandemic is immense and hence our small gesture’’, said Atahalli Devaraj of the Grameena Janara Corona Seva Pade.
It is not only during the current pandemic situation that the ASHA workers have struggled to bail out the society; they are the backbone in ensuring the functioning of the public health services in rural areas even during normal times, he added.
“The ration kit may not amount to much but is intended to boost the morale of the ASHA workers. Each kit contains rice, wheat flour, spice items, red gram etc., to last almost 15 days’’, according to Kurubur Shanthakumar, who conceived the idea of the Seva Pade with other likeminded farmers.
In the district hinterland ASHA workers walk from village to village not only counselling people on their physical health and providing vital information to doctors but also giving psychological strength to patients. They also play a role in contact tracing, surveillance for Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) etc.
